A source (finally) confirmed with me that West Virginia associate head coach and former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley "is just a few steps away" from being UCLA's new defensive coordinator.
Instead of just rewriting his Wikipedia page, I went out and talked with three guys in the Rivals.com network who have covered Bradley over the years to see what the Bruins are potentially getting in Bradley.
I use an iPhone app to record phone conversations, and the audio files still haven't come through yet. Fingers crossed that they come through eventually so I can get the exact quotes, but if they don't, here were the CliffsNotes of my conversations:
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Publisher Phil Grosz
-Grosz has been covering Penn State for over 35 years. He's known Bradley forever, and actually said he was in contact with him at least "four times a week" when the whole Jerry Sandusky scandal broke out. He said while Joe Paterno didn't let his assistants talk with media until very late in his tenure, once Bradley was allowed to talk, he quickly became a bit of a media darling. He said fans and media still to this day love him. In fact, there was an article on Bruins Nation that blasted Bradley for being associated with the Sandusky ordeal, and Grosz said when that story got posted on BlueWhiteIllustrated's message board last night, fans still showed up in droves to back Bradley.
-As for his X's and O's at Penn State, the Nittany Lions ran variations of the 4-3 and the 4-4 for just about the entire time Paterno / Bradley were there. However, Grosz told me that actually wasn't Bradley's choice. Grosz said Bradley spent tons of time around the Pittsburgh Steelers and was actually good friends with Dick LeBeau. Grosz said Bradley actually prefers the 3-4, and prefers to run it in the same style as LeBeau, who's one of the guys who made that attacking defense famous in the NFL. Grosz said the only reason Bradley ran the 4-3 at Penn State was because that's what Paterno wanted.
-On the recruiting front, Grosz said Bradley "owned" West Pennsylvania. He said Bradley essentially got whomever he wanted there.
WVSports.com senior writer Keenan Cummings
-Cummings covered Bradley for the one year he was at West Virginia. He, too, said Bradley was very-well liked by both the media and its fans.
-Bradley had the associate head coach title at WVU, but Cummings said he was really just the D-line coach. And in fact, Cummings said he split those D-line duties with another coach, so Bradley really only handled the interior D-linemen this past year at West Virginia. Regardless, Cummings said there was marked improvement not just on the D-line, but among the entire West Virginia defense as a whole during Bradley's one year there.
-Cummings said West Virginia ran a 3-3-5 this past season, and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson called the plays. But Cummings said he'd be shocked if Bradley didn't have plenty of input there this past year.
-On the recruiting front, Cummings said Bradley wasn't very involved in the 2015 class, but said he was heavily in the mix for 2016 and 2017 recruits. Cummings said two of West Virginia's early 2016 commits, in fact, were there because of Bradley. Cummings said other '16 recruits had mentioned Bradley a lot in interviews, and it looked like he'd be a key cog in this upcoming recruiting cycle for West Virginia, particularly in the state of Pennsylvania.
Rivals.com West Analyst Adam Gorney
-Gorney covered Penn State from 2001-2003, the early years of Bradley's defensive coordinator duties at Penn State. Gorney said Bradley was a very likeable guy and said he'd "captivate" UCLA fans and media members the second he got on campus.
-From an X's and O's standpoint, Gorney reiterated that Bradley was a 4-3 guy there who adapted how conservative or aggressive his defenses were based on the personnel. For example, when LaVar Arrington was at Penn State, Bradley let him roam and dominate offenses. Gorney also said he was very good at developing talent, and was one of the big reasons why Penn State was Linebacker U all those years.
-On the recruiting front, Gorney echoed what Cummings and Grosz said, saying he has tremendous ties to the Pennsylvania area and should help give UCLA a big edge in that state now. However, he said Bradley's West Coast links are limited, so it may not be realistic to believe Bradley could come in and start swaying the Adoree' Jacksons and the Iman Marshalls back to UCLA.
