Ty Bryant with his father Cisco, right, and former UK all-SEC defensive lineman Dennis Johnson.
When former Kentucky player Cisco Bryant talks to his son Ty, a starting junior safety at UK, about the upcoming season one thing remains constant.
“When I talk to him he is always engaged,” said Cisco Bryant on WPBK-FM Thursday. “He is a little bit tired of hearing this team is not going to do this and not going to do that (after going 4-8 in 2024). He is excited to show people this team is better than people are expecting.”
Kentucky was picked to finish 15th in the 16-team Southeastern Conference in the preseason media poll.
“Ty truly believes the cup is always half full. He knows if you do not think you can do something, then nobody else will think that you can do something special either,” Cisco Bryant said.
Cisco Bryant hears the chatter about UK having a better culture. As a former player, he knows that is not easy for everyone to understand.
“My thing is if you have never been to Manhattan, there’s no way to explain to people what it is like,” Cisco Bryant said. “It’s the same thing now with the transfer portal. You’ve just got to embrace it and hope for better effort and cohesiveness. That’s why they practice together a lot and hang out together all they can. UK has made sure they have done a lot of stuff to have fun because now they don’t live together like we did and spend time together like we did living in the dorms.
“If you are not there, you cannot understand the culture people are talking about. If the same players all return, it’s hard to change the culture. This year for the coaching staff it is easier because there are so many brand new payers. The coaches don’ have to spend a lot of time talking about last year and what they did not do because they have so many new players who were not part of that.”
Cisco Bryant knows UK’s schedule figures to be even more difficult than it was last season when UK won only one SEC game and also lost to Louisville.
“But when kids are doing everything right in practice it gives you a feeling that we might be okay. If they are goofing off and showing up late may for stuff then you know it might be tougher year than we thought,” Cisco Bryant said. “If they are showing up for meetings on time and asking questions it makes you feel a lot more positive about the season.”
Cisco Bryant admitted he struggled with UK’s 4-8 season in 2024 because he loves the UK program as well as his son.
“It bothered me for both of them but it bothered me more for Ty when they went 4-8 than it did for the team,” Cisco Bryant said. “You never want to see your son with crocodile tears in his eyes. You want to see that smile.”
Cisco Bryant, a middle school and high school coach, often paced the sidelines when his son played at Frederick Douglass High School. He’s changed that — at times.
“A lot of times I would pace because people would be talking to me and I would miss the play,” Cisco Bryant said. “If I turned my head to talk, I would miss the play and have to ask what happened and I hated that. Then to be honest, it was also to relax me. I am better now about staying still and watching.”
