Ty French had a productive career during his time at Gardner-Webb.
Over his 41 games on the field, the pass-rushing linebacker set school records for both sacks with 34.5 and tackles for loss with 61 but he felt the desire to challenge himself.
“I talked to my coaches and basically had a staff meeting and was telling them I want to better myself whether I get exposed or not,” French said. “So that’s what made me transfer.”
There was also some extra incentive for French in the fact that he has a young daughter and wants to be able to provide for her. Being a parent has required French to learn how to balance things more between his requirements on the field and at home.
So, when he spoke with his coaches at Gardner-Webb he received their blessing.
“They were being honest with me and said I agree and with me having a kid they were like ‘you need to go get paid to help your family out’,” he said.
West Virginia became the pick for French after a visit to campus where he was able to get a look at the facilities as well as get to know the coaches on top of the support that the program had. It also didn’t hurt matters that defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley had a connection with his former coach.
But upon arriving in time for spring practice, French quickly realized that there is a noticeable difference between being a dominant player at the FCS level and at Power Five.
“Coming here it was different going against the offensive line that we’ve got. It's not easy. At the FCS level I was running around the tackles and at this level you have to work moves you can’t just run around the tackles here,” he said.
That’s especially true when it comes to going against the tackles that French sees in practice or in games across the Big 12 Conference.
“They’re bigger and better and they know just about everything. At the FCS level they didn’t pay attention to the little things but here if you tilt they know you’re going inside or what move you’ll use,” French said.
That has required him to work on his pass-rushing moves and some other things that weren’t as essential when he was at the lower level. While he was asked to drop into pass coverage some there, it’s a requirement at West Virginia and he’s had to learn how to get his hands on wide receivers among many other aspects that come with playing that hybrid pass-rushing linebacker role.
On the plus side, he’s been able to rely on another FCS transfer in his room in Tyrin Bradley who made the move the year prior and has been somebody that he has constantly leaned on for advice.
Now, six games into his final season French believes that he has started to find his groove and is excited to see where that takes him not only this year but moving forward.
“I just play football and have fun. I don’t let that outside stuff get to me,” he said.
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