It was just by chance that Brad Bryant heard about the University of Louisiana's football program last year.
Now, he's a part of it.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Bryant became the 17th name on the Ragin' Cajuns' football commitment list this week, and in fact has already enrolled at UL for the spring semester after spending his last three semesters at Fort Union Military Academy in Virginia.
"The coaches there (at Fork Union) talked to me about what a good program they had and that coach (Rickey) Bustle was turning things around," Bryant said Friday after working out at the UL weight room. "I contacted them, and they came up and watched me."
Cajun assistant Brian Crist saw Bryant play and UL offered him a scholarship during the fall season, and the native of Huntington, W. Va., arrived Wednesday to begin the spring term.
Bryant played two falls at Fork Union after graduating from Huntington High, helping lead the prep school to records of 8-3 and 7-3 over the past two seasons. He played defense in high school and in his first year at Fork Union, but switched over to center last fall.
"I originally was supposed to play tight end," he said, "but our center went down so I moved to center. Things just happened that way. All my coaches say I have good feet, and I think I'm pretty flexible for how big I am."
Bryant was an all-around athlete in high school, earning second-team All-State honors in both football and basketball and first-team All-State baseball honors as a first and third baseman. He said he expects to stay at center for the Cajuns.
"I liked playing inside last year," he said. "It was a good change."
Bryant had originally been offered by Marshall in his hometown but was not academically eligible out of high school. After his first year at Fork Union under coach John Shuman he had his academic house in order, but Marshall had withdrawn its offer.
That's when the Cajuns came into the picture.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
OL Brad Bradford commits to Louisiana
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Bryant hopes to become center of attention at UL
