Constant goes extra mile(s) to improve in ’18
Versatile playmaker went to Georgia to work with quarterback Wilson
SMITHFIELD — Bryant redshirt junior Jean Constant earned All-America honors as a kick returner after scoring a pair of kickoff return touchdowns during the Bulldogs’ four-game Northeast Conference winning streak to end last season.
But Constant doesn’t want to be known as a kick returner who also happens to play offense; he wants the position before his name in the media guide to be wide receiver.
So, instead of waiting for the start of training camp on Aug. 6 to begin working with record-breaking quarterback Price Wilson, the Delray Beach, Fla. native went the extra mile – well, the extra 585 miles, the distance between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International.
“Our relationship took a big jump when I took the flight up to Georgia during the summer and we spent four days together,” Constant said prior to Wednesday night’s final practice of training camp under the new Beirne Stadium lights. “We were working on routes. I went up there on July 20th and it was just me and him and his family. They’re great people and I had a wonderful time. We worked out four or five times a day.
“It was all about building that chemistry and connection. A big part of the game, especially with the starting quarterback, if you can get out there and run that extra route, he can know what you’re doing and where you like the ball.”
The time Constant and Wilson spent together at Wilson’s Marietta, Ga. home and during training camp is a massive departure from last summer when they two didn’t learn each other’s names until the start of training camp. Wilson transferred from Louisiana Tech in time for the start of training camp and won the starting job just two weeks before the season opener.
Despite the lack of cohesion with his starting quarterback, Constant took a big leap from his freshman campaign. After producing just 16 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown working with Dalton Easton as a freshman, Constant was Mr. Consistent last season. He recorded between four and six receptions in 10 of 11 games as a sophomore and he caught seven touchdown passes. He caught a pair of touchdowns in backto-back wins over NEC foes Wagner and Sacred Heart late in the season.
Constant, who said Wilson’s mom, Steph, made “a mean vegetarian lasagna,” said his success at the end of the season should carry over in 2018 because his understanding with Wilson has improved.
“We’ve built a connection,” Constant said. “He knows what I’m thinking and I know what he’s thinking. That’s the biggest part. I’m going to need to make another jump in order for us to win. Each year, it’s about getting better and helping this team in any way I can. The biggest things [offensive coordinator] Coach [Vinny] Marino wants to see is reading coverages and improvements in my routes.
“He told me and encouraged me to work on my routes this summer and get better at reading coverages. All of that will help you improve.”
Bryant second-year coach James Perry, who inherited Constant from the previous administration, believes a big reason for Constant’s jump to second-team all-NEC as a receiver last season was his practice habits.
“His fitness level tells you all you need to know about him. Nobody practices better than him,” Perry said. “You won’t get a kid who runs better because he can run all day. The level of fitness we required when we got here was a big change for all of these guys, so Jean is kind of the benchmark for all of these guys. He basically has zero percent body fat.”
In Perry’s first game in charge, it became clear Constant was going to be an all-purpose monster. Albeit against a Division II opponent, Constant produced 200 yards of total offense in a shootout win over Merrmiack. Constant produced at least 111 all-purpose yards in the first 10 games and finished the campaign with 2,010 total yards after racking up a school-record 989 kickoff return yards on 36 attempts.
His career kickoff return for a touchdown was a school-record-tying 100-yard return in a 31-16 win over Wagner. Two weeks later, he returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
“It was all about getting the opportunity with [special teams coach Darryl Jackson] trusting me and giving me the opportunity even though we have a lot of great returners,” Constant said. “I got a few returns popping. I expect teams to do different things after the year that I had.”
Constant, along with senior linebacker Tom Costigan, was selected as a preseason STATS second-team All-American. Constant only returned eight kickoffs in the final four weeks after handling at least three in each of the first seven games. Perry said he doesn’t expect coaches to kick away from Constant because the penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds is far too punitive.
“In the end, you can’t kick away from people at this level because you don’t know where the kid is going to put it,” Perry said. “Sometimes you make it worse by kicking it out of bounds. We’ll block for him; he certainly knows how to run when he gets it. Special teams is just another opportunity to score, and we preach that all the time.”
Constant isn’t fazed by the accolades he accrued last season or the preseason publicity he’s received headed into the start of the season, he only cares about achieving his goals. And his only goal is delivering Bryant its first NEC title and its first trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
“You can only live up to your expectations and I set my expectations pretty high and I review them every day,” Constant said. “My goal is to help this team win an NEC championship.”