Colorado football’s assistant director of player personnel, D.J. Bryant, is joining James Franklin’s recruiting staff at Penn State, according to a report by Blue White Illustrated.
Bryant confirmed his departure via social media Tuesday but has yet to confirm his destination.
It's been real Boulder pic.twitter.com/jR6jCQusPP
— Dj Bryant (@djbryant13) February 1, 2023
Bryant has spent the last three years in recruiting roles with Colorado, starting as an assistant with recruiting, then becoming the lead assistant before receiving his most recent promotion as the assistant director of player personnel. During that time frame, Colorado’s classes have ranked No. 36, 56 and 65 on 247Sports.
The program is under a major overhaul, with newly hired Deion Sanders bringing in many of his staff and players. Sanders comes from Jackson State, where he established himself as one of the country’s top recruiters.
While it’s unknown if it was Bryant’s or Sanders’s decision for Bryant’s move to Penn State, Bryant brings with him power-five experience. He’s also a former player, having won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens after entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of James Madison in 2011.
Knee injuries cut short his NFL career, and he returned to James Madison as a defensive quality control coach from 2017-18. He then spent two seasons at Towson in the same position before joining Colorado.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Last week, Penn State added former Syracuse director of recruiting Khali Ahmad. Ahmad will be an assistant recruiting coordinator on Franklin’s staff. Penn State is coming off an 11-2 season that ended with a win over Utah in the Rose Bowl earlier this month and finished No. 7 in the final AP Poll.
The team returns plenty of key pieces, such as running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who were true freshmen this past season, and Drew Allar, another sophomore-to-be who is slated to be Penn State’s starting quarterback. Penn State also has a reputation for putting together solid recruiting classes.
