Bryant Brothers in Arms

Harvard’s defensive line took a hit when captain Brad Bagdis ’08 graduated in June. But with the return of brothers senior Desmond and junior Brenton Bryant—both back from taking an academic leave of absence—the net gain for the front seven is definitely plus one.

“When you lose a guy like Brad Bagdis, to have the luxury of Desmond and Brenton being part of a defense is very, very comforting, simply because those guys have been in the battle,” head coach Tim Murphy says. “They should be among the better players in the league at their position as soon as they hit the ground running.”

Combining for 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in the 2006 campaign, the Elizabethtown, N.C. natives bring a lot to the Crimson front line.

Desmond, the elder of the two, stands at 6’5”, 280 pounds, while Brenton, at 6’3”, 235 pounds, is hardly fit to bear the title “little brother.” The two played together at East Bladen in Elizabethtown and have always enjoyed the joys and pressures of playing with a sibling.

“You always know that you have your brother there, someone you can always relate to,” Desmond says. “We push ourselves to a higher level.”

“The whole sibling rivalry...always adds in a little bit,” Brenton adds. “I mean, we’re competing with everybody, but kind of competing with [Desmond], just being able to talk trash with my brother...gives that extra push.”

For both defensive ends, their sibling rivalry runs deep and pushes them to constantly one-up each other.

“One thing is, in the weight room, he and I are two of the strongest benchers on the team, so when it comes to chest day, if he gets three reps, I just absolutely have to get four reps,” Desmond jokes. “No question about it.”

All told, the sibling rivalry has paid off. In his collegiate career to date, Desmond has accumulated 12 sacks, while Brenton has racked up 7. Brenton has tacked on an additional 12 tackles for loss and one forced fumble, while Desmond has posted 19 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. And with numbers like those, Murphy has to be pleased to have the Bryant brothers back to add depth to an already stellar defensive line.

Although the brothers have an older brother and a younger sister, the football gene only seems to have reached the duo. But for the Bryants, it’s still an entire family affair. Their parents are planning to attend half of this season’s games, including last Friday’s night game against Holy Cross.

“At the Princeton game, our family, not only our immediate family, but our family usually rents out a coach bus,” Desmond says. “We probably had about 50 people come up to the game [in 2006]. Definitely expect the same thing this year.”

Along with the entire Bryant family, Desmond and Brenton bring a refreshing ferocity to the front line. Having missed out on last season’s Ivy League championship, they are both determined to get their own piece of a title.

“With us not being there last year, when they won the Ivy League title...we’re still a little bit, I mean, the whole team’s hungry, but we bring that little extra bit of hunger,” Brenton says. “You know, you guys won last year, that’s cool, I love that, but I got to get mine too. So we bring that extra intensity.”

“You know, obviously we weren’t playing last year, so I know I hold myself to a higher standard, and him too,” Desmond adds, nodding to Brenton. “Everytime it’s game day, we’re like ‘it’s here, man. We’ve been waiting for this.’ It’s kind of more pressing of an issue to get out there; we want to do well. We know how it is to not be out there.”

Murphy is certainly glad to have the brothers—and the intensity they bring—back on the Crimson line.

“We have high expectations of our front seven, and those two guys certainly have a lot to do with it,” Murphy says.

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.