AUBURN, Alabama—Although he has shown flashes of his potential, Auburn senior Big Kat Bryant heads into his senior season as a player the Tigers need to step up in a big way and play his best football.

The 6-5, 247-pound Bryant broke into the starting lineup last year, but his production left something to be desired. Playing in all 13 games with a dozen starts, he finished his junior campaign 16th on the defense in total tackles with six solo stops and 10 assists.

Counted on to be a major pass rushing threat on the outside from his buck position, he led the Tigers in quarterback hurries last season with nine. However, he was only credited with 1 1/2 sacks, down from his 2018 total of 3 1/2 and even below his freshman season when he finished with a pair of quarterback sacks.

“The pass rush and the importance of disrupting the quarterback’s timing and making him uncomfortable is the biggest deal with him,” Auburn’s head coach Gus Malzahn said about what Bryant can bring to the defense.

Bryant finished his sophomore season with a defensive touchdown, picking off a pass against Purdue in the Music City Bowl at Nashville during Auburn’s lopsided victory over the Big Ten team.

He opened his junior season with a near touchdown, picking up an Oregon fumble and returning it 83 yards to the Ducks’ three-yard line in Auburn’s comeback victory.

The Tigers are hoping more big plays from Bryant like those during the 2020 season, which is scheduled to open on Sept. 5th with a home game vs. Alcorn State.

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Big Kat Bryant heads into his senior season with seven collegiate quarterback sacks. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)

 

Bryant will go into his senior year as one of the team’s more experienced defenders. The former All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team member has played in 39 games with 15 starts since arriving at Auburn for the 2017 season after earning Georgia’s Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year status at Crisp County High School where he was named an Under Armour All-American.

Auburn finished the 2019 season with 28 quarterback sacks for 180 yards in losses. If this year’s team is going to match or surpass those numbers, there is a good chance that Big Kat will be play a bigger role in making that happen.