Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole writes that teams might be concerned about NFL draft prospect Dez Bryant given his behavior while at Oklahoma State.
Three sources with direct knowledge of Bryant from his days in college, where he missed the final 10 games last season because of lying to NCAA investigators, said Bryant’s antics were “consistently irresponsible.”
“I wouldn’t draft that kid unless I had someone to wake him up in the morning to get to meetings, someone to wake him up for practice and someone to wake him up for games,” one source said.
A second source said Bryant’s reputation was earned because he was consistently late to team activities. That included showing up late for games.
“We’re not just talking about being a little late for warmups, but like being late for the actual game,” a source said with a chuckle. “When you start to hear some of the stories of there, you go, ‘He did what?’ ”
If I were a NFL GM, coach or owner, I’d have a hard time paying a player millions of dollars when he couldn’t handle responsibility in college. I understand we’re talking about kids in their young 20s and a lot of players do mature when they get to the pros. But what makes anyone think that Bryant will act appropriately after he gets paid?
That said, he is a great talent and there are plenty of coaches in the NFL that know how to work with a player that needs a kick in the rear. Organizations like the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Eagles and Packers have proven that with a good support system, most players can develop into responsible men off the field.
There was plenty of bad press about Michael Crabtree and his diva attitude last year and after his contract situation was settled, he turned out to be a solid rookie. I’m willing to bet that Mike Singletary had a lot to do with that and I’m sure Bryant will get the wake up call he apparently needs if he winds up with a good organization.
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