By Ian Massey
It’s no surprise that Florida State’s senior linebacker Nigel Bradham is one of 42 candidates for the 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy. The Pacific Club Impact Foundation will honor the defensive player who best exudes Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity, the criteria for this award, on Dec. 11 in Newport Beach, Ca.
And Bradham qualifies on all counts.
Just as Myron Rolle did three years ago. Currently a safety for the Tennessee Titans and a former Seminole, Rolle was a finalist for the award in 2008. Bradham’s teammate, junior defensive end Brandon Jenkins, is also nominated for the 2011 Lott Trophy award.
Bradham has been nominated not only for his ability to punish tailbacks in the open field, but also his devotion to the people of Tallahassee, Florida and surrounding communities. Rated the No. 1 high school outside linebacker prospect by Rivals in 2008, this tackling machine appears to have quite a future ahead of him.
After impressing on both sides of the ball at tight end and linebacker as a consensus High School All-American in Crawfordville, he received more than 40 scholarship offers to play Division I football. From Florida State to Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss, Bradham had a tough decision to make. He chose the Seminoles. Home of the tomahawk chop and Bobby Bowden, it quickly became home to Bradham.
Tallahassee is just a 20 mile drive from Wakulla High School, where fans watched Bradham tee off on opponents, drawing comparisons to former Seminoles Derrick Brooks and Ernie Sims.
As a local product, the 6’3, 240 pound linebacker exhibited maturity upon his arrival in Tallahassee. Within weeks of starting his first collegiate training camp, Bradham went on his first community service visit.
“Nigel is a young man from a neighboring local community, and it is something he didn’t take for granted,” Florida State’s assistant athletic director John Lata said. “He understood his responsibility to represent in front of the younger kids from his area […] he wasn’t going to forget where he came from.”
Bradham’s college football career can be divided into two eras, B.B. and A.B., or before and after Bowden. Hall of Fame Coach Bobby Bowden retired in January 2010 at the exact halfway point in Bradham’s college football career.
As a true freshman, Bradham was named the team’s top defensive newcomer, an absolute honor for a player competing for the third winningest coach in Division I football history. In 13 games, he registered 29 tackles, making his first career start against the rivaled Miami Hurricanes.
In 2009, Bradham led the Seminoles with 93 tackles, while contributing two sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries. Sending Bowden off in celebratory fashion, Bradham had five tackles and a sack in the team’s 33-21 victory over West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
Upon Bowden’s retirement, the team was taken over by first-time head coach Jimbo Fisher in January 2010. Bradham’s leadership and personality have made the transition easy for Fisher’s defense.
“He is very much respected by his teammates [and he’s] fun to be around,” Lata said.
As a junior, the outside linebacker started 14 games, recording 5.5 tackles for a loss, five sacks, five pass deflections and a forced fumble. In the Seminoles’ ACC Championship game, Bradham blocked a PAT late in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech and returned it for a two-point conversion, but the Seminoles lost 44-33.
Along with being the team leader in tackles (98) for a second straight season in 2010, Bradham was selected by Fisher to the team’s unity council, which aims to establish camaraderie amongst the team.
After a 10-4 season and a 26-17 victory over South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season, Bradham knew his leadership would be needed for his upcoming senior season. One of two seniors on a young defensive unit in 2011, Bradham is crucial to the team’s ACC title hopes.
“Nigel is really starting to come on as a leader,” Fisher said recently. “He is starting to fill his shoes. Lately, he is really starting to emerge and come out of that shell a little bit and lead.”
Bradham was named the team’s defensive captain in 2011. He also earned the honor of becoming a member of the ACC Top Six for Service this spring. Nominated for his willingness to participate and his desire to serve despite time constraints, the linebacker has made significant contributions to his community and been a positive ambassador for FSU’s Athletics Department.
One of the major factors influencing Bradham’s service award was his time spent at the Capital City Youth Services in Tallahassee, where the Crawfordville native has engaged in team-building sessions with local children.
“It makes a tremendous difference when kids know that someone is concerned about them and willing to spend time with them,” said Melanie Carty, Capital City Youth Services director.
“I think it’s important to give back,” Bradham said after his experience at Capital City Youth Services. “Right now, my time is what I have, so that is what I give back. I like giving back to the community.”
Bradham is on schedule to graduate with a degree in social sciences, but before he can take his bone-crunching tackles to Monday Night Football, he has business to take care of. Florida State enters the season as the No. 5 team in the country. If the Seminoles have any plans of capturing their third national championship in their football program’s history, it would have to go through Bradham and a defensive unit that ranked first nationally in sacks in 2010.
“He has a smile on his face,” Fisher said of Bradham. “He’s bouncing around, leading, making plays; he has a smile on his face.”
April’s 2012 NFL Draft will decide Bradham’s future home. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the closest team to Tallahassee, just 170 miles away; but judging by the 40 plus scholarship offers he received out of high school and his continued dominance in the college game, any team would appreciate the opportunity to have Bradham call their town home.