Armonty Bryant and Jason Catchings are nationally touted defensive ends, products of the junior college system and NFL prospects.

They are also teammates, regrettably so for any opponent of the East Central (Okla.) University Tigers.

“It’s hard to handle both of them,” ECU head coach Tim McCarty said. “You kind of have to pick your poison.”

Bryant and Catchings have combined for 13 sacks this season, costing opposing quarterbacks 94 yards of total offense. They’ve also eaten up 123 yards with their 20 tackles for a loss, forced four fumbles, recovering two of them, while making 68 total tackles.

Yet their bond extends past their ability to keep offensive coordinators up at night.

Neither player was heavily recruited out of high school. Both played in the junior college circuit. Though they line up on opposite sides of the Tigers defensive line, Bryant and Catchings come together for extra hours in the weight and film rooms, on the practice field, in video games and in opposing backfields — all in pursuit of their NFL dream.

“We both had it hard coming up as a person and being an athlete — he went through some things that I went through,” Catchings said. “He’s really driven, he’s got something to prove and he works hard at it.”

McCarty recalls watching Bryant and Catchings stay after practice at the Elvan George athletic facility working on their footwork, attacking down blocks and running gap cancelation drills. Next-level practice for next-level players.

But Bryant and Catchings are just as much shaped by their past as their present.

Auburn, Baylor, LSU, Kansas State and Mississippi State pursued Catchings after a dominant career at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College until he failed a biology class in spring 2010. He had to attend summer school, scaring off the D-I teams.

Still, the junior college experience had already changed Catchings.

“They teach you how to be real disciplined,” he said. “That’s all I got to say about that.”

McCarty was the assistant head coach at Kansas State for three years between stints at ECU. He’s been around enough eventual pros to know what drives them.

“You have to arrive at this place where you’re thankful that you get the opportunity,” McCarty said.

He sees that gratitude in both of his star defensive ends.

When Bryant was in high school he didn’t have anyone believing in him, much less pushing him. When he got to junior college, though, he found himself in a sea of individually talented players who all thought they deserved scholarships from top-notch programs. Talent aside, he said, many of his teammates were selfish.

“Everybody thinks they’re better than everybody. You got individuals everywhere, people thinking they should go D-I or they should be somewhere else better,” Bryant said. “It’s just everybody got something to prove when you go to JUCO.”

Every day, Bryant and Catchings thank each other for giving them someone to compete with. Pro hopefuls in Division-II football don’t get to take games off. Though McCarty estimates 27 different NFL teams have sent scouts to ECU’s games and practices, Bryant and Catchings must dominate to give themselves a chance to play Sunday football.

The competition never stops for the two ends. Bryant said playing with Catchings is like having a brother on the team. When they leave the football field, they continue to compete, like brothers.

Last Friday, Bryant said he is better than Catchings at “Madden NFL 13” on the PlayStation 3. Catchings laughed.

When asked who is the better “NBA 2K12” player, Bryant replied, “I still have to say myself.”

“Ahh, whatever man,” Catchings shouted in the background.

Both players insist that the current season is their primary focus, and both credit the ECU coaches for helping them become the players they are today. Bryant is one seemingly inevitable sack away from breaking the school’s all-time record of 28.5. Leaving his name atop the record books in Ada, Okla., would mean “everything” to him.

Yet both players concede the NFL invades the back of their respective minds. The work they do together only drives them closer to the league.

“It’s like when you’re a little kid and you dream of something for when you get older, what you want to do with the rest of your life,” Bryant said. “Now that when you get close to it, it feels good.”

Regardless of which level Bryant and Catchings’ football careers end, they remain branded and galvanized by the opportunities they didn’t have.

Catchings, who runs a 4.6 40-yard dash, said: “You feel like you got something to prove to the world, that you’re not just — just because you couldn’t qualify out of high school doesn’t mean you’re a bad athlete.”

He pauses and laughs.

“That’s all I got to say about that.”

Published on October 9, 2012 at 12:31 am