Again, hopefully those audio files come through and I can have a big Q and A style article on the front page soon. But that's the gist of it.
Instead of just rewriting his Wikipedia page, I went out and talked with three guys in the Rivals.com network who have covered Bradley over the years to see what the Bruins are potentially getting in Bradley.
I use an iPhone app to record phone conversations, and the audio files still haven't come through yet. Fingers crossed that they come through eventually so I can get the exact quotes, but if they don't, here were the CliffsNotes of my conversations:
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Publisher Phil Grosz
-Grosz has been covering Penn State for over 35 years. He's known Bradley forever, and actually said he was in contact with him at least "four times a week" when the whole Jerry Sandusky scandal broke out. He said while Joe Paterno didn't let his assistants talk with media until very late in his tenure, once Bradley was allowed to talk, he quickly became a bit of a media darling. He said fans and media still to this day love him. In fact, there was an article on Bruins Nation that blasted Bradley for being associated with the Sandusky ordeal, and Grosz said when that story got posted on BlueWhiteIllustrated's message board last night, fans still showed up in droves to back Bradley.
-As for his X's and O's at Penn State, the Nittany Lions ran variations of the 4-3 and the 4-4 for just about the entire time Paterno / Bradley were there. However, Grosz told me that actually wasn't Bradley's choice. Grosz said Bradley spent tons of time around the Pittsburgh Steelers and was actually good friends with Dick LeBeau. Grosz said Bradley actually prefers the 3-4, and prefers to run it in the same style as LeBeau, who's one of the guys who made that attacking defense famous in the NFL. Grosz said the only reason Bradley ran the 4-3 at Penn State was because that's what Paterno wanted.
-On the recruiting front, Grosz said Bradley "owned" West Pennsylvania. He said Bradley essentially got whomever he wanted there.
WVSports.com senior writer Keenan Cummings
-Cummings covered Bradley for the one year he was at West Virginia. He, too, said Bradley was very-well liked by both the media and its fans.
-Bradley had the associate head coach title at WVU, but Cummings said he was really just the D-line coach. And in fact, Cummings said he split those D-line duties with another coach, so Bradley really only handled the interior D-linemen this past year at West Virginia. Regardless, Cummings said there was marked improvement not just on the D-line, but among the entire West Virginia defense as a whole during Bradley's one year there.
-Cummings said West Virginia ran a 3-3-5 this past season, and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson called the plays. But Cummings said he'd be shocked if Bradley didn't have plenty of input there this past year.
-On the recruiting front, Cummings said Bradley wasn't very involved in the 2015 class, but said he was heavily in the mix for 2016 and 2017 recruits. Cummings said two of West Virginia's early 2016 commits, in fact, were there because of Bradley. Cummings said other '16 recruits had mentioned Bradley a lot in interviews, and it looked like he'd be a key cog in this upcoming recruiting cycle for West Virginia, particularly in the state of Pennsylvania.
Rivals.com West Analyst Adam Gorney
-Gorney covered Penn State from 2001-2003, the early years of Bradley's defensive coordinator duties at Penn State. Gorney said Bradley was a very likeable guy and said he'd "captivate" UCLA fans and media members the second he got on campus.
-From an X's and O's standpoint, Gorney reiterated that Bradley was a 4-3 guy there who adapted how conservative or aggressive his defenses were based on the personnel. For example, when LaVar Arrington was at Penn State, Bradley let him roam and dominate offenses. Gorney also said he was very good at developing talent, and was one of the big reasons why Penn State was Linebacker U all those years.
-On the recruiting front, Gorney echoed what Cummings and Grosz said, saying he has tremendous ties to the Pennsylvania area and should help give UCLA a big edge in that state now. However, he said Bradley's West Coast links are limited, so it may not be realistic to believe Bradley could come in and start swaying the Adoree' Jacksons and the Iman Marshalls back to UCLA.
Again, hopefully those audio files come through and I can have a big Q and A style article on the front page soon. But that's the gist of it.
