At the Corner of Bryant, Reed and Presley Is a Lot of Husky DB Talent
The unfortunate thing about a college-football coaching change is the player spotlight often shifts solely to those who leave and others who transfer in. The barely-scratching-the-surface talent get pushed way to the back, at least momentarily.
That's why, with Jedd Fisch's new coaching staff at the University of Washington bringing in all sorts of cornerback candidates in veterans from points east (Indiana) and west (Arizona), plus three recruits at this crucial position, one shouldn't lose sight of Leroy Bryant, Caleb Presley and Curley Reed.
This law firm of Bryant, Presley and Reed was secured last year to replenish what was then a thin collection of corners and, by all accounts, none of these guys proved a disappointment.
Bryant, in fact, was the least heralded of this trio in terms of recruiting hype — 3 stars, rather than 4 — but the 5-foot-11, 178-pound redshirt freshman from Fairfield, California, got on the field first, appearing in seven UW games while still preserving his first season of college football eligibility.
"He's very mature," former Husky corners coach Julius Brown said last season. "He's soaking in the playbook. He's a kid who has goals. He wants to chase it."
Leroy Bryant (23) prepares to take the field for kickoff coverage against Texas.
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A three-sport standout in high school, Bryant proved extra attractive to the Kalen DeBoer staff because he showed exceptional quickness, especially with his top-level change of direction.
"That's one of the things we liked about him is he had really good quicks in the short area," Brown said.
Reed, a 6-foot-1, 198-pound defender from Lake Charles, Louisiana, came to the UW after having to rebuild his reputation as an elite football player. He tore up a knee as a junior at Lake Charles College Prep and missed that entire season. He still ended up earning a 4-star rating and fielding 26 scholarship offers, with LSU making a push for him late, plus Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Nebraska and USC.
Curley Reed takes the field at the CFP title game in Houston.
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He was the one UW player who went home when the Huskies played Texas in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, yet he feels comfortable pursuing his football aspirations some 2,400 miles away in Seattle.
"I really just wanted to go far away for college and experience something new," Reed said. "Me going to the West Coast, I think that was the best thing for me."
People are eager to see what Presley can do as the local kid who was the state's No. 1 recruit in 2023 from Seattle's Rainier Beach High School and committed to Oregon only to flip late to the UW. He had 29 scholarship offers, which included the likes of Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and USC.
Caleb Presley took part in spring football practice in 2023.
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The talented 6-foot, 177-pound corner seemed patient enough and ego-free as he went through an inactive redshirt season, practicing but not playing on Saturdays and only rarely dressing for Husky home games.
Presley, rather than look around once DeBoer left for Alabama, was one of the first Huskies to offer a social-media show of support for his new coach.
"Tryna keep all the Big Fisch Home," he posted two days following the hiring.
Presley and his fellow corners basically got reduced to being little fish in a big UW pond as true freshmen. The next logical step for them is to make a big splash with this new coaching staff.
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