Update 10/1/10: Bryce is now in 7th grade and still tearing up the gridiron. Click here for the latest on Bryce, and to see his new unofficial Gatorade commercial.
With his rare combination of breakaway speed, violent power, and graceful balance, Adrian Peterson has made Vikings #28 jerseys a hot commodity across the country. Still only 24, Peterson should (knock on wood) have at least another 6-7 years of dominance left in him.
By the time Peterson is ready to hang up his cleats for good, another running back from his home state of Texas may be ready to step into his shoes.
Ladies and gentleman, please indulge me as I introduce you to Bryce “The Beast” Garner, Midwest Sports Fans’ #1 ranked 6th grade football player in America.
I just returned home from Bryce’s most recent game, a battle between Bryce’s undefeated Vikings and the Farmers, both teams members of the Lewisville Football Association. It turned out to be quite an exciting way for Garner to celebrate his 13th birthday.
If you were cheering for the Farmers, this game was not pretty. If you were cheering for Bryce Garner and the Vikings, however, it was more of the same sweet music that these kids have been making together all season. And once again, Garner had to do all of his damage in the first half, before the Vikings coaches took mercy on their opponents and stopped giving him the ball.
Because of a mix-up with the location and time of the game, I did not arrive until the 2nd quarter. On the first play I saw, Garner took a pitch around the left end and scampered for a 33-yard touchdown. I saw his mom, who was obviously elated, and she informed me that it was his second touchdown of the game; he had notched a 55-yarder in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession for the Farmers, Garner, who also doubles as a linebacker, recorded a sack and another tackle, helping to force the Farmers to turn the ball back over to the Vikings.
When the Vikings got the ball back, they spread the love a little bit and gave the ball to a few of their others ball-carriers, all of whom are talented and also benefit from Garner’s punishing lead-blocking. They did allow Bryce to cap the drive, and he did just that with a 10-yard TD run.
What happened after that proves just how much Bryce Garner loves having the ball in his hands.
With the first half expiring, the Farmers ran a play towards the sideline that ran the clock to 0:00. Unfortunately, Garner did not hear the whistle (or ignored it) and was flagged for a late hit penalty. Halves cannot end on defensive penalties, so the Farmers were rewarded with one untimed down.
Turns out this was the worst possible thing the refs could have done to “reward” the Farmers.
Rather than simply take a knee, the Farmers decided to throw the ball. When they did, it found its way into the hands of Garner for an interception and he proceeded to burn past everyone en route to a 61-yard TD return in the other direction, his fourth touchdown of the game.
Let me put it into perspective for you: while I was there in the 2nd quarter, Bruce touched the ball four times and three of those touches resulted in scores.
Incredibly, this is not an uncommon ratio for Bryce Garner this season.
Official stats are not kept, but this is how I would conservatively estimate Garner’s stats through five games: 45 carries, 950 yards, 20 TDs, 21.1 yards per carry, 50 tackles, 1 INT, 5 sacks.
And remember, these are conservative estimates.
Do you remember how the aforementioned Adrian Peterson looked against San Diego as a rookie, when he broke the NFL’s single-game rushing record? That’s how Garner looks in every game. And his stats are actually hindered by his dominance, as he rarely gets second half touches, lest his coaches and team be accused of running up the score.
Now, some people will argue that an important factor in Garner’s tremendous play is that he is simply bigger and faster than most of the kids he is playing against. And while there is some truth to that, it would be foolish to dismiss Garner’s success as simply being the product of an early growth spurt.
While Garner is strong, he also has tremendous speed that makes him nearly impossible to stop on toss plays. He also has an uncanny combination of nimble feet and power that make him hard to bring down when he is caught. And then there is his vision, a skill that cannot necessarily be taught but that Garner has in abundance.
Add it all up and mix it together and you have…The Beast.
The evolving legend of Bryce “The Beast” Garner has even attracted the attention of the NFL…yes, the NFL. I actually spoke with an NFL scout who had dropped by out of curiosity to check out Garner. The scout (who wished to remain nameless, for obvious reasons) came away impressed.
“He will need to continue working hard and stay humble as his peers catch up to him in terms of size and athletic talent, but the kid has skills that you can’t teach,” the scout explained. “He always makes the right decision with respect to turning it inside or keeping it outside, and he sees daylight with tremendous clarity and goes for it. He’s a very decisive runner.”
Jennifer Morris, one of the Vikings many loyal fans, often sums up the thoughts of everyone in attendance with her exuberant bellows of “Run boy, run!” And run he does.
Boy does he ever.
Unfortunately for Garner though, his football excellence stops once he is outside the white lines.
Despite excessive and unnecessary amounts of trash talk about his skills at Madden, the young Garner has yet to officially post a victory…against anyone.
Ever.
In fact, as legend has it, Garner once played someone (who will remain nameless…) and lost as the New Orleans Saints while this other person took the hapless Frankfurt Galaxy (a World League Team available on older versions with a roster full of players 50 overall). Yes folks, the same kid who can seemingly turn any play on a football field into a touchdown for his team could not beat the Frankfurt Galaxy in Madden.
Of course, the person who Garner beat has no chance to ever have his own player in Madden. If Garner’s development over the next decade years mirrors what he’s done over the last three years, he could very well be controlling himself on Madden some day.
The key for Garner, as stated by the scout I spoke with, will be staying humble, working hard, and continuing to focus on academics. Luckily, Garner has a loving mom who supports him and is at every game, as well as two older sisters who also are at every game…and who know a thing or two about putting their little brother in his place.
And hey, off the field, even the next Adrian Peterson needs to be put in his place every now and again.
On the football field, however, it is obvious to everyone who watches him what it means for Bryce Garner to but put in “his place”: just toss him the ball and he’ll be in “his place”, the endzone, within a matter of seconds.
Bryce “The Beast” Garner still has a long way to go to follow in the footsteps of his idol Adrian Peterson, but it’s hard to imagine Garner doing any more by the age of 13 than what he has done. There is never a game that goes by without someone mentioning the original Vikings #28 as they watch Purple Jesus’ younger incarnation dominate play after play.
You may say that 6th grade is way too early to be writing about an athlete, especially a football player. I say, watch the kid play and tell me you don’t come away from the experience wanting to tell other people about what you saw. Whether Garner is peaking at a young age or just giving us a glimpse of what the future will look like, his on-field brilliance makes even a 55-0 youth league football game incredibly exciting.
Plus, although I may be biased (disclosure: I am a friend of family’s), I think his success right now is much closer to being just a glimpse of a spectacular future than it is a young kid peaking physically before his peers.
So in six years, once Bryce Garner has navigated his way through middle school and high school, don’t be surprised to hear about a Dallas-area running back that people are comparing to Adrian Peterson signing with Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners (Garner’s current favorite).
And remember that you read about “The Beast” here first.
About Jerod Morris
