Ben Bryant: "Dream of becoming a Badger turned into a nightmare"
Three-star quarterback Ben Bryant, who had his scholarship and commitment dropped by Wisconsin Friday evening, released a heartfelt statement Saturday night.
A three-star prospect from Lyons High School in Illinois, Bryant was offered by staff member Jon Budmayr this past summer and committed to the Badgers in December.
"I've been to many schools on visits - nothing beats Wisconsin," Bryant told BadgerBlitz.com at the time. "I had a lot of interest from several schools but I didn't want to wait around for offers when I already know where I want to go.
"I feel like it could be a great fit for me. The coaches really want me there and they are a top 10 school academically. I love the campus and it's really close to home. There's a lot of reasons why."
The following was released by Bryant via Twitter:
"I would like to address some lingering questions/issues and then be done with this," Bryant said in a statement. "My dream of becoming a Badger turned into a nightmare on Friday. This was literally one of the worst days of my life. UW was my first offer a year ago. I knew that day I wanted to be a Badger. My recruitment was shut down very early after committing in December.
"Many coaches who visit our high school know from both my high school coaches and from me that I was 100% committed to UW. My intention was early enrollment and I even had a draft of the necessary essay for early application completed. I had also grown fond of my fellow commits and was excited to play and compete with them. I was hoping more of them would consider early enrollment, too."
Thursday evening, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior tweeted that he had been offered by Georgia. The following day, he was told by Budmayr to begin looking for a new school.
"Just recently a UGA coach reached out to me via text" Bryant said. "After a couple of communications, he gave me an offer. I was blown away. This was followed by potential dates to visit. To be clear, I had no intention of visiting of UGA. I had no intention of every committing to UGA. However, I felt complimented big time by this offer and appreciated very much the attention they were showing me. It made me feel good about my abilities and potential (being a recruit with essentially two offers).
"The night before this was tweeted out, I called coach Budmayr to give him a heads up that I was given the offer and left a message on his voicemail. I made it clear that I was still 100% committed to the Badgers. The next morning we spoke on the phone and I was informed that I was no longer a good fit for Wisconsin and I was encouraged to continue looking for a fit. The implication that my loyalty to UW had been compromised was not true and is what saddens me the most."
Bryant committed to Wisconsin with the understanding that head coach Paul Chryst was looking to take two quarterbacks in the current class. Last week, UW received a pledge from fellow three-star QB Chase Wolf.
The coaching staff cannot comment on recruits before they sign a letter of intent. But Bryant acknowledged communication had dipped this spring.
"Honestly, communication with UW and my feeling of being a part of 'the family' has been subpart at times and during several visits," Bryant said. "Regardless, I wanted very badly to be a student and football player in Madison. Many life lessons have been learned during this. I should not have corresponded more than once with another school while I committed, and secondly that trust is sacred. I will move on from this with the goal of earning trust from others and trusting my own instincts more."
During the spring game in April, Bryant spent a lot of time with fellow 2018 commits Jack Sanborn, Boyd Dietzen, CJ Goetz, Mason Platter, Michael Furtney and Reggie Pearson.
"I wish nothing but the best for the UW coaching staff and the upcoming season," Bryant said. "I also wish the best for the players but most especially for the 2018 commits whom I now consider friends."