BRYANT TURNS IN HEALTHY NUMBERS WITH SOUND LEGS

Dante Bryant is no longer hamstrung by his previously balky hamstring. As a result, he's putting together the kind of season most people thought he was capable of when he came to Southeast Missouri State University last year.

Bryant, a junior wide receiver for the Indians, ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference in receptions with a team-leading 26, good for 347 yards and two touchdowns.

"It feels good to be healthy," said a grinning Bryant.

That is something that could not be said last year. After transferring to Southeast from Division I-A Pittsburgh, Bryant entered the Indians' camp carrying high expectations. But he suffered most of the season with a bad hamstring.

Bryant finally got well toward the end of the 1996 campaign and finished with respectable numbers of 25 receptions for 357 yards and two touchdowns.

"My hamstring pretty much bothered me most of last season," said Bryant. "The last couple of games, it started to feel good. And this year it really hasn't given me any trouble."

A healthy Bryant means he has turned into the Indians' go-to receiver as no other Southeast player has caught more than 10 passes.

"Dante is healthy this year and he's been doing a good job," said Southeast head coach John Mumford. "He's a big, strong receiver with good speed and moves."

A native of Largo, Fla., Bryant said he comes from an athletic family. His older brother Kief, a defensive end, spent the past couple of seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before recently being released after suffering a torn achilles tendon, although he hopes to get back into the NFL next year.

"Everybody in my family was involved with athletics, so I was around it at an early age," he said. "I started playing football when I was seven."

Heavily recruited out of high school, Bryant originally attended Pittsburgh, where he redshirted his first season and saw quite a bit of playing time the next. But he decided to transfer anyway.

"There were just differences between me and the head coach (Johnny Majors)," Bryant said.

So, why choose Southeast?

Explained Bryant: "My wide receiver coach at Pitt played at Eastern Kentucky and knew about the conference. And my high school coach who now lives in St. Louis had seen SEMO play. I'm glad I came here. Things are working out pretty well. I wish we'd win more games, but patience I guess."

That the Indians -- who entered the season with high hopes -- are off to a 2-4 start does not sit well with Bryant.

"We thought we'd be doing a lot better, but everybody is staying positive and we can still have a good season," he said.

Football is not the only sport the extremely athletic Bryant -- a graceful and sturdy 6-foot-1, 190-pounder -- excels in. He was a standout basketball player in high school and also played that sport at Southeast last season once football was over.

"I enjoyed playing basketball. It was draining mentally and physically, but it was fun," he said of last year's experience as a valuable part-time starter and valuable backup guard for the Indians.

And his hoops plans for this year?

"People have asked me," said the personable, articulate Bryant with a laugh. "I try to keep it out of my mind. Once the football season is over, I'll decide what I can do. I talked to coach (Gary) Garner and he seemed very inviting. I'll just have to wait and see."

In the meantime, Bryant will continue to hit the books, catch passes and try to help the Indians finish the season strong. A psychology major who would some day like to have his own practice, Bryant says the Indians can finish strong over the final five games of the season.

"I'm hopeful," he said. "We can easily win these last five games as long as everybody stays focused."