Liberty's Lewellyn brothers earn playing time through hard work

When Liberty safety Brent Vinson describes Flames defensive captain Bryant Lewellyn, he does so in simple terms.

Hes just a country boy, Vinson said. Choppin wood.

Choppin wood is hard work, an endeavor that comes with sore muscles and the occasional nasty blister. Hard work has been a staple in the life of Bryant and Dylan Lewellyn since they were small children, baling hay and tending to cattle on the family farm in Danbury, N.C., a blip on the map 20 miles northeast of Winston-Salem that as of the 2010 census had a population of 189.

When you ask how the heck the Lewellyn brothers went from walk-on afterthoughts to potential major contributors for Libertys defense, you have to start with that farm.

That was the motto, said Bryant, a senior defensive tackle. We were going to go outside and we were going to work and work and work. That taught me something. I remember baling a 1,000 bales of hay all day, going to football practice and coming back to work at the barn at night. Its just something we did.

Dylan, a sophomore linebacker, said not only did he and his brother learn to work, they learned to work the right way.

I became a perfectionist, thats what it was, Dylan said. My stepfather, he really instilled in me to do the job right the first time. Most of the times I would go in there, I would do it just to get it over with. Hed make me go back and do it again. Pretty soon, I would learn just to do it right the first time.

Bryant has played in eight games during his three years at Liberty, mostly in mop-up time. Dylan spent his redshirt freshman season toiling on the scout team. But if you ask any member of the defensive coaching staff to talk about the Lewellyn brothers, their eyes light up.

Hes the guy that comes to work every day with his hard hat and his lunch bucket and a sledgehammer, defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said of Bryant. Linebackers coach Carl Torbush praised Dylan as an intelligent player capable of playing all three positions. Hell open the season at No. 2 on the depth chart at weak side linebacker behind Scott Hyland.

Bryant had a few offers from Division II schools coming out of North Stokes High School, but he chose to walk on at Liberty on the urging of his mother. Both brothers said they had never even heard of LU before visiting campus. Bryant was cut after his first tryout the fall of his freshman year but came back in the spring for another go-around, unfazed.

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Liberty's Lewellyn brothers earn playing time through hard work