Bryant Bulldogs 2026 Season Preview

Bryant's Rough Ledger

A 3-9 finish and a 1-7 mark in league play tell the on-field story plainly, and the No. 98 power rating backs it up as more than a bad-luck stretch. Chris Merritt's group struggled to find footing in conference play specifically, not just against the broader schedule, and 2026 will be judged on whether that league record moves off one win. The roster feed does not capture who is walking in for 2026, but the on-field baseline Merritt has to build from is a program that lost far more than it won.

Numbers That Don't Add Up

The stat card shows a defense that swarms the line, ranking 4th nationally in tackles for loss and 9th in sacks, yet still gave up 30.3 points a game because the secondary got torched for 264 passing yards allowed. That gap between front-seven disruption and back-end coverage is the real story here, not the 3-9 record. Brennan Myer returns after throwing seven touchdowns against seven interceptions on 1,193 yards, and his ability to protect the football will decide whether Bryant's ball-hawking defense actually translates into flipped field position instead of getting bailed out by a unit that finished 114th in turnover margin.

Brennan Myer is the settled starter for 2026, a rare stability point for an offense that managed just 22.5 points and 4.99 yards per play a year ago. That anemic output, 95th nationally in yards per play with a 38.8% success rate, is exactly why Bryant went out and added Elijiah Oehlke from Wake Forest and Bodhi Wolford from Jackson as insurance behind him. Nothing about Myer's job is in question, but the passing game he runs still has to find the explosive plays this offense lacked, ranking 87th in offense explosiveness a season ago.

Bryant's ground game managed just 122 yards per game a year ago, 97th nationally, and both backs who scored touchdowns in that offense, Grant Robinson and Dylan Kedzior, are gone. O'Shawn Ross Jr. arrives from LIU Post with 852 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns already on tape, giving Chris Merritt an immediate answer at the position rather than a projection, while Deshon Jenkins joins from Bishop Verot as an unproven complement. Ross's workload history matters more than his star rating here: a rushing attack stuck at 4.99 yards per play (95th) needs a proven every-down producer, and he is the closest thing on this roster to one.

Bryant's passing game produced 203 yards per game a year ago but loses the bulk of its production, with Tristen Riley (46 catches, 483 yards), Aldrich Doe (37 catches, 467 yards, 2 TD) and Zyheem Collick (35 catches, 670 yards, 4 TD) all gone. The lone reinforcement so far is Jose Leon, an App State transfer who caught just 3 passes for 12 yards there, meaning the receiving corps' proven output largely has to come from names not yet in the data. With an offense already sitting 87th in explosiveness and 77th in success rate, a passing attack rebuilt around unproven or unlisted contributors is a real downgrade risk unless someone in that room emerges fast.

Bryant's tight end production walked out the door together, with Levi Wilkins, Carter Neuman and Matthew Bowes all gone from a passing game that managed just 203 yards per game and a 38.8% success rate a year ago. Noah Braham, a transfer from West Virginia with 2 tackles to his name, arrives to fill that void, though his background is defensive rather than receiving. Chris Merritt's offense needs more than a body at the position, it needs someone who can actually move the chains on third down, an area where Bryant ranked 85th nationally last season.

Bryant's offense managed just 4.99 yards per play and 122 rushing yards per game a year ago, numbers that trace straight back to a front five that could not consistently move anyone. Eight linemen are out the door, including Kieran Bill, Ryan Dirksen, Jon Fagley, Anthony Perez and Matthew Rau, wiping out virtually all the experience up front. Boston College transfer Jack Funke arrives to plug a spot inside, while Elijah Diaz joins as a high school signee at tackle, and both will be asked to speed up an offense that ranked 92nd in total yards and 85th on third downs.

Bryant's front stuffed the run well enough last season (124 yards allowed per game, 18th nationally) but couldn't get off the field through the air, with the pass defense ranking 116th in yards allowed. Michael Otty's 2 sacks and 3 TFL, along with Maximus Villar's production, are gone from that group, leaving Chris Merritt to piece together pressure production almost from scratch. Georgia State transfer Jaden Roper arrives without a stat line to lean on, which means this defense's ability to speed up opposing quarterbacks in 2026 is largely an open question rather than a continuation of anything proven.

Bryant's run defense held up fine last season, 124 yards a game on the ground ranked 18th nationally, but the pass defense got shredded for 264 yards a game, 116th in the country, and that's the gap this group has to close. Brandon Perkins (20 tackles, 2 TFL) and Andre Smith are both out of the room, taking real experience with them. Cleveland Gary III arrives out of Monsignor Pace as a high school signee with no college snaps yet, so Chris Merritt is betting on him developing into a factor in coverage rather than leaning on him to fix things immediately.

The pass defense was the soft spot, 264 yards allowed per game and 116th nationally, and that's the number this secondary has to answer for after losing the bulk of its tackle production in Sean Hunt, Jalen Johnson, Dorian Helm, Olatunde Mkparu and Trey Krause. Gyan King arrives out of high school at Cedar Creek to add a body at corner, but he brings no college snaps yet, so the pass-defense fix will fall on an experienced secondary that has to tackle better in space and clean up the coverage lapses that let opponents move the ball through the air even as Bryant held up well against the run at 124 yards allowed per game, 18th nationally.

Bryce Soli connected on 4 of 5 field goals with a long of 43 and handled the scoring load last fall, and his departure leaves Chris Merritt without a proven leg to lean on in close conference games. Long snapper Clark Miller is also gone, meaning the operation on kicks has to be rebuilt around whoever wins the job, not just the placekicker himself. For a program that went 1-7 in CAA play, points off special teams were never a luxury, and finding a reliable replacement at both spots is the difference between flipping a few of those league losses and repeating them.

O'Shawn Ross Jr.

Bryant's ground game arrives in the person of O'Shawn Ross Jr., who piled up 852 yards and 3 touchdowns at LIU Post before landing with the Bulldogs, and his workload matters more given a quiet class ranked 213th nationally. With Brennan Myer still working through accuracy issues, 7 TD against 7 INT last season on 1193 yards, and Zyheem Collick's 670 receiving yards gone from the passing game, Ross taking over as the between-the-tackles answer is what keeps this offense from leaning entirely on an unproven air attack.

Road Value, Home Trouble

Bryant's board tells two different stories depending on the venue. As a road underdog the Bulldogs covered three of four chances, but at home they covered just once in five tries and lost their only shot as a favorite outright. Conference play was the sinkhole, one cover in eight tries against CAA competition, and until Chris Merritt's group shows it can protect a number on its own field, the smarter angle in 2026 stays on the road.