Pass rusher Bradley brings unique perspective to West Virginia LB room
Tyrin Bradley has a unique perspective on the football field.
That’s because the pass rushing linebacker that now is charged with getting after the quarterback spent the majority of his career as a signal caller.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder, played under center at Monterey High School up until his junior season when the coaching staff made the choice to get his athletic ability on the field as he was stuck as the backup at quarterback.
“Up until the point I switched to defense I thought I was going to be a college quarterback,” he said.
That move led to Bradley being slotted as a defensive end and he made his impact on defense with 50 tackles, 6 sacks and 10 tackles for loss while earning all-district first team honors in the process.
Bradley would leave behind throwing the football for senior season but an injury and then the COVID-19 pandemic would cut his year to just eight games where he recorded 30 tackles, 8 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. That stunted his overall recruitment and he would end up at Abilene Christian.
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Born and bred in the state of Texas, the decision to attend the relatively local FCS program was one made out of comfort as the Wildcats had been consistent with him throughout his recruitment.
Bradley would see action on just 93 plays as a freshman but saw his snaps increase significantly after a coaching change in his sophomore campaign as he would pile up 49 tackles and lead the team in sacks (4), tackles for loss (10.5) and quarterback hurries (14).
But Bradley always felt he had the ability to play at the next level so he made the difficult decision to leave behind his Texas roots and enter his name into the transfer portal.
“I always knew I was a big time football player and wanted to play big time ball,” he said.
West Virginia got involved early in the process and were transparent with him on every part of how they saw him fitting in as an outside linebacker in the scheme. Coordinator Jordan Lesley handled the bulk of his recruitment and gave him a great understanding of the defense and how he could fit into it.
The Mountaineers were going to ask Bradley to be a more complete option at the position instead of just rushing the passer so he would need to understand coverage and route combinations. It was a challenge that he felt he could take head on and packed his bags to head to Morgantown.
That 26-hour drive that Bradley made solo to Morgantown was something that was a turning point for him in many ways. While he had previously only been two-hours away, this was a chance to grow and chase his dream far away from his Lone Star roots.
Through nine games Bradley has made his impact felt with 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks with one of those coming to close the door on Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl. And while the junior is still getting his feet wet, Bradley believes that his experience under center has helped him in his new role.
“I understand what’s going on before it happens as far as reads and drop backs and when the ball is being snapped. I like to look at when I’m rushing off the edge when a quarterback is comfortable and sees what he wants. That's when he’s getting ready to snap the ball,” he said.
That has helped Bradley get off the edge in situations and there have even been times where he has played on the field with both Jared Bartlett at the same time with dual bandits. He often reads keys such as the quarterback’s eyes and when he relaxes with his shoulders and hands before the snap.
“We’re two of the best pass rushers on the team so maybe we can get a stop or help force a bad throw in those key passing situations,” he said.
Bradley has a different skill set given his size and ability to to both drop in coverage as well as create pressure off the edge. He also is a smart player and plays hard at all times which means the ceiling is high.
"He gives us a little different body type and skill set then we’ve had there," Lesley said.
Bradley always thought he’d be scoring touchdowns in college instead of trying to sack those on the opposite team. But here we are and Bradley is excited for the future.
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