Missouri Football: Kelly Bryant making wrong decision staying put

It appears as if former Clemson starting quarterback Kelly Bryant could be making a big mistake with Missouri football for his final year of eligibility.

The end to the month of January was about as bad as it could go for the Missouri football program. A bowl ban dropped on Missouri football by the NCAA on Jan. 31 will wreak havoc for this program moving forward. The NCAA released a full report detailing the ban which has a wide-ranging impact that stems beyond Mizzou.

There was a distinct possibility that former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, who had recently transfered to Missouri, could already be on his way out. Bryant would be allowed to transfer out of the Missouri football program if he felt it necessary due to the postseason ban.

And, Bryant isn’t the only graduate transfer quarterback head Missouri football coach Barry Odom brought in within the past few months for the 2019 season. The former TCU Horned Frogs dual-threat starting quarterback Shawn Robinson also made his way to Columbia, MO, for the 2019 campaign.

With two quality dual-threat quarterbacks in the fold for 2019, Missouri football had a lot to lose from this news dropping. But per reports from the KC Star, Bryant at least plans on staying with Missouri football for the time being after the ban was announced. There isn’t any credible rumor that surfaced yet regarding Robinson’s situation. For the time being, it appears he’s staying put too.

Considering the insanely large implications of this NCAA ban, hanging on to Bryant seems to be the smallest bit of positive news on a horrible day of sanctions for that athletic department. A few of the notable points of the ban includes missing the postseason for the football program through the 2020 season, recruiting scholarship reduction, and a seven-week ban on some recruiting visits.

Even the baseball and softball programs have a postseason ban through the end of 2019. The NCAA did get a large amount of backlash about the ban. But, that doesn’t matter too much to the Missouri football program which could take a few years to recover from these sanctions.

However, this is news that could impact the way the 2019 campaign goes for Bryant. His supporting cast could be worse off and there’s not even the possibility of a postseason appearance during the final year of eligibility for his collegiate career.

While this is unfortunate for both sides including Missouri football and Bryant, he seems to be making the wrong decision by staying put in Columbia. He had the opportunity to take his talents elsewhere, at least with a team that has the option to play in the postseason in 2019-2020.

Bryant also has the pressure of another graduate transfer quarterback that will likely fall behind him on the depth chart that will be constantly looking over his shoulder. Robinson will obviously be looking to poach the starting job with Missouri football under center whenever possible.

Moreover, the pedigree Bryant brings with him to the Tigers is something that would also appeal to different schools. A quarterback with a solid set of career numbers, an ACC Championship, and a College Football Playoff appearance under his belt would be wanted at numerous destinations.