Junction Boys

The ordeal became the subject of a 2001 book by Jim Dent, The Junction Boys,[1] and a television movie with the same title produced by ESPN, starring Tom Berenger as Bryant.

He felt that many of the players on the team were weak and not properly trained or coached, and needed a camp away from the distractions on campus.

This practice, now widely recognized as dangerous, was at the time commonly employed by coaches at all levels in an attempt to "toughen up" their players.

One of the Junction Boys, future NFL coach Jack Pardee, later said in an interview that some players sweated away 10% of their body weight.

Although Bryant started out with over 100 players on the roster, many had already quit or been cut by the time of the Junction camp.

[9] Two of the Junction Boys, Jack Pardee and Gene Stallings, went on to become head coaches in the National Football League (NFL).