After experiencing a season he would rather forget, Duke quarterback D. Bryant has returned to action with a newfound confidence and optimism that could be a boon for the Blue Devils once the football season starts.
In large part, Bryant's new mental approach to the football game has been facilitated by a new mentor, quarterbacks coach Jim Pry. Pry left Division II school East Stroudsburg to replace former quarterbacks coach Ben Bennett just before the start of spring practice. And no one is more excited about the progress of Bryant than his new coach.
"I'm really pleased with his mental development," Pry said. "I think he's being a lot more patient about things and not forcing the ball into places that it should not go."
Likewise, Bryant is ecstatic about Pry's approach to coaching, which represents a significant departure from the amiable former Duke quarterback, Bennett.
"[Pry] is probably more thorough," Bryant said. "Both coaches are good coaches, don't get me wrong. But they just have two distinct styles. Coach Pry's style is probably more catered to me than Coach Bennett's was."
Bryant believes his high comfort level in the preseason is a direct result of Pry's example of patience in the way he teaches his pupils. A football coach for nearly a quarter of a century, Pry has had the task of relating to many different young players in many different eras of college and high school football, so his teaching and motivational techniques are well honed. Furthermore, during many of his coaching stints--which most recently have included schools like VMI, Buffalo, and East Stroudsburg--Pry has complemented his coaching with other teaching duties, serving as a physical education and health professor among his many stops.
"It gives you some perspective as to how to present stuff in an order or manner that builds and which someone can grab a hold of," Pry said of his teaching experience. "I think it's a great thing to have and I think it makes me a little bit of an easier teacher."
No one agrees with this more than Bryant, who is happy that Pry has attempted to break down the Duke offense into basic terms to the young quarterback. Bryant believes Pry has paid heavy attention to detail in his instruction, an attribute that has impressed the Detroit native.
"Coach Pry has been a great help so far," Bryant said. "He came in, and we just went back to the fundamentals of being a quarterback, as far as footwork, knowing what your supposed to do when you get out of the huddle, and getting audibles and plays together. He just went from the beginning of the playbook all the way to the end. He broke it down in elementary terms, he made it easy for me to understand. Last year, I didn't really understand the offense all the way."
In addition to helping Bryant comprehend the Blue Devils' offensive scheme, coach Carl Franks is happy that Pry--whom he convinced to come to Duke after coaching alongside him at VMI in 1985--conveys his emotion on the sidelines, a trait that translates into the positive morale of the players.
"Coach Pry is a demonstrative person on the field--you can really hear him out there," Franks said. "He's constantly talking to them, constantly reminding them of things they have to do. He gets excited out on the field which is good, because I like to see our assistant coaches get excited. I think it carries over into the players and he gets excitement out there when he's coaching those guys. I think it helps our quarterbacks develop the same kind of excitement in running our football team. It's fun to watch him coach those guys."
While Pry has yet to coach the Blue Devils in a regular season football game, he believes his new job has lived up to the expectations he set for it when Franks offered him the position. He views Duke's recent football ineptitude as a challenge that he looks forward to undertaking, and he is happy with his early results. Just as importantly, he is happy to work daily for a man whom he obviously respects.
"Carl Franks is a great guy and an old friend and a great coach," Pry said. "I'm here because the program is down, and I want the challenge of being a part of bringing it back up, and I want to work with Carl Franks again."
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