Tide, Vols among teams on Florida QB

Junior to Watch: Patrick Bryant

School: Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic High School

Position: Quarterback

Size and speed: Bryant is 6-foot-4, 195 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds.

Statistics: In his first year as a full-time starter, Bryant completed 76 percent of his passes (163 of 215) for 1,886 yards and 21 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

Honors: Bryant was named a second-team all-state selection as a junior. He also earned first-team All-Area and All-Northwest Florida honors.

Favorite Schools: Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Florida State, Colorado, Georgia Tech.

Skinny: Bryant is one of the Sunshine State’s rising prospects coming on the heels of a breakout junior season which saw him throw with great accuracy.

“I learned a lot last year,” he said. “I feel like I got a lot better at making reads and understanding when and where to throw the ball. I’m looking forward to next year. I feel like I know a lot more now, and I’ll be a little stronger.”

A two-sport star, Bryant also excels on the baseball diamond. He’s a pitcher with a fastball in the 88-91 mph range and plays outfield as well. “I had scouts from the Braves, Mets and Brewers at my game recently with the radar guns,” he said. “I got to talk to them a little bit about stuff. It sounds like I may have a future in baseball, too.”

Bryant has received early interest from Georgia Tech, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Syracuse, Florida State, West Virginia, Wake Forest and Colorado.

“I don’t have a favorite in particular,” he said, “but I’ve got a lot of stuff from Georgia Tech. They’ve been the most interested so far. I like all the SEC schools and Georgia Tech right now.”

Bryant received an invitation to attend the Nike Camp this spring. This summer, he plans to camp at Georgia Tech, Colorado and the Dan Marino quarterback camp at South Florida.