Former Auburn senior defensive end Big Kat Bryant announced Saturday night that he would be using his extra year of eligibility allowed by the NCAA due to the coronavirus pandemic to play the 2021 season at Tennessee.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder from Cordele, Georgia, will be reuniting with former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who was named this past week as a defensive assistant for the Volunteers. Bryant also will be reuniting with Vols outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton, who was his coach at Crisp County High School before leaving to become outside linebackers coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2017.
As a Crisp County senior in 2016, Bryant amassed 102 tackles, 36.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks, and he expressed his excitement on Twitter about getting together again with Felton.
"Your leadership and guidance has gotten me to where I am today," Bryant said. "I'm blessed with the opportunity to play on the same field with you again."
Bryant made the Southeastern Conference's All-Freshman team for the 2017 Tigers, who won the SEC West and handed Alabama the only loss of its national championship season. He capped his sophomore season with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Music City Bowl rout of Purdue, and he opened his junior year with an 83-yard fumble return in the comeback triumph over Oregon.
This past season, Bryant had 17 tackles, three sacks and an interception. He was one of two Auburn defensive linemen who entered the NCAA transfer portal last week, with tackle Daquan Newkirk choosing Florida.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.