Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU safety Darrell Bryant, Jr. poses with his Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Merit Award is presented annually to honor an individual or a group with a military background that has an impact within the world of college football.
Photo by: Harrison LaLone
11/11/2026 11:22:00 AM | Football
Armed Forced Merit AwardDarrell Bryant Jr. bioCM Life Story on Darrell Bryant Jr.U.S. Armed Forces Merit Award Announcement/Release
Drinkall: Prestigious award 'incredible validation' for CMU football player
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Most valuable player.
It's an honor that generally goes to a quarterback, a running back, or a wide receiver -- high-profile, highlight-producing player who makes headlines.
By that standard, Darrell Bryant Jr. may not be Central Michigan Football's MVP.
But the 5th-year safety may lead all of college football in inspiration.
An army veteran, Bryant has been named the 2026 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Military Award winner. The prestigious award goes to an individual or group with a military background who has made the biggest impact in college football. He is the first Chippewa to win the award.
"There are days," CMU coach Matt Drinkall said, "where I'm angry or frustrated, and I will look over at Darrell and he is handling his business like a machine, like a soldier.
"And I'm just like, man, how lucky are we to have this guy and be around this guy?"
Bryant has started all nine of CMU's games and is fourth on the team in tackles and has one interception, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble to his credit.
His impact goes far beyond the stat sheet.
"His mental toughness, his competitiveness, his maturity, his leadership," Drinkall said. "He has been so valuable for us and such an incredible representative for Central Michigan University. I can't even explain it. I mean, he's like having an additional staff member in the program, like an undercover boss. When things get really hard on us here and things go bad, he is a leader and a difference maker."
Bryant, a native of Hampton, Va., came to CMU for his final year of college football after two seasons at Northern Colorado, one at Western Colorado, and one at James Madison.
He walked on at James Madison in 2019 after graduating from Phoebus High School. He never saw the field at James Madison and, after that season, did some soul searching.
"I don't think I was ready for being on my own and being a student-athlete at the time," said Bryant who had gotten a taste of military life while participating in ROTC in high school. "So just after that year (at James Madison), I was like, well I need more discipline; I need to, you know, just become better. Football wasn't looking right (for me) at the time. So I was like, well, I can go in the military, start my career; let's just see what I can do. If I want to play football after, maybe that opportunity will come back."
He enlisted in December, 2019, and received his honorable discharge in June, 2023. He served as a boots-on-the-ground infantryman and kept his hand in the game by playing on-base football.
He emerged from the military "like a whole new man," he said. "It just gave me a different perspective on life, and I think I needed that. You know, life can change so fast, and it showed me that if I can do this, I can do anything. If I can put football to the side and refocus and dedicate my mind to being in the military, I can do anything."
The parallels between the military and football are many.
"Just like in the military, everything is team oriented (in football)," Bryant said. "It's like, not just one person can get a job done, and in the military, you protect and take care of all the guys that you're around; you take care of all the guys on the field and off the field. It's the team, and that camaraderie you get being around all the guys, you just build that brotherhood.
"There are times when everything sucks, when adversity hits us. Or like, during the winter months, summer months, when we're training out here (in football), you build that togetherness with everybody doing it together, and that's the same for the military.
"You've got to do your job. It's the same for the military. You don't do your job there, something bad happens. You don't do your job on the football field, something bad happens."
Bryant brought to CMU his military discipline, toughness, maturity, and leadership. His experience is invaluable and, at 26 years old, is significantly older than his teammates.
"They call me unc all the time, or grandpa," Bryant said, laughing. "They'll be like, 'Oh, you got an old perspective, old-man perspective,' stuff like that.
"I embrace it. I feel like you always need somebody like that around. The guys, they'll ask me anything; they're always able to come to me about anything, and I'm just always there for them. Even when they call me old or uncle or grandpa, I don't look at it (negatively). I just kind of embrace that role."
Prior to taking over the CMU program in 2025, Drinkall was an assistant at Army West Point for six years, and that experience feeds his deep understanding – and abiding respect – for Bryant and what he has lived.
"One of the biggest reasons that I came here was because coach Drinkall and some of the coaches on the staff knew a little bit about it, and we talked about it (during recruiting)," Bryant said.
Bryant, a community development major, is on track to graduate in December and he is eyeing a coaching career.
Wherever he goes, Bryant has clearly left a legacy with CMU Football.
"He took a leap of faith on us and Central," Drinkall said. "For him to come here and make an impact and to be recognized as the most impactful military service member in all of college football, that is incredible validation.
