Tag: big kat bryant

Former Auburn quarterback to enter transfer portal, seeking fourth home

The former four-star athlete is on the move again after spending two seasons at UCF.

One of Auburn’s top signees from the 2018 class is on the move again.

After spending two seasons on the Plains, quarterback [autotag]Joey Gatewood[/autotag] elected to get a fresh start by transferring to Kentucky. He saw more playing time at Kentucky, but it was not enough to satisfy his needs. He then reunited with the coach that recruited him, [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag], at UCF. Gatewood saw time at quarterback for the Knights, but would eventually move to receiver. After the position change, Gatewood did not record a stat in 2022.

Gatewood announced Wednesday that he would try to find a new home by entering the transfer portal. His new home will be his fourth since signing with Auburn in 2018.

Gatewood was the No. 2 overall athlete from the class of 2018 and was the No. 12 recruit from the state of Florida. When he signed with Auburn after a two-year commitment in December 2017, he was expected to make an immediate impact. However, he would only see the field in eight total games over a two-year span, throwing just eight passes.

After a disappointing start to his college career, he elected to stay within the SEC by transferring to Kentucky. He completed 17-of-35 passes for 109 yards and an interception during his time on the Bluegrass, but, as the trend would be at the time, wanted to join several Auburn teammates including [autotag]Big Kat Bryant[/autotag] and [autotag]Kobe Hudson[/autotag] by reuniting with Gus Malzahn at UCF in 2021.

Gatewood appeared in 10 games for the Knights in 2021, with his most impressive stat being that he rushed for 142 yards on 28 carries. Malzahn moved Gatewood to receiver for the 2022 season, where he failed to record a stat.

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Malik Willis in line to start for Tennessee Titans on Sunday

The former Auburn quarterback could make his first NFL start on Saturday as the Titans play the Houston Texans.

A former Auburn Tiger is set to start in his first NFL game on Sunday.

According to a report from NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill has battled an illness all week and missed Saturday’s walk-through ahead of the Titans’ game against the Houston Texans on Sunday. As a result, it appears that [autotag]Malik Willis[/autotag] will get his first professional start.

Willis was taken 86th overall by the Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft. Willis has appeared in two games this season, completing one pass for six yards. He also has 16 yards on four carries.

Willis spent two seasons at Auburn before transferring to Liberty to finish his college career. In two seasons on the Plains, Willis completed 11-of-14 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for an additional 309 yards and two scores over a span of 15 games.

Willis was a three-star athlete out of Roswell High School as part of the 2017 recruiting class. He was a part of Auburn’s No. 10 ranked recruiting class, which donned the likes of [autotag]T.D. Moultry[/autotag], [autotag]K.J. Britt[/autotag], [autotag]Jarrett Stidham[/autotag], [autotag]Austin Troxell[/autotag], and [autotag]Big Kat Bryant[/autotag].

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Dolphins make a number of practice squad moves

Miami signs two to the practice squad and releases two to make room.

After a game that resulted in more injuries on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins have decided to make some transactions with players on their practice squad.

According to the NFL’s transaction wire, the Dolphins have released defensive lineman Big Kat Bryant and cornerback Chris Steele from the practice squad. With the two open spots, Miami has signed cornerback Tino Ellis and defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman.

Ellis and Twyman were just in for visits last week. The former spent part of the offseason with Miami before he was waived with an injury settlement while the latter had spent parts of the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

Bryant and Steele were signed to the practice squad right after the final roster cuts before the start of the regular season. Neither had been elevated to the active roster yet this season.

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Former Auburn defensive end signs as a undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys

Former Auburn and UCF defensive end signs as a UDFA with the Cowboys.

Although he didn’t hear his name called in the 2022 NFL draft, former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys according to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.

After spending a total of four seasons on the Plains, Bryant entered the transfer portal. At first, the Georgia native was set to join the Tennessee Volunteers. The main reason as to why he chose the Vols had a large part to do with the fact that his high school head coach Shelton Felton was an assistant at Tennessee. However, after numerous firings including Felton, he decided to re-open his recruitment.

The former team captain at Auburn now had to rethink his previous decision. However, it didn’t take long. He chose to transfer to UCF and play for former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn.

Throughout his career at Auburn, Bryant recorded 56 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. In 2020, he was named a second-team All-SEC selection. Along with that, he was also named to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy watch list. The trophy recognizes the best linebacker in college football. Perhaps, he had his best season in 2021 with the Knights. He had his most productive season where he would record 50 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and six sacks.

(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Now, he will look to continue to improve with the Cowboys. “America’s Team” is adding an experienced defensive lineman that could contribute in some capacity next season. With players like DeMarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler Jr. likely being the team’s starters at defensive end, he will have a legitimate opportunity to compete for a reserve role. It will be interesting to see how Bryant’s NFL career unfolds.

Auburn football transfers get disrespected in new rankings

Some of Auburn football’s transfers got disrespected in some new rankings.

Despite a very busy offseason for Bryan Harsin’s Tigers, Auburn only had four players land on The Athletic’s transfer portal top 100 (Subscription needed).

Two members of the list are former Auburn players while two others are new Auburn defenders that could fight for playing time in 2021.[listicle id=18270][listicle id=18270]

Auburn Spring Practice: Can the Tigers find a dominant defensive line?

Here are the Tigers projected to fill the positions on the defensive line.

