Cleveland O. Bryant Jr.

“I Did It My Way”

Cleveland O. Bryant Jr. was born on March 27, 1947, in Marianna, Florida, to the late Cleveland Bryant Sr. and Louise Bryant. He returned to be with them on January 31, 2023.

When Cleve was very young, he developed the skill to play football. After moving to Ohio at the age of twelve, he played middle school ball at Taft Junior High School. In high school, he was the starting quarterback at Glenwood High School while also serving as the school’s student body President. Cleve attended Ohio University where he played for the Bobcats from 1965-69, earning All Mid-American Conference honors in 1967, as quarterback, after leading Ohio to their third conference championship title. The Bobcats claimed back-to-back MAC championships, winning again in 1968, earning Bryant 1968 MAC Player of the Year. Cleve led the Bobcats in the 1968 Tangerine (Citrus) Bowl where he threw for five touchdowns. Bryant was drafted in the 11th round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He was inducted into the Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Citrus Bowl Hall of Fame in 1988. Leading on and off the field, Cleve was a founding member of Sigma Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi.

Bryant returned to Ohio as head coach for the 1985 season, becoming the third black head football coach in NCAA Division I history. He coached the Bobcats from 1985-89. Bryant started his coaching career in 1977 as an assistant coach at Miami. There, he worked with quarterbacks and wide receivers. The following year, he accepted a position as the quarterbacks coach at UNC Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won the 1980 Atlantic Coast Conference championship and qualified for three bowl games from 1978-81. Bryant left Chapel Hill in 1982 to become the running backs coach for the New England Patriots. Under his guidance, the Patriots finished second and fifth in rushing in 1982 and 1983, respectively. He had two more stints as a wide receivers coach—Illinois (1990-91) and Texas (1992-94)—before returning to Chapel Hill as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator where he worked for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Mack Brown from 1995-97. In 1998, Bryant was named the Texas Longhorns' Assistant Athletics Director. In 2000, he became the Longhorns' Associate Athletics Director and remained in that position until his retirement in 2011. During his career, Cleve coached, played, or qualified in 20 postseason bowl games, including a National Championship Rose Bowl victory in 2006. After football, Cleve was a friend and special assistant to the CEO of a major mineral and oil company. This position allowed him the fortune to travel around the world until he retired in 2019.

Cleve loved golfing, fishing, calligraphy, working in the yard, photography, and listening to music. He had a great sense of humor and an infectious positivity about life.

In addition to his parents, Cleve is preceded in death by siblings, Peggy Bryant and Maurice Steward.

Cleve leaves to cherish and honor his memory; his loving and devoted wife of 48 years Gloria Jean Bryant; sons, Rodney (Candyss) Bryant and Cleveland Kyle Bryant; granddaughter Jasmin Bryant, of Leander, Texas; siblings, Patricia Bryant, Michael Steward, Paul Steward, and Kathy Steward, of Canton, Ohio; Sister-in-law, Karen Mosley of St. Louis, Missouri; Brothers-in-law Melvin Mosley, Philip (Esther) Mosley of Toledo, Ohio, and a host of nieces, nephews, friends, former players and coaches.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation will be cherished.

Funeral services will be held at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville, Texas, on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Visitation will be from 10:00 – 11:00 am and memorial service from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. A celebration of life will be hosted at North Point Community Church in Cedar Park, Texas, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.

To share memories of Cleve with his family, please visit www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com