Countdown to 2018 IUFB Kickoff: 31 Days (Bryant Fitzgerald)
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Written By Amanda Pavelka
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: #31- Bryant Fitzgerald
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 215 pounds
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana (Avon High School)
Year: Redshirt Freshman
Position: DB
Last season, Bryant Fitzgerald was the victim of an unfortunate mistake by the Indiana Athletics Compliance office. The 6’0” 215-pound defensive back was expected to see field minutes in 2017, but he was inaccurately advised, and as a result was deemed ineligible for the 2017 season.
In a statement released by Indiana’s Intercollegiate Athletic Department last August, Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass explained that “Bryant Fitzgerald is a smart, outstanding young man who is academically prepared and capable of being very successful at IU. His ineligibility is not his fault. It is ours. On behalf of myself and everyone associated with IU Athletics, I personally apologize to Bryant and his family for our mistake. The process leading to the mistake has been fixed and redundancies added, and we are very confident nothing like this will ever happen again. I am very disappointed in the NCAA for not granting our waiver request nor our appeal. Bryant should not have to bear the brunt of our mistake, and the NCAA could have, and should have, remedied that in the interest of this student’s well-being, who is in this situation though absolutely no fault of his own.”
Fitzgerald was forced to sit out of practice and games, but was able to keep his scholarship. “Go to academics, do a workout and just study the playbook, because that’s all I could do,” Fitzgerald said when questioned what he did with his year off, “I motivated my team when I was around them, and just give them encouragement.” Overall, the star DB was shocked, but it put him ahead academically and gave him a year to adjust to college.
This year the 2016 Indianapolis Star position award winner (defensive back) is eligible to play and will undoubtedly be an asset to Indiana’s defense. The Indiana native’s focus in the offseason has been leadership—“I have to speak more to what I have to do at the husky now that I play for safety,” Fitzgerald explained in his spring interview, “so it’s more just being vocal and knowing the playbook better.”
Fitzgerald’s passion for the sport alone makes me expect big things from him this season-- “Just strapping on the helmet, then putting the shoulder pads on and seeing your teammates to your left and you right, in front and behind you. It’s a great feeling to have out there. There’s no feeling like it. I love being back on the field.”
Watch Hoosier Huddle’s spring interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC2rOzo8A14