Niece and Nephew Provide Special Motivation for Ty Bryant

Ty Bryant with his niece and nephew after a game at Frederick Douglass last season.

Ty Bryant has a lot of motivation to play well at Kentucky.

The freshman defensive back’s father, Cisco Bryant, played receiver at Kentucky for coach Jerry Claiborne from 1983-85 and had 29 career catches for 482 yards and six touchdowns.

Bryant is the all-time leader in tackles at Frederick Douglass High School with 273 stops and joins former high school teammates Jager Burton, Dane Key and Dekel Crowdus at UK. He also won the 2022 Paul Hornung Award given to the state’s top high school player.

He helped the Broncos go 15-0 and win the Class 5A state title and was named MVP in the title game when he had an interception, two tackles, and nine rushes for 42 yards and a score.

However, he says his biggest motivation to play well this year and during his UK career is his niece and nephew

“They are like my brother and sister. They have lived with me for the majority of my niece’s life and some of my nephew’s life,” Bryant said. “I see them a lot and continue to do that. We have that bond and relationship and I want to make them proud.”

His niece is 11 and his nephew just turned 7.

“They are at every game. Last year was the first time they both got to attend the state championship game and we won, so I felt like that was a good luck charm having them there,” Bryant, an honor roll student in high school, said.

Bryant wants to be a mentor and lead by example to show them both what they can do with their lives.

“I feel like I just want to help them in life. My nephew, we call each other ‘Twin’ just because he wants to be just like me,” the UK freshman defensive back said.  “We do a lot of the same things.

“My family calls me Malachi Sr. and him Ty Jr. We act just the same. He is just in a 7-year-old body.”

His dad does not have a “7-year-old body” but he’s just close to his son. The two still talk almost every day.

“Sometimes it is football and sometimes it is just about life. It just depends on what it is. Camp has been going on so we have been talking about a lot of football stuff,” Bryant said.

They have not talked about how his father will do watching games at Kroger Field. Cisco Bryant has always walked the sideline to watch his son play. Having a specific seat for an entire game at Kroger Field will be “challenging” for the former Wildcat.

“All my years at Douglass, he was always on the sideline. We are going to see (how he does in the stands). He is going to be one that will be anxious and probably walking around in a walkway and watching the game on TV,” Ty Bryant said.

“That is more his style. He is not a guy who can sit down and just watch the game. Maybe he will surprise me and can do it. We are going to see soon.”