Coffman star Bryon Threats hopes to contribute early at Cincinnati
DUBLIN, Ohio (BVM) — A long journey filled with hard work and perseverance has led Dublin Coffman star Bryon Threats to the University of Cincinnati for his next chapter.
As a 4-year-old, Threats saw a football practice in the park, and his love for the sport began.
“I asked my mom, ‘can I go play with them?’” Threats said. “It was a football practice, that’s when I fell in love with it and told my mom, ‘yeah, I want to play some ball.’”
Threats’ football career started by playing little league for the Capital City Buckeyes. In his freshman year of high school, he played varsity and showed a lot of promise for the Mifflin Punchers in North Columbus, Ohio, where he grew up.
After his freshman year, Threats transferred to Dublin Coffman High School where he would join one of the better football programs in Central Ohio. Coffman would lose just six games in his three seasons. Threats credits that to a mixture of very good coaching, as well as the trust the team had in each other.
The football standout is ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 483 player nationally in the Class of 2021. He is also ranked as the No. 35 athlete and No. 18 player in the state of Ohio according to the 247Sports’ composite rankings. He was originally committed to Purdue University, but decided to re-open his recruitment before his senior season.
Threats had a very impressive list of offers including Boston College, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, West Virginia and Michigan State. But Cincinnati stood out for many reasons, including his relationship with head coach Luke Fickell.
“Coach Fickell had a big impact actually,” Threats said. “Me and coach Fickell grew a bond, he started texting me asking about my girlfriend and stuff. The relationship just grew and I fell in love there.”
Fickell also has a relationship with the head coach of Dublin Coffman, Mark Crabtree.
“Every game day Fickell and coach Crabtree would talk in the morning, he used to tell me they’d talk a lot and how coach Fickell is a great coach,” Threats said. “There’s a lot of stuff that went on, to why I chose Cincinnati.”
He felt that he was a priority for the coaching staff and was impressed with how they went about recruiting him.
“When I decommitted, Cincinnati was one of the schools that pursued me like crazy,” Threats said. “That’s when I knew Cincinnati was the right spot, and it’s just the love. I’ve seen a lot of love I feel like with the team.”
One of the big focuses for coach Fickell and the Cincinnati program has been recruiting the state of Ohio. In the current class, nine of the 22 commits are from Ohio, with seven and 12 Ohio commits in the 2019 and 2020 classes respectively. This approach has impressed Threats.
“I like that, I like how they recruit out of Ohio a lot,” Threats said. “It’s a lot of kids that go there now that I knew and grew up with.”
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Cincinnati was the amount of love and the culture around the program.
“I felt like it was just the love, it was genuine and you can’t beat that for real, going somewhere that everyone loves you,” Threats said. “My cousin goes there too, Darrick Forrest (senior safety). So I chopped it up with him a lot, asked him how it is down there and he loved it.”
Cincinnati has become one of the best Group of Five football programs in the country with Fickell at the helm. Fickell has gone 32-13 so far in his time with the Bearcats, including an impressive start to this season at 6-0, and being ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25.
“I’m very impressed, it was low-key a shock. They’re really top 10,” Threats said with a laugh. “It’s just like you can’t do anything but go up from here.”
This has impressed many people around the country, including recruits, as the Bearcats got three four-star recruits in 2020 and finished No. 41 in the country in the recruiting ranks according to 247Sports. The Bearcats are currently No. 44 in the nation in recruiting rankings, with Threats being one of the crown jewels of the class and the second highest-ranked recruit.
The AAC has become one of the best Group of Five conferences with teams such as UCF, SMU, Memphis, Navy, Tulsa and Houston along with Cincinnati all having success in recent years. Threats is excited to play in the conference.
“The more I watch Cincinnati, I see the tough competition that we play,” Threats said.
Threats has major goals for his time in Cincinnati and he will enroll early to try and make an immediate impact.
“I want to contribute early, I’m actually going to enroll early so just contributing early is my goal,” Threats said. “I feel like we’re about to be great, and we can’t go anywhere but up.”
He believes his ability to play special teams could help him see the field early at Cincinnati, including his ability in the return game. He starred in all three phases of the game in high school for the Shamrocks, and he believes playing in all phases is a big advantage for him moving forward.
“It gives me a different perspective on each side of the ball,” Threats said. “Playing on offense, I can see the alignment and know what type of coverage they are playing. It works the same way on defense, I can get info on routes and what the offense is trying to do.”
Threats has a very physical style on both sides of the ball, and he enjoys playing defense more than offense. One of the biggest influences on the way he plays is Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, because he likes to play a similar way.
“I like playing defense more than offense, because I like to hit people,” Threats said. “That’s my mindset on offense too.”
The Dublin Coffman senior has the versatility to play safety or corner at the next level. One position Threats would be interested in is slot corner. He has the quickness to stay with receivers and the attitude and ability to play the run as well.
Cincinnati offered Threats during his junior year. Recruiting him to play defense was another advantage for the Bearcats in his recruitment.
“Cincinnati was one of the teams that stayed with me on the defensive side of the ball,” Threats said.
As a sophomore, Threats only played on special teams and defense. As a junior, he played on both sides and helped lead the Shamrocks to the regional finals for the second straight season before losing to Springfield, 7-3. In three playoff games as a junior, Threats rushed for 415 yards and three touchdowns to go with 157 yards and a touchdown receiving.
During an impressive senior year, Threats was named first-team all district and helped lead Coffman to a 6-0 regular season, and the No. 1 seed in the Division I Region 2 playoffs. In the first round against Beavercreek, Threats ran for 225 yards and five touchdowns, also catching a pass for 50 yards and another touchdown in the 56-7 victory.
In the second round, the Shamrocks defeated Springboro, 45-35. Threats rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown, while also catching three passes for 47 yards. But Coffman would lose to rival Olentangy Liberty, 18-15, a week later in the regional semifinals. Threats had an interception as well as 68 rushing yards and three catches for 44 yards.
After a standout career at Dublin Coffman, Threats will look to make his mark for an ascending Cincinnati football program. If Threats’ high school resume is any indication, he has the ability to be a significant contributor for the Bearcats moving forward.