"His service matters, it makes a difference, and it means something. It means something to Americans and people appreciate it. That he's served his country and served other people, and then to come out of that and come here and take a flier on himself and Central Michigan, and then be rewarded for it, the whole thing has been an incredibly great experience, and I can't thank Darrell enough for everything he's done.
"We all love him, we respect him, we appreciate him."
It's an honor that generally goes to a quarterback, a running back, or a wide receiver -- high-profile, highlight-producing player who makes headlines.
By that standard, Darrell Bryant Jr. may not be Central Michigan Football's MVP.
But the 5th-year safety may lead all of college football in inspiration.
An army veteran, Bryant has been named the 2026 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Military Award winner. The prestigious award goes to an individual or group with a military background who has made the biggest impact in college football. He is the first Chippewa to win the award.
"There are days," CMU coach Matt Drinkall said, "where I'm angry or frustrated, and I will look over at Darrell and he is handling his business like a machine, like a soldier.
"And I'm just like, man, how lucky are we to have this guy and be around this guy?"
Bryant has started all nine of CMU's games and is fourth on the team in tackles and has one interception, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble to his credit.
His impact goes far beyond the stat sheet.
"His mental toughness, his competitiveness, his maturity, his leadership," Drinkall said. "He has been so valuable for us and such an incredible representative for Central Michigan University. I can't even explain it. I mean, he's like having an additional staff member in the program, like an undercover boss. When things get really hard on us here and things go bad, he is a leader and a difference maker."
Bryant, a native of Hampton, Va., came to CMU for his final year of college football after two seasons at Northern Colorado, one at Western Colorado, and one at James Madison.
He walked on at James Madison in 2019 after graduating from Phoebus High School. He never saw the field at James Madison and, after that season, did some soul searching.
"I don't think I was ready for being on my own and being a student-athlete at the time," said Bryant who had gotten a taste of military life while participating in ROTC in high school. "So just after that year (at James Madison), I was like, well I need more discipline; I need to, you know, just become better. Football wasn't looking right (for me) at the time. So I was like, well, I can go in the military, start my career; let's just see what I can do. If I want to play football after, maybe that opportunity will come back."
He enlisted in December, 2019, and received his honorable discharge in June, 2023. He served as a boots-on-the-ground infantryman and kept his hand in the game by playing on-base football.
He emerged from the military "like a whole new man," he said. "It just gave me a different perspective on life, and I think I needed that. You know, life can change so fast, and it showed me that if I can do this, I can do anything. If I can put football to the side and refocus and dedicate my mind to being in the military, I can do anything."
The parallels between the military and football are many.
"Just like in the military, everything is team oriented (in football)," Bryant said. "It's like, not just one person can get a job done, and in the military, you protect and take care of all the guys that you're around; you take care of all the guys on the field and off the field. It's the team, and that camaraderie you get being around all the guys, you just build that brotherhood.
"There are times when everything sucks, when adversity hits us. Or like, during the winter months, summer months, when we're training out here (in football), you build that togetherness with everybody doing it together, and that's the same for the military.
"You've got to do your job. It's the same for the military. You don't do your job there, something bad happens. You don't do your job on the football field, something bad happens."
Bryant brought to CMU his military discipline, toughness, maturity, and leadership. His experience is invaluable and, at 26 years old, is significantly older than his teammates.
"They call me unc all the time, or grandpa," Bryant said, laughing. "They'll be like, 'Oh, you got an old perspective, old-man perspective,' stuff like that.
"I embrace it. I feel like you always need somebody like that around. The guys, they'll ask me anything; they're always able to come to me about anything, and I'm just always there for them. Even when they call me old or uncle or grandpa, I don't look at it (negatively). I just kind of embrace that role."
Prior to taking over the CMU program in 2025, Drinkall was an assistant at Army West Point for six years, and that experience feeds his deep understanding – and abiding respect – for Bryant and what he has lived.
"One of the biggest reasons that I came here was because coach Drinkall and some of the coaches on the staff knew a little bit about it, and we talked about it (during recruiting)," Bryant said.
Bryant, a community development major, is on track to graduate in December and he is eyeing a coaching career.
Wherever he goes, Bryant has clearly left a legacy with CMU Football.
"He took a leap of faith on us and Central," Drinkall said. "For him to come here and make an impact and to be recognized as the most impactful military service member in all of college football, that is incredible validation.
"His service matters, it makes a difference, and it means something. It means something to Americans and people appreciate it. That he's served his country and served other people, and then to come out of that and come here and take a flier on himself and Central Michigan, and then be rewarded for it, the whole thing has been an incredibly great experience, and I can't thank Darrell enough for everything he's done.
"We all love him, we respect him, we appreciate him."
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