COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Bryant Blazes Way to Success at Iowa State

With only 84 players on Iowa State’s roster, Blaise Bryant didn’t think it would take long to climb the Cyclones’ depth chart at running back.

But when Bryant, a transfer from Golden West College in Huntington Beach, arrived on the campus at Ames, Iowa, in August, the Cyclone coaches had news for him.

“The coaches kept telling me I probably wouldn’t start,” he said. “I just kind of took it in stride and waited to see if I could get some playing time.”

He got his chance earlier than expected. After some impressive play in practice, Bryant started the first game, against Ohio University, and rushed for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

He hasn’t left the starting lineup since.

Bryant, a junior, is averaging 129.2 yards per game, fifth best in the nation, has scored nine touchdowns and is among the nation’s leaders in all-purpose yards.

“I’m kind of surprised by all this,” said Bryant, 6-feet-1 and 200 pounds. “There were a lot of adjustments going from (Cypress) high school to junior college. There’s been even more between junior college and (Iowa State). One of the reasons I went to Golden West was because I wanted to see if I was as good as I thought I was.”

Bryant had other reasons for going to Golden West. He had signed a letter of intent with Hawaii but failed to meet academic requirements under Proposition 48.

“It was a situation where I could have gone to Hawaii if I wanted to,” Bryant said. “I had a 3.1 grade-point average, but my SAT score was a little low.”

He made the best of his stay at Golden West, earning first-team junior college All-American honors last season after leading the nation with 1,691 yards in 334 carries.

“Playing there was one of the best times of my life,” Bryant said. “It was a carefree time. We just played hard and had fun.”

He still has fun, even though the Cyclones are 3-4 after losing to Oklahoma last week, 43-40. Iowa State lost to Colorado two weeks ago and plays Nebraska on Saturday.

Bryant said the last three weeks have been tough.

“All we want is a little respect,” he said. “We just try not to get run over out there.”

Although the Cyclones haven’t earned much respect lately, Bryant has.

Kansas Coach Glen Mason, who watched Bryant run for 126 yards and a touchdown against the Jayhawks, said stopping Bryant “is like hunting a fly with a sledgehammer. You can’t stalk him. You have to take a shot and hope you get him.”

Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he’s impressed with Bryant.

“He has made a big difference in their team,” Osborne said. “Offensively, he has made them a lot more dangerous. (Former Cyclone standout) Joe Henderson was very good, but Bryant gives them something extra.”

Bryant says it’s versatility.

“I think I can adapt to any style of running,” he said. “I can be a finesse runner or I can run hard. I can break into the open, but, when I’m in the trenches, I like to put my shoulder down and hit people. It all depends on what I have to do.”

Bryant’s first name draws plenty of attention for a running back, especially after he breaks a long run. Yet, Bryant isn’t exactly sure how he got the name.

“My dad thought of it and he has all kinds of crazy stories,” Bryant said. “He used to tell me that he was sitting in the hospital (lounge) watching a football game and was waiting for me to be born. He said he heard the announcer say this guy ‘scored in a blaze of glory’ and decided, ‘That’s it, I’ll name him Blaise.’ ”

Bryant doesn’t believe the story, but his father apparently picked an accurate name. According to Iowa State, Blaise runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

For the last 54 years, the Heisman Trophy has rested on a pedestal in the lobby of New York’s Downtown Athletic Club.

But earlier this week, the Heisman took a first-class trip to Tampa, Fla., where it will be displayed at a charity golf tournament before being returned to New York next week.

The trophy was taken to LaGuardia Airport in a police-escorted limousine, then flown to Florida in a first-class seat.

Last season, Florida State players made a rap music video about the team’s national championship hopes, which proved to be all the motivation Miami needed to upset the Seminoles, top-ranked at the time.

There aren’t any music videos this year, but Florida State can draw plenty of inspiration from Miami’s four consecutive victories in the series.

Miami, 6-0 this season, has won nine of the 10 games it has played in Tallahassee, the site of Saturday’s game. The No. 9 Seminoles, 5-2, are slight favorites. It’s only the second time in the last 39 games that Miami has been the underdog.

Dennis Erickson, in his first year as Miami’s coach, says he learned last March about the intensity of the second-ranked Hurricanes’ rivalry with the Seminoles.

“You get the sense more and more every day this week,” Erickson said. “But I had a sense of the rivalry when I first came into town and people said, ‘The two things you do are beat Florida State and Notre Dame.’

“That kind of tells you how important it is.”

Miami’s Gino Torretta, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman, will start at quarterback for the third consecutive week in place of Craig Erickson, who has been sidelined with a broken finger on his throwing hand.

Pittsburgh Coach Mike Gottfried says he saw top-ranked Notre Dame’s potential earlier than most.

“I remember walking off the field last year after losing to Notre Dame, 30-20, and telling (Irish Coach Lou) Holtz his team was a year ahead of schedule,” Gottfried said. “I thought they’d be good (but were a year away) . . . and all they did was win the national championship.”

The seventh-ranked Panthers play Notre Dame again Saturday.

“I’ve talked to our squad about the winning streaks they have . . . a 19-game winning streak, 14 straight at home, 11 straight since they were voted No. 1,” Gottfried said. “That’s impressive in this day of college football, when you play so many tough teams. There aren’t any St. Mary’s on their schedule.”