Josh Bryant was recruited out of high school to play running back (photo by SMU athletics).

Lots of teammates claim to be close. Some will room together for their entire college careers. Others visit each other’s families on vacations.

Then there’s the case of SMU receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Josh Bryant. They’re cousins from the town of Bellville, a town of fewer than 4,000 people west of Houston. They went to school together, they played sports together, and more often than not, they lived together.

“He’d stay with me, or I’d stay with him,” Bryant said. “Sometimes, we’d both go stay at our grandma’s … but we pretty much always stayed together.”

The two were stars at Bellville High School, each playing multiple positions for the Brahmas. Both were recruited by SMU, but only Sanders was offered a scholarship, which he accepted. Bryant said then-wide receivers coach Larry Edmondson wanted to offer him, as well, but the team had run out of scholarships. Instead, he committed to Rice, where he was going to play running back in the Owls’ triple-option offense … a plan that got shelved when Bryant injured the meniscus in his knee, prompting Rice to pull its offer. Bryant finally landed at Southern Arkansas University, in Magnolia, Ark.

Coming from Bellville, Magnolia couldn’t be called “too small” with its population of nearly 12,000. But it was far away from home, the facilities were abysmal (“we lifted weights in a barn,” Bryant said) and he no longer got a chance to play with Sanders.

ANSWERING THE CALL

“We’d talk on the phone all the time,” Bryant said, “and Emmanuel kept telling me ‘you can play here.’ So I called my dad, and he said ‘we can make it happen.’”

Bryant came to SMU assured of nothing. He took out loans to make up for the lack of a football scholarship. Sanders lobbied then-head coach Phil Bennett, who invited Bryant to walk on during the spring of 2007.

“I didn’t have a locker, and I didn’t have any gear,” Bryant said. “When I finally passed my physical, I dressed out of Emmanuel’s locker.”

Bryant came to SMU without a scholarship or even a guaranteed spot on the Ponies' roster (photo by Webmaster).

Bennett used him sparingly that spring, knowing Bryant would have to sit out the 2007 season, per NCAA transfer rules, but he had talked to coaches about earning a scholarship. When Bennett and his staff were dismissed, Bryant had to start over, impressing an entirely new staff.

“(Bennett) promised me a scholarship,” Bryant said. “I was on financial aid, and had taken out loans. When he got fired, I didn’t know what was going to happen. But I went to Coach (June) Jones and told him my situation, and told him about what Coach Bennett had said about a scholarship. He looked at some film, and told me the next day that I’d be OK (on scholarship). I don’t know, maybe he talked to the strength coaches and they told him I’ll work hard or something. But he came through.”

Quarterback Justin Willis said the fact that Bryant headed to Dallas with no assurance of a scholarship, playing time or even a spot on the team speaks volumes about the dedication and determination Bryant has, and his desire to play for the Ponies.

“He was willing to take a huge chance,” Willis said. “That was a really gutsy call. I don’t know how many other people would have been willing to do that.”

Jones also came through for Bryant in another sense, moving him to a slot receiver position. The Ponies’ new coach has no qualms about playing diminutive receivers, and recognized that although Bryant is listed at just 5-foot-7, he has good quickness and elusiveness. When the team went through its first spring workouts with the new coaching staff, Jones was asked which SMU receivers would emulate the prolific wideouts he had developed at Hawaii. Jones shocked nobody when he listed Sanders and Aldrick Robinson, but raised a few eyebrows when he immediately named Bryant as someone upon whom he also was counting heavily.

“The biggest adjustment for me has been the switch to receiver,” the former running back said. “I could handle going away from home, and I could handle going to three schools (including high school), but moving to another position is harder than it looks. But Emmanuel helped me. He kept telling me I can play here, and he kept teaching me.”

To hear Sanders tell it, his cousin didn’t need “teaching” … only refining of his receiving skills.

“He’s going to be a really good receiver,” Sanders said of Bryant. “Everyone knows how good he was at running back, but he’s going to be a better receiver. He has really good hands, and when he gets the ball in his hands, he can really run.”

THE THIRD AMIGO

Sanders and Willis are best friends. When Bryant arrived in Dallas, he joined them in nearly everything they did.

“When I got here, nobody knew who I was,” Bryant said, laughing. “I was just ‘that guy who’s always with Emmanuel and Justin.’ We’re always together, and I think that’s really helped me pick up the offense. The coaches always talk about developing chemistry, so it’s not a bad idea to have the two receivers and the quarterback together all the time. Emmanuel and I live together, and Justin is always there. We do everything together.”

Willis said that whatever Bryant lacks in height, he more than makes up for with athletic ability and his intellect.

Transferring to SMU allowed Bryant (right) to become teammates with his cousin, Emmanuel Sanders (photo by Webmaster).

“He’s good — really good,” Willis said of Bryant. “He’s small, but he’s really smart — on the field and in the classroom. He’s just a smart guy. He and Emmanuel — they’ve both just got this natural feel for playing football.”

Bryant said he and Sanders developed their chemistry when they played together at Bellville, to the point where they could look at each other and convey some messages through glances, or call out terms only they knew to indicate certain coverages the defense might present. Now that they’re teammates again, they’re sharing some of their terminology with their new teammates, and Jones — even though his offense has been among the most prolific in the nation already — has encouraged the modifications.

“That’s the thing about him,” Bryant said of Jones. “You look at his offense, and everything they’ve done at Hawaii, and you could understand why he wouldn’t want to change anything. But he lets us all have input, and we’re all — including the new guys — we’re all starting to gel really well.”

Bryant said he and Sanders and Willis talked openly in the past about wanting to play in an offensive system like the one Jones ran at Hawaii.

“You can’t help but get excited about playing in this offense, though,” he said. “Coach Jones says the hardest defense we’re going to see all year is our own defense, because they see us every day. All it is, is believing in the system. You watch the film, and its 15 yards, 15 yards, touchdown. Coach has actually stopped the film to tell us it’s not a highlight film, that it’s the real offense. This system is proven.

“We’d be up late, watching a Hawaii game, and we’d say to each other how much we wish we had that system. Next thing you know, we’re having this press conference at SMU and there’s Coach Jones. He’s our coach. We all thought, ‘man, we’re going to be running that offense.’

“How could we not be excited?”