Frederick Douglass safety/running back Ty Bryant with his family at his final regular-season home game. (Twitter Photo)
Kentucky commit Ty Bryant is having a much better season for unbeaten Frederick Douglass that most people probably realize.
Frederick Douglass is 9-0 and has outscored opponents 428-42 this season in eight games (one win was a forfeit). The Broncos have scored 52 or more points in seven games and have allowed more than one score in just one game with four shutouts.
Douglass coach Nathan McPeek estimates Bryant has played only 18 quarters and there’s no way his statistics can match those of players playing full games. However, he still thinks his star senior should be in the conversation for awards given to the state’s top players.
“I am not going to embarrass another team and also want to keep our guys as healthy as we can be. So when a game gets out of hand, our starters come out,” McPeek said.
The 6-2, 195-pound Bryant has 16 carries for 166 yards — 10 yards per carry — and seven scores. He has three punt returns for touchdowns. On defense he has seven tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception and one fumble recovery.
“He’s been a major weapon for us on punt returns with several big returns that were not touchdowns. He made all-district as a running back,” McPeek said. “He is one of the state’s elite athletes, one of the very best. He’s going to Kentucky for a reason.”
“We have been kind of splitting his time on offense and defense. We have been working on our depth at safety and our scores have given us the opportunity to do that and Ty has been fine with that.
“He’s really a good safety and that’s what he is projected to be at Kentucky. But he also runs the ball really hard and he’s very, very good in space.”
Bryant, the first commit in UK’s 2023 recruiting class, has also been one of Douglass’ best leaders.
Bryant was scheduled to graduate last year but opted to take a COVID year, especially since he would have been only 17 if he had enrolled at UK this season.
“Coming back and that year of maturity has really helped him,” McPeek said. “Our players know he can play. He has been through a lot of battles.”
He’ll be in another “battle” Friday night when Douglass visits Boyle County, a team that stunned Douglass last year after jumping in front of the Broncos 21-0 early.
