MACON — Dylan Bradley feels he can bring a winning mentality to the University of Southern Mississippi football program.
The Dispatch’s Large School Defensive Player of the Year, who led the Noxubee County High School football team to a undefeated season and a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state championship, gave a verbal commitment to the Golden Eagles on New Year’s Day.
“I want to be remembered and have people say, ‘Yeah, I remember when Dylan Bradley played at Southern Miss and led them back to bowl games and winning seasons,” Bradley said Thursday about USM, which went 0-12 in 2012. “I wanted to be somewhere where I would be making a difference long term, and that idea was extremely important to me.”
The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Bradley was the 2012 Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year. He had 94 tackles, 17 quarterback hurries, and a
state-best 21 1/2 sacks to help Noxubee County go 16-0. It capped the season with a 16-6 victory against Greene County High in the 4A title game last month in Jackson.
Bradley attended Mississippi State University’s summer camp, and received scholarship offers from the University of Memphis, Arkansas State University, Jackson State University and Alcorn State University. Bradley, who is going through physical therapy after knee surgery, is scheduled to be healthy by fall practice in Hattiesburg. He will make his decision official Feb. 3 on National Signing Day.
“I had a lot of days of thought about this while I was laying in the bed after my surgery,” Bradley said. “That time allowed me to get fully confident Southern Mississippi was the place for me and the best fit for me.”
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter had a feeling bigger Division I programs would come calling about his defensive end. It turns out the Golden Eagles and new coach Todd Monken were that program.
“There’s just too much talent to ignore,” Shorter said. “When (those programs come calling), they’ll realize what everybody else did, that he’s a great football player and a great person to coach. I can’t wait to see a young man like that get a great college education because of the hard work he put into being on our team.”
Scout.com, Rivals.com, and 247Sports.com consider Bradley a three-star prospect, while ESPN.com considers him a two-star prospect. Bradley said he was immediately sold on Monken’s ability to help USM return to the top of Conference USA. He said he was interested in the school ever since it began recruiting him last month during Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic week.
“I’m extremely excited about being two hours away from home and having the ability to come home if there’s an emergency or that my mom can come watch my college football games on Saturday,” Bradley said. “With all due respect to the offers of Memphis and Arkansas State, and they were great to me, I wanted to stay in Mississippi, and can’t be more excited to have that chance.”
While at the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic in Montgomery, Ala., Bradley played linebacker and defensive end. He said he isn’t sure where he’ll play at USM, but that he’s confident in whatever the new coaching staff wants him to do.
“There’s little doubt in my mind he’s the best defensive player in the state,” Team Mississippi offensive coordinator and Starkville High School coach Jamie Mitchell said. “He is as dominating as it gets for the best defensive team we saw all season, period.”
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