Benedictine Star Za’Quan Bryan’s Secret Plan to Transform Savannah Through Football Revealed

Now Bryan is focused on some big-time goals playing in Minnesota. The Gophers finished last season with an 8-5 record last year.
Za’Quan Bryan developed into one of the top high school football players in Savannah coming up in a Benedictine program where he learned the ropes as an underclassman by paying attention to how to older Cadet stars went about their business.Bryan was named the All-Greater Savannah Overall Football Player of the Year in his senior year for the Cadets, when BC beat Cedartown 14-13 behind an epic goal line stand to close out the championship game at Atlanta’s Center Parc Stadium in a rain storm that soaked the stadium. The four-star recruit had seven catches for 65 yards and a score in the title game and finished the season with 63 receptions for 680 yards and eight touchdowns, while running for 290 yards and five scores. He returned four punts for touchdowns and had a pick-six among his 18 touchdowns, and had 72 tackles and four interceptions on defense.Bryan starred on both sides of the ball and helped the Cadets to back-to-back state titles in his junior and senior seasons of 2021 and 2022 as he took pride in becoming a team leader himself.Cost for the camp is . Registration begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, with walkups welcome. The camp starts at 10 a.m. For more information, visit http://www.zaquanbryan.com/.

Bryan said he knows how important it is to give back to his hometown and encourage young players to chase their dreams.After redshirting for the 2023 season, Bryan broke into the Gopher starting lineup last season when he played in every game and had three starts — recording 19 tackles with five pass breakups and picking off the first pass of his college career to seal the win in the fourth quarter for the Gophers over Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

Za’Quan Bryan’s rise from a determined underclassman at Benedictine to one of Savannah’s premier high school football talents is nothing short of inspiring. Watching and learning from veteran Cadet players, Bryan honed his skills on both offense and defense, ultimately leading his team to consecutive state titles in 2021 and 2022 with grit and leadership that turned heads. Now, armed with a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, he’s setting his sights on proving himself on the collegiate stage while staying deeply connected to his roots. This week, Bryan returns to the very community that shaped him, hosting the third annual Camp ZB4 at Benedictine—a chance to give back and mentor the next generation of players eager to follow in his footsteps.He earned a scholarship at the University of Minnesota, and Bryan is a defensive back on the rise as his junior season with the Gophers approaches. But this week, he’ll be back where it all started at Benedictine — giving back to the football community that helped him get where he is today with the third annual Camp ZB4 football camp set for Sunday, June 29, at Benedictine.

“I saw what Nolan Smith (the Savannah native currently playing for the Philadelphia Eagles) and Coach (Rob) DeLoach were doing with camps in Savannah, and it was always something I wanted to do,” Bryan said. “I want to come back and help the young players in Savannah.”

LEARN MORE“I love Minnesota, it’s a great place to be,” Bryan said in a recent phone interview. “The biggest change for me was weather wise — I had to learn to deal with the snow, and it was a little bit of an adjustment, but I’m used to it now. It’s been awesome playing here in front of the huge crowds that get so involved in the game.”

On Sunday, Bryan will be on hand to lead a camp open to boys and girls at Benedictine. He’ll have a number of former BC teammates on hand including Georgia Southern running back Bryce Baker, Holden Sapp of Army, Hunter Dunn, a defensive back at USC, Mac Kromenhoek, a defensive lineman at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Cole Semien of Stetson, and Alijah Alexander of Florida A&M. Theorin Randle, a current teammate at Minnesota and local coach Jaha Taylor will also be helping out along with BC assistant coach Wesley Kennedy III.”This season, we want to be ranked in the Top 25 at the end of the season,” said Bryan, who is majoring in sports management. “And personally, I want to have five interceptions this season.”