Photo by: Parker Waters
Spring Spotlight: Darius Bradwell
Apr 5, 2018 | Football
By Evan Drexler
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Darius Bradwell had more than a handful of big runs last year, including a 57-yard scamper for a touchdown against SMU.
But the one that best defines who he is as a player? Bradwell chose a 17-yard run against Houston on second-and-12, a play where he broke three tackles to pick up a gritty first down for the Green Wave.
"I'm a hard runner, I can make you miss, I'm an imposing figure, I'm big and I'm explosive," Bradwell said. "In that one play I think I showed a lot."
Those attributes will go far for Bradwell in 2018. Tulane's top returning running back next season, Bradwell is coming off a year where he rushed for 411 yards on 66 carries with four touchdowns. He led the team with 6.2 yards per carry, and his totals only figure to rise this year with the departure of Dontrell Hilliard and Sherman Badie.
Before he was primed to be Tulane's featured running back, Bradwell was recruited to be its quarterback.
At Godby High School in Tallahassee, Florida, Bradwell was a four-year letterwinner for the Cougars. As their starting quarterback, he racked up 2,300 combined yards passing and rushing, accounting for 27 touchdowns as a senior. In his junior season, he helped Godby to a state runner-up finish.
When it came time to choose a college, schools from the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC were looking at him as a running back. Larger schools focused on his nine 100-yard rushing games in his last two seasons of high school rather than his 2,427 passing yards in that span.
With a chance to stay at quarterback at Tulane, Bradwell signed his letter of intent and became a Green Wave.
Soon after his arrival in New Orleans, though, Bradwell was asked to switch to running back. At first he was hurt because he dreamed of playing quarterback in college. But after some thought, Bradwell realized he would be able to help the team more running the ball.
Sure, he misses being in control of every play, but at the running back position in a run-based offense, Bradwell will have more than ample opportunity to put his stamp on the team.
"I feel like I'm that dude that dominates games," Bradwell said. "I'm an alpha male and I just like to dominate."
With spring practice nearing its completion, Bradwell said he wanted to focus on his pass-blocking as an area to improve. With his experience as a quarterback and now as running back, he feels like he knows the importance of every player on the offense including the linemen. He even joked he could do the job of Tulane offensive coordinator Doug Ruse.
Perhaps even more crucial that improving his pass-blocking, Bradwell also highlighted his leadership as a potential area of growth in 2018.
"I want to lead my group since they're a reflection of me," Bradwell said. "If I can make people around me better then I'm getting better too. I think one thing is I'm going to lead by example. But also, I'm going to be more vocal. If I see someone who needs help, I'm going to help them out. I'm going to try and encourage them and always have positive energy."
Tulane running backs coach Jamaal Fobbs knows there's potential waiting to be unleashed in Bradwell. Having seen Bradwell transform from a quarterback to running back in the last two years, Fobbs thinks it's just a matter of time until Bradwell's natural talents show themselves on the field.
"He can be a very big-time weapon," Fobbs said. "He has some speed to be at his body size, so he'll be able to make guys miss but he'll also be able to run with power and run with speed at the same time. You can see the lightbulb coming on, you can see him being in the right spot and you can see his confidence continue to soar from him getting better and better and better each day."
TulaneGreenWave.com
NEW ORLEANS – Darius Bradwell had more than a handful of big runs last year, including a 57-yard scamper for a touchdown against SMU.
But the one that best defines who he is as a player? Bradwell chose a 17-yard run against Houston on second-and-12, a play where he broke three tackles to pick up a gritty first down for the Green Wave.
"I'm a hard runner, I can make you miss, I'm an imposing figure, I'm big and I'm explosive," Bradwell said. "In that one play I think I showed a lot."
Those attributes will go far for Bradwell in 2018. Tulane's top returning running back next season, Bradwell is coming off a year where he rushed for 411 yards on 66 carries with four touchdowns. He led the team with 6.2 yards per carry, and his totals only figure to rise this year with the departure of Dontrell Hilliard and Sherman Badie.
Before he was primed to be Tulane's featured running back, Bradwell was recruited to be its quarterback.
At Godby High School in Tallahassee, Florida, Bradwell was a four-year letterwinner for the Cougars. As their starting quarterback, he racked up 2,300 combined yards passing and rushing, accounting for 27 touchdowns as a senior. In his junior season, he helped Godby to a state runner-up finish.
When it came time to choose a college, schools from the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC were looking at him as a running back. Larger schools focused on his nine 100-yard rushing games in his last two seasons of high school rather than his 2,427 passing yards in that span.
With a chance to stay at quarterback at Tulane, Bradwell signed his letter of intent and became a Green Wave.
Soon after his arrival in New Orleans, though, Bradwell was asked to switch to running back. At first he was hurt because he dreamed of playing quarterback in college. But after some thought, Bradwell realized he would be able to help the team more running the ball.
Sure, he misses being in control of every play, but at the running back position in a run-based offense, Bradwell will have more than ample opportunity to put his stamp on the team.
"I feel like I'm that dude that dominates games," Bradwell said. "I'm an alpha male and I just like to dominate."
With spring practice nearing its completion, Bradwell said he wanted to focus on his pass-blocking as an area to improve. With his experience as a quarterback and now as running back, he feels like he knows the importance of every player on the offense including the linemen. He even joked he could do the job of Tulane offensive coordinator Doug Ruse.
Perhaps even more crucial that improving his pass-blocking, Bradwell also highlighted his leadership as a potential area of growth in 2018.
"I want to lead my group since they're a reflection of me," Bradwell said. "If I can make people around me better then I'm getting better too. I think one thing is I'm going to lead by example. But also, I'm going to be more vocal. If I see someone who needs help, I'm going to help them out. I'm going to try and encourage them and always have positive energy."
Tulane running backs coach Jamaal Fobbs knows there's potential waiting to be unleashed in Bradwell. Having seen Bradwell transform from a quarterback to running back in the last two years, Fobbs thinks it's just a matter of time until Bradwell's natural talents show themselves on the field.
"He can be a very big-time weapon," Fobbs said. "He has some speed to be at his body size, so he'll be able to make guys miss but he'll also be able to run with power and run with speed at the same time. You can see the lightbulb coming on, you can see him being in the right spot and you can see his confidence continue to soar from him getting better and better and better each day."
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