Ty Bryant wants to do the same things Paul Hornung did in college and NFL

Kentucky commit Ty Bryant with his family after receiving the Paul Hornung Award in Louisville Monday. (Larry Vaught Photo)

Ty Bryant didn’t know a lot about Paul Hornung when he found out that Louisville Quarterback Club had named him the 30th winner of the annual Paul Hornung Award.

“This award means a lot to me,” said Bryant, a Frederick Douglass senior, Monday during the awards ceremony at Wildwood Country Club in Louisville. “Being a kid from Kentucky, reading about him inspires me to want to do the same things. I want to go to the NFL and win Super Bowls.”

Hornung grew up in Louisville and was a three-sport star at Flaget High School. He was recruited by Kentucky football coach Bear Bryant but went to Notre Dame where his senior year in 1956 he led the team in passing, rushing, scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns, punting and passes broken up. He was also second in tackles and interceptions. He won the Heisman Trophy despite Notre Dame’s losing record — the only Heisman winner ever from a losing team.

In the NFL, he played for Green Bay from 1957 to 1966 and won four NFL titles and the first Super Bowl. He was named league MVP in 1961 and later was inducted into both the College and NFL Hall of Fames.

Bryant is also a versatile player. He played defensive back, running back, receiver, punt returner, kickoff returner, gunner on punts and placekick holder. He played on every special team.

He finished his career at Frederick Douglass as the school’s all-time leading tackler with 273. He ran for 498 yards and 12 scores on only 64 carries this year because he played primarily in the secondary. However, in the state semifinals and final, he ran for over 100 yards and one score in both games. He also returned three punts for touchdowns last season.

The Kentucky commit thanked his parents — his father, Cisco, was a receiver at UK for coach Jerry Claiborne — and step-parents for all they did for him along with thanking his coaches and teammates.

“He is a great player but an even better person,” Frederick Douglass coach Nathan McPeek said. “I know who Paul Hornung was and what he represented. He was a very multi-faceted player and liked to win just like Ty. That’s why there could not be anybody better for this award than Ty.”

McPeek remembered when Douglass lost the 2021 Class 5A state title game the look Bryant — and other teammates — had.

“I knew the guys coming back were going to be on a mission led by this young man,” McPeek said. “We are player-led and that started with him. He is a great leader. His teammates respect him. I appreciate what type of person he is and he’s very deserving of this.”

McPeek said he told Kentucky coach Mark Stoops that Bryant could eventually be a team captain at UK just like he was at Douglass.

“After every practice this year he kept the defensive backs out and worked 30 minutes with them and other players — young players, starters with college offers,” McPeek said. “He set the standard for that and our young kids will continue doing that because of that. That meant a lot to me. He laid that foundation for us.”

Bryant will graduate later this week — he plans to enroll at UK in January — with a 4.3 grade-point average. He’s planning to be a journalism major with the hopes of one day being a sportscaster.

Twelve former Hornung Award winners have gone on to play in the NFL — Wan’Dale Robinson, Rondale Moore, Damien Harris and DeVante Parker are still active. Dennis Johnson won the award in 1997 and went on to play at UK and then the NFL. He’s now the head football coach at Woodford County High School.

“Ty is definitely the best player in Kentucky and only played half the game most of the season because his team won so easily,” Johnson said. “Stats can be a plus or negative but when you turn on (game) film, he is the guy you watch.”