TicketsBy Dan Hoard
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI - For more than 50 years, J.M Smucker Co., the jam and jelly business, has used the slogan "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."
The UC football program hopes the same is true of sophomore Coby Bryant.
Yes, he was named for the Lakers' legend.
"My parents loved Kobe Bryant and my brother does too," Coby said. "So I was named for Kobe Bryant – it's just spelled differently.
"I want to build my own legacy so I'm happy that it's spelled differently."
Bryant will enter the 2018 season as a strong candidate to start at cornerback.
"He's very athletic and very long," said cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens. "A competitor. He loves to compete and get out there and be physical at the line. Even in the run game, he comes up and gets physical. I just love his emotion and the energy he brings to the (cornerbacks) room.
"It's something that you can't teach. They've either got that competitiveness or they don't and he has it."
Bryant appeared in every game as a true freshman last season, but didn't begin the season at his current position.
"We probably made a little bit of a mistake with him early on," said head coach Luke Fickell. "We had him at safety probably half-way through the year when we moved him out to corner where his abilities can play and there aren't as many things happening around you. You can kind of lock in and focus on one thing, so you've seen the growth since he's been in one spot."
"It was alright at safety, but I feel more comfortable at corner," said Bryant.
Bryant was a standout at Glenville High School in Cleveland and his older brother Christian played safety for Fickell at Ohio State (2010-13).
"It's an honor playing for Coach Fickell," Coby told me. "There was love when I got here and I knew that he was going to push me. My brother told me it was going to be tough. Nothing was going to come easy, but that's how I grew up so I'm happy about that.
"I'm a young player and I think I need to get better at learning the details. There's still stuff I have to learn which is OK. I'm willing to learn everything I need to learn in order to be great."
Some of those lessons are coming from his brother who was a 7th round draft pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 and has also spent time with the Cardinals, Giants, and Browns.
"He teaches me the game the best way that he can," Coby said. "He wants me to be better than he is, so it's a plus to have a brother in the NFL who has played for Coach Fickell and played for NFL teams. He knows what it takes to go to the next level."
"I think Coby knows what can happen if he takes care of his business and I think he's trying to do that every day," said Mickens.
In other words, he's trying to follow in his brother's footsteps and live up to his legendary namesake.
"I admire Kobe's mentality and how he goes about the game," he said. "He's so mentally strong and I have to remind myself that you have to be mentally strong in order to be great."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I'm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI - For more than 50 years, J.M Smucker Co., the jam and jelly business, has used the slogan "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."
The UC football program hopes the same is true of sophomore Coby Bryant.
Yes, he was named for the Lakers' legend.
"My parents loved Kobe Bryant and my brother does too," Coby said. "So I was named for Kobe Bryant – it's just spelled differently.
"I want to build my own legacy so I'm happy that it's spelled differently."
Bryant will enter the 2018 season as a strong candidate to start at cornerback.
"He's very athletic and very long," said cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens. "A competitor. He loves to compete and get out there and be physical at the line. Even in the run game, he comes up and gets physical. I just love his emotion and the energy he brings to the (cornerbacks) room.
"It's something that you can't teach. They've either got that competitiveness or they don't and he has it."
Bryant appeared in every game as a true freshman last season, but didn't begin the season at his current position.
"We probably made a little bit of a mistake with him early on," said head coach Luke Fickell. "We had him at safety probably half-way through the year when we moved him out to corner where his abilities can play and there aren't as many things happening around you. You can kind of lock in and focus on one thing, so you've seen the growth since he's been in one spot."
"It was alright at safety, but I feel more comfortable at corner," said Bryant.
Bryant was a standout at Glenville High School in Cleveland and his older brother Christian played safety for Fickell at Ohio State (2010-13).
"It's an honor playing for Coach Fickell," Coby told me. "There was love when I got here and I knew that he was going to push me. My brother told me it was going to be tough. Nothing was going to come easy, but that's how I grew up so I'm happy about that.
"I'm a young player and I think I need to get better at learning the details. There's still stuff I have to learn which is OK. I'm willing to learn everything I need to learn in order to be great."
Some of those lessons are coming from his brother who was a 7th round draft pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 and has also spent time with the Cardinals, Giants, and Browns.
"He teaches me the game the best way that he can," Coby said. "He wants me to be better than he is, so it's a plus to have a brother in the NFL who has played for Coach Fickell and played for NFL teams. He knows what it takes to go to the next level."
"I think Coby knows what can happen if he takes care of his business and I think he's trying to do that every day," said Mickens.
In other words, he's trying to follow in his brother's footsteps and live up to his legendary namesake.
"I admire Kobe's mentality and how he goes about the game," he said. "He's so mentally strong and I have to remind myself that you have to be mentally strong in order to be great."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I'm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1