March 17, 2008

Towson, MD (UWIRE) -- Towson linebacker Brian Bradford has had trouble falling asleep recently. Sometimes lying awake until the wee hours of the morning, he has thought about what he could do to run a simple stretch of 40 yards as quickly as possible. Instead of counting sheep or drinking a glass of warm milk, he has climbed out of his toasty bed, thrown on some sweats and headed out into the night to do something about it.

Doing suicide wind sprints on a dark basketball court in the frigid February air may seem crazy to some, but not when you are trying to do whatever it takes to get drafted into the National Football League.

All that hard work under the light of the moon was put to the test yesterday morning at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Bradford was one of several Towson football players poked and prodded by NFL scouts from Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore at Towson's Pro Day. With the wind in his face and all eyes on him, Bradford ran the 40-yard dash in a disappointing 4.74 seconds.

"That's not where I wanted to be," Bradford said. "I wanted at least a 4.6. Hopefully they take the conditions into consideration... I'm not as satisfied with how I did out there, but I think overall things went well."

The difference between running the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds and 4.75 seconds - two-tenths of a second - has the potential to make or break Bradford's chances of getting to the NFL. A faster time might have made him a late-round pick in the draft. A slower time could have made him an afterthought.

"The [40-yard dash] is everything to everybody," Bradford said in the days leading up to Wednesday's workout. "If you can do it and all your training pays off, it has so much pull, because everyone wants to see if you are fast enough to hang in the NFL."

In addition to the 40-yard dash, Bradford was put through a battery of physical tests that included bench-pressing 225 pounds until his arms could no longer push (he did 22 reps) and jumping as high as possible from a standstill (he recorded a 33-inch vertical leap). He also took an IQ test.

Speed, size - listed at 6-feet-2-inches and 230 pounds- and a small-school status are the knocks on Bradford, even though he ranked second in all of Division I FCS last season with 13.6 tackles per game.

When asked to highlight some of his strengths earlier in the week, the modest linebacker tilted his bright blue eyes toward the ground and scratched his shaved head before reluctantly responding.

"It's hard for me to talk about myself, but my biggest is strength is probably my instincts," Bradford said. "There are sometimes plays that you make that you can't explain. They're not miracle plays or anything, but you somehow find your way creeping through a line when people are looking at you, yet they don't touch you."

Bradford's instincts were on display against Richmond in October when he leaped over the defensive line to stuff the Spiders' stud tailback, Tim Hightower, at the goal line. He forced a fumble on the play for good measure, too.

"He proved that he can do a lot of things as a middle linebacker," Towson head coach Gordy Combs said. "He can tackle guys, rush the passer, cover in man, cover in zone. He's very versatile."

Bradford prepared for yesterday's audition by working out seven days a week for the past two and a half months. He took some time after his senior season to rest his aching body and enjoy the holidays before tackling the challenge of getting in shape for the Pro Day.

"You're in-season shape is completely different from where you've got to be to test out because your body is worn out, tired... your strength's not completely there," Bradford said. "It's almost like starting all over again."

Bradford trained twice a day, working to improve his quickness in the mornings with speed and agility trainer Kirk Morris and build strength in the afternoons with Aaron Carter, his linebackers coach at Gaithersburg High School.

He maintained a close relationship with Carter after high school, and two years ago, Bradford scheduled an appointment for Winter 2008 with his former coach to help him prepare for NFL tryouts. Carter kept his schedule open.

"I told him I'd always be there for him," Carter said. "Brian was the best middle linebacker I ever coached, not just because of his talent, but because of his will, his drive. He has the desire to break through any wall you put in front of him."

Running countless sprints and lifting weights every day may have been grueling, but Bradford said he wanted to leave little room for regret.

"I just want to make it," Bradford said. "I just want to put everything I have into it so that I don't end up saying to myself, 'I could have done this' or 'I could have done that.' If it doesn't work out, I can say that I did my best and there was nothing else that I really could have done."

To avoid distractions like "crazy roommates coming in trying to get him to go out," Bradford moved back into the house of his parents, who were in attendance yesterday.

"It's great having him around, even though he's put a pretty big dent in our food budget," Kevin Bradford, Brian's father, said. "Once he asked me to come up for this, I knew there was no way that I was going to miss it."

Bradford is also interning at Philben's Family Fitness & Athletic Training Center in Gaithersburg this semester. Current and former members of the Washington Redskins, boxer Fernando Vargas, and the national bobsledding team train at Philben's and often provide Bradford with advice, motivation and support.

Former Towson offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod, who was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of last year's draft, also mentors Bradford.

"I'm glad [Bushrod] got to go through this before me, because if I ever have a question, I can call him, and he always picks up," Bradford said. "I've been blessed with people who want to see me succeed and have my back. I'm so thankful to have so many people take me under their wing."

More importantly, though, the fact that his former teammate made it to the next level showed Bradford that he could make it there, too.

Even though he struggled at times on the slick turf yesterday, Bradford still has an opportunity to impress NFL personnel at individual workouts and meetings before the April 26-27 draft. And if he isn't drafted, there is a possibility that a team will invite him to participate in its training camp this summer.

"He's been working very hard over the past couple of months to get in a position to do well for the pro guys," Combs said. "He has a great passion for the game. I've been told by some teams that he'll be able to make it to a training camp this summer, so we'll see if that happens."

Bradford insisted that it's not a big deal if he isn't selected in the draft; he just hopes to catch on with an NFL team any way possible.

"In my whole career, nothing's been handed to me," Bradford said. "I had to go out and get it. This is no different. I've got to go get it and take it from people."

(C) 2008 The Towerlight via UWIRE