The last few months have been chaotic for every aspect of Auburn football, especially the Tigers’ defensive line. New defensive line coach Nick Eason comes to Auburn after spending a season coaching the Cincinnati Bengals’ d-line. Eason steps in to replace Tracy Rocker who left after just 11 days for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The hardest task that lies ahead for Eason and DC Derek Mason is replacing two of the line’s biggest contributors from last season in defensive end Big Kat Bryant and defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk.

Bryant left Auburn to originally follow Kevin Steele to Tennessee but finally ended up at UCF with former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. He finished last season with 15 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 interception. Newkirk transferred to Florida and finished last season with 28 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Mason typically runs a hybrid defense that alternates between three and four man fronts. Here are the Tigers projected to fill the positions on the defensive line:

Defensive tackle:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Dre Butler 6’5, 304 lb junior

  • 2020 stats: 14 tackles, 1 sack
  • Butler transferred to Auburn from Independence Community College in Kansas where he recorded 66 tackles, 22.0 TFL, and 11.5 sacks

Lee Hunter 6’4, 300 lb freshman

  • Senior statistics at Blount High School (Mobile, AL): 54 tackles, 20 TFL, 4.5 sacks
  • 4-star recruit with high praise for his strength and athleticism along all aspects of the line

Jay Hardy 6’4, 300 lb redshirt freshman

  • 2020 stats: early season leg injury sidelined Hardy throughout season, saw action in one game against Northwestern
  • Instinctually a very solid player with quick hands and big upside but will need to step up athletically this spring to fill the role

Zykeivous Walker 6’4, 266 lb sophomore

  • 2020 stats: solid option for Auburn at DE, finished season with 14 tackles and 1 sack
  • Powerful and quick for his size, has the versatility and skillset to play on the edge and the interior

Marquis Burks 6’3, 312 lb senior

  • 2020 stats: 4 tackles, 1 sack
  • Two years of experience at Iowa City Community College

Defensive end:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Colby Wooden 6’4 268 lb sophomore

  • 2020 stats: 42 tackles, 3 sacks, 9.5 TFL
  • His 9.5 TFL ranked third best in the SEC and he finished the season on the SEC All-Freshman team

Zykeivous Walker 6’4 266 lb sophomore

  • 2020 stats: 14 tackles, 1 sack
  • As mentioned before, his versatility is great and he’s a proven pass rusher

Jaren Handy 6’5 252 lb junior

  • 2020 stats: 3 tackles, 1 sack
  • Reserve DE for the Tigers in 2020, plays aggressively and runs well in pursuit

Former Auburn defender Big Kat Bryant commits to UCF

Former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant will be reuniting with Gus Malzahn in Orlando. He has committed to the UCF Knights.

This story originally appeared on Auburn Wire.

Yet another former Auburn player is joining their old coach in Gus Malzahn at UCF.

On Tuesday, Big Kat Bryant announced that he will be playing for the Knights in his extra year of eligibility.

https://twitter.com/BigKat/status/1366803913031188484?s=20

Bryant is the third player along with Mark Antony-Richards and Nate Craig-Myers that is joining Malzahn at the AAC school after playing for him at Auburn.

As a senior in 2020, Bryant recorded 17 tackles, three tackles for a loss and three sacks with four quarterback hurries. He originally announced he would be playing for Tennessee in 2021.

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Former Tennessee commit to play at UCF

Former Tennessee commit to play at UCF.

Senior defensive lineman Big Kat Bryant announced he would transfer to Tennessee on Jan. 17.

Bryant played at Auburn from 2017-20.

After a head coaching change for the Vols from Jeremy Pruitt to Josh Heupel, Bryant has decided to play for his former Auburn coach.

Gus Malzahn was hired as UCF’s head coach last month after serving in the same capacity at Auburn from 2013-20.

Bryant announced Tuesday that he is committed to playing for Malzahn at UCF.

Jan 1, 2020; Tampa, Florida; Auburn Tigers defensive end Big Kat Bryant (1) awaits the snap during the first quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Bryant is from Crisp County High School in Cordele, Georgia.

He played in 49 games at Auburn, totaling 56 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, two interceptions, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles and recovered one fumble.

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Former Auburn DE Big Kat Bryant deletes tweet announcing transfer to Tennessee

Former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant has deleted the tweet announcing he is joining Tennessee just one day after the shakeup.

Things couldn’t be going worse for Tennessee at the moment.

Just days after announcing that he would be transferring to play for the Volunteers, former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant has deleted the tweet confirming his commitment.

It sort of makes sense as the main reason he had chosen the Volunteers was because his high school coach, Shelton Felton, was one of a handful of staff members let go along with head coach Jeremy Pruitt on Monday amid an investigation that has discovered many violations committed by the program under Pruitt’s watch.

As a senior in 2020, Bryant had a less than remarkable year with 17 total tackles, three sacks, three tackles for a loss and one interception.

Vols’ projected 2021 defensive depth chart 4.0

A look at Tennessee’s 2021 defensive projected depth chart after Big Kat Bryant transfers to the Vols.

Tennessee (3-7, 3-7 SEC) concluded the 2020 10-game, SEC-only regular season Dec. 19.

The Vols accepted an invitation to play West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl, but did not take part due to COVID-19 issues.

Ahead of spring practices and the 2021 season, which is scheduled to start Sept. 4 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium, Vols Wire takes a look at Tennessee’s projected defensive depth chart.

Projections are based off returning players, early signing period signees, transfers and 2020 seniors that can compete with an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The defensive 4.0 projection follows Big Kat Bryant transferring to Tennessee from Auburn.

NEXT: Tennessee’s 2021 defensive depth chart projection (Defensive line)

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