West Virginia pass rusher Bradley adjusts, ready to showcase growth
Last year was a wake-up call of sorts for pass rusher Tyrin Bradley.
Coming off a productive season at Abilene Christian where he earned all-WAC honors with 49 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, the Texas native elected to transfer to West Virginia to try his hand at the highest level of college football. But he quickly discovered it was a different type of game.
“It was night and day for me honestly. Being able to run around guys at the FCS level and getting here and guys are just a lot better,” he said. “Coming from being one of the best athletes it was different. I had to come here and learn new techniques and rely on my techniques.”
That’s where going against players like Wyatt Milum and Doug Nester in practice helped as they showcased the ability to get in their sets quickly and forced him to do more than just rely on his athleticism. It was a different level of football, and it required him to add to his toolbox.
But even that was an adjustment in itself as Bradley was still getting used to playing on defense.
That’s because the pass-rushing linebacker that was now charged with getting after the quarterback spent the majority of his career as a signal caller at the high school level. The 6-foot-3, 255-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.
It’s helped him in some areas such as to look for signs from the quarterback pre-snap, but he’s still learning.
Bradley was productive in his first season in Morgantown playing 327 snaps and turning that into 22 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a highlight reel interception in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It was a play that he had made in practice plenty of times, but to do it in a game was a sign of the talent he possesses.
“Going against guys and competing against guys that have been doing this since they started playing football it gives me a sense of how good I could be so that’s my mindset,” he said.
In fact, all-around Bradley believes that he saved the best for last with his performance in the win over North Carolina and that’s when things started to really come together for him. There were flashes at times throughout the season, but it was the UCF game where he started to settle into his role and since that point has carried momentum into the off-season heading into his final year of college football.
“I feel like I’m a dominant player and I play football at a really high level, and I know what it feels like,” he said. “After having last year, I know what to do now, know what to expect. I know how to prepare myself and just overall being consistent coming in with the same approach every day to get better.”
And his experience has helped him to relate to another pass rusher making the jump from the FCS level in Ty French. A highly productive player at the FCS level, French appeared in 41 games during his time at Gardner Webb and recorded 239 tackles, 61 tackles for loss, 34.5 sacks and an interception. He recorded a total of at least 8.5 sacks in three of the four seasons he was on the field.
But like Bradley, there is an adjustment to going against higher-level opposition.
“His production at that level it speaks for itself. But just me being there to let him know I’ve gone through the same thing you’re going through, and this is what we’ve got to do,” Bradley said.
And the Texas native is excited to make the most of his final season with an expanded skill set.
“Disguise my position a lot and what I’m doing whether I’m dropping or rushing and finding ways to affect the game whether that’s being in windows, sacking the quarterback, stopping the run or even getting interceptions,” Bradley said.
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