Syracuse brings in a linebacker from the FCS coming off his best season.
The Syracuse Orange landed another commitment from the spring transfer portal window, this time to fill a key need on defense.
Gary Bryant III, who broke out in his sophomore year with the South Dakota Coyotes in 2024, is committing to the Orange, he announced Wednesday on social media.
After a redshirt year in 2022 and a quiet season in 2023, Bryant tallied 102 tackles (36 solo), three pass deflections, two interceptions and one forced fumble in 2024. Bryant’s most recent campaign earned him second team honors in the Missouri Valley Conference.
— GB3 (@Gary_Bryant4) April 23, 2025
Bryant was unranked as a recruit per 247Sports and ultimately committed to over offers from UMass, Albany, Bryant, Buffalo, Delaware State, Merrimack, Rhode Island, Sacred Heart and St. Thomas. The Baltimore, Maryland native entered the transfer portal and picked Syracuse after setting visits with the Orange, USC, Cal and West Virginia, per On3.
PFF appears to like how Bryant performed in 2024. He finished with an 87.4 grade on defense, including 87.6 in coverage, 87.3 in tackling and 82.8 in run defense. Over 600 of Bryant’s 789 snaps this past season came from the box. Bryant also played both in coverage and run defense at about the same rate — 381 snaps in coverage compared to 324 as a run defender, per PFF.
Bryant measures at six-foot-one and 230 lbs. He projects to have two years of eligibility remaining. Bryant ranks as the 95th-best linebacker available in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports top prospect available rankings.
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He projects to be a critical piece for the Orange in 2025 to help add more depth and production at the linebacker spot following the offseason departures of Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron.
In addition to Bryant, Syracuse also landed Louisville transfer offensive lineman Austin Collins. The Orange also appear to be strongly in the mix for Notre Dame transfer quarterback Steve Angeli.