Gators defensive lineman Taven Bryan declared for the NFL Draft on Monday. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators DL Bryan to enter draft; Jordan Brand Prez on Football
Monday, December 11, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
The Gators recently became the fourth football program to announce a move to Jordan Brand apparel.
Bryan, a 6-foot-4, 291-pound physical specimen from Casper, Wyo., had his best season in 2017. Bryan finished fifth on the team with a career-high 40 tackles and had four sacks, which tied for second.
He started all 11 games and finishes his UF career with 67 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
Bryan tweeted Monday that while he had reservations about his decision once Dan Mullen took over the program, he and his family concluded it was the best decision personally to test his draft status in 2017.
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— Taven Bryan (@tavenbryan93) December 11, 2017
Bryan's draft stock began to rise when he had a dominant game against Texas A&M on Oct. 14. Soon afterward, Bryan's name began to appear in the first round of some online mock drafts.
CBSSports.com is the latest to add Bryan to the first round:
20. Taven Bryan, DL, Florida
Bryan is a new add here, and it probably shouldn't have taken me this long to be this high on him. I had him in Round 1 of a few of my mock drafts, and his play of late pushed him into the top 20 here. He was Florida's best defender against the rival Seminoles, and that's been the case for the vast majority of the season. Bryan can play anywhere on the defensive line and blends a variety of pass-rushing moves with the power needed to drive offensive linemen backward on a bull rush.
*****
Florida is the latest school to form a partnership with Jordan Brand apparel for its football and basketball teams.
The Gators are the first Southeastern Conference school to partner with Jordan Brand, which has become Nike's second-largest brand according to Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal.
The Gators are just the fourth football program to make the switch to Jordan Brand apparel. Michigan made the move in 2016, North Carolina in 2017, and Oklahoma recently announced a deal with Jordan Brand.
Jordan Brand President Larry Miller, who helped launch the make 20 years ago, said football has made an impact within the company since Michigan started wearing Jumpman logo apparel.
"Football for us was kind of unexpected, but people got it quickly," Miller told SportsBusinessDaily.com. "It's about exposure and extending beyond basketball, showing we're a lifestyle brand, too. Michigan set that tone and it was a loud message that we weren't just basketball.
"We did Michigan cleats, jerseys, coaches wear and fan gear, and we sold more [Michigan] product that first weekend of the football season than they'd sold the entire previous season. … There will be more college football for us, but it has to be the right schools and conferences. We'll be selective."
The Gators football and men's and women's basketball teams will start wearing Jumpman apparel for the 2018-19 season.
For a glance at the brand's North Carolina apparel line for football, here is the Jordan Brand apparel video in August that features the product line and video and interview Air Jordan himself.
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