Bryant Football Defensive Backs Preview

Defensive Backs

Positions Coach: Scott Lakatos

Notes and Notables

• The Bulldogs return two of their four starters (based off final two-deep from 2019) this fall - Andre Brackett and David Onyemem. Coincidentally, Brackett and Onyemem are Bryant's top two returning tacklers from a year ago as well. 
• Brackett will head into his senior season as one of the league's premier shutdown corners. The 2017 NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Brackett has played in all but one game during his career and has 119 tackles, five interceptions and 15 pass breakups. He posted career highs in tackles (56) and interceptions (3) in 2019. 
• Onyemem has been one of Bryant's starting safeties for the last two years and has appeared in all but one game during his Black and Gold career. He also had a career year in 2019, finishing with 58 tackles and two interceptions. Onyemem also added a career-high 4.0 tackles for a loss. His interception against Duquesne sealed Bryant's victory.
• One of the biggest bright spots in the position group last fall was the emergence or Ricardo Martinez. Martinez worked his way into the depth chart as the season wore on, finishing the year with 38 tackles. Over the final three weeks of the season, it was hard to find someone better on the field. He produced 28 tackles over the final three games, including 14 in a win over Duquesne. 
• Bryant will also welcome back several upperclassmen that will look to step in and produce. That group includes juniors Tyler Allen, Javis Hanks, Ronell Joseph, Dy-Jae Pearson and Philip Platania, and senior Andrew Hopgood. 
• Of that group, Hopgood led the way with 23 tackles a season ago after battling through injuries the first two years of his career. Pearson also saw considerable time early in the season before injuries slowed him down. Allen, Hanks and Joseph were all key parts of Bryant's special teams unit a year ago.