It's Time to Talk About Army Quarterback Bryson Daily

It’s not often that service academy football players - Army West Point, Navy, Air Force - are talked about.

It’s even less often that they’re drafted or rostered by NFL clubs. The most notable players to receive NFL Draft hype as of recent is Army defensive end Andre Carter II (Minnesota Vikings practice squad), Air Force safety Trey Taylor (drafted in the 7th round in 2024 by the Las Vegas Raiders), and Malcolm Perry (drafted to Miami Dolphins in 7th round of 2020, retired).

But, nonetheless, it’s time to talk about an emerging prospect: Black Knights quarterback Bryson Daily.

The six-foot, 221 pound senior has spearheaded Army’s third 4-0 start in 30 years. Daily has had a tremendous season thus far: he’s 12-for-24 in the air (50%) for 240 yards and three scores. His impact on the ground, though - and naturally in the triple option offense - has been profound. Daily has carried the ball 82 times for 492 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s been able to average 6.0 yards per carry.

In 2023, Daily carried the ball 215 times for 901 ground yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, along with seven scores. In the air, he completed 60 of his 120 pass attempts (again, 50%) for 913 yards, seven touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Get this: in his prep career, Daily was a stellar multi-sport athlete out of Abernathy High School in Texas, playing football, baseball, and basketball, and competing in track. In 2019 as a senior, Daily threw for 1,355 yards and 18 touchdowns, while adding 2,175 ground yards and 39 scores. He even hauled in a touchdown reception, a kickoff return touchdown, and recorded 78 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and interception. In 2018 as a track athlete, he won the Texas Class 3A bronze medal (164-10 PR). In 2019 in basketball, he averaged 14.9 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game. As a senior in baseball, he had a batting average of .409, a .519 on-base percentage, nine hits, and nine runs.

A Team Captain in 2024, Daily earned Second Team All-Independent honors (CFN, Phil Steele).

But looking past any stats and accolades, it’s hard to ignore the motor, physical intangibles, and tools Daily has to be a serious gadget player and special teams ace in the NFL. Current players that fill that role in the NFL include the likes of Taysom Hill, Hunter Luepke, Jonny Smith, Kenneth Gainwell, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cordarrelle Patterson, Marcus Jones, and Devin Duvernay. Even the Detroit Lions rookie running back - Stone Vaki - played both ways at Utah.

The more that offenses advance - and as more teams look for players that can contribute across the board - players like Daily will stick to rosters to get schemed on offense, play special teams, and even take defensive snaps.

Daily is a tough and physical football player that makes his name on the ground. He has good vision and bursts through his running lanes well. He offers a lot of agility, too: his change of direction and instincts are able to pull in 6.0 yards per carry. Just look at this:

He’s also not afraid to lay the wood as a blocker and ball carrier:

Daily runs with the ball carrier down the field to lay down a block

Daily with an athletic run vs. Temple, showing off hops, vision, and balance

In the air, he’s thrown a limited route tree: mostly a lot of deep vertical combinations, drags, wheels, and designed screens/check downs. That being said, he’s able to throw on the move, uncork passes with above average touch, and delivery accurate deep footballs. He has missed some passes and has a handful of under thrown footballs, but this isn’t a program that focuses on throwing the football.

Here’s a key throw of his:

Daily completes deep sideline throw for touchdown vs. Delaware State

Obviously, the quarterback’s draft capital will continue to grow.

Now, whether he decides to go straight into service or dabble in the professional level is completely up to the future officer.

Daily has some tall tasks ahead that’ll test his abilities, including Air Force, Navy, Notre Dame, and East Carolina. Daily will likely get to show off his passing chops against Tulsa, as the Golden Hurricanes have the 123rd ranked passing defense (out of 133).

Keep an eye on the Black Knight’s quarterback.