Syracuse heads into 2026 with a familiar name in the middle of the defense: Gary Bryant III.
The redshirt senior linebacker is one of the key pieces the Orange will lean on again after a productive first season in orange. Bryant tied for the team lead with 60 total tackles in 2025, and he added 4.5 tackles for loss along with a sack. That kind of production made him hard to ignore last year, and it points to another heavy workload this fall.
At 6-foot-1, Bryant brings experience and a proven role to a Syracuse roster still taking shape for Year 3 of the Fran Brown Era. The expectation is that he’ll be on the field often again in 2026, with his exact label on the depth chart less important than the number of snaps he plays. If Vince Kehres keeps the defense in the same modern mold, Bryant should remain a major part of the linebacker rotation and see the bulk of the action.
The next step is clear: if Bryant sharpens his pass coverage, it becomes even tougher to pull him off the field.
Bryant’s path to Syracuse came through the portal in the spring of 2025, when he drew interest from USC, Cal and West Virginia and had visits lined up with all three. He ended up committing to the Orange at the end of April, and now he’s back as one of the more established defenders on the roster.
Name: Gary Bryant III
Position: Linebacker
Year: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’1”
Weight: Redshirt Senior
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
High School/Previous College: Good Counsel/South Dakota
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