by David Steinle
LSUsports.net
Just before Christmas of 2000, LSU was preparing for the Peach Bowl against Georgia Tech when linebacker Bradie James’ world was changed forever.
Prior to the Tigers’ departure for Atlanta, James, who was named second team All-SEC after recording 110 tackles during the regular season, learned that his father had died in his hometown of West Monroe.
“It was very tough, and I had no idea what was happening,” James said. “But the coaching staff and the team gave me support, because they’re also my family.”
After laying his father to rest, James joined his teammates in Atlanta and proceeded to play the best game of his career against the Yellow Jackets, recording six tackles, a sack and recovering a pair of fumbles to help LSU score 25 unanswered points in a 28-14 victory. The performance earned James Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors.
“I just wanted to go out there and do what my father wanted me to do, and that’s play ball,” James said. “The MVP was just a cherry on the cake.”
Three months later, with LSU going through spring practice, tragedy struck James again, as his mother passed away.
“My parents really instilled in me the work ethic I needed to have to be successful,” James said.
James continued his ascent as a junior, earning first team All-SEC laurels from the league coaches after tallying 113 tackles in the Tigers’ march to their first conference championship since 1988.
Of course, with such lofty numbers over the course of two seasons, LSU fans who watched the Tigers’ 47-34 triumph over Illinois in the Sugar Bowl had to wonder whether the game with the Big Ten champion Illini would be James’ last in a purple and gold uniform.
Once the final gun sounded at the Superdome, James was confronted with the same decision that many a college football star has had to contemplate-whether to return for his senior season to lead LSU on its quest for back-to-back SEC championships, or to take a chance on the riches of the National Football League.
On Jan. 9, the collective sigh of relief from LSU players, coaches and fans could be heard from Monroe to Baton Rouge and all across Louisiana, as James announced that he would return to Baton Rouge for his senior season.
“It didn’t take me long to make the decision,” James said. “I felt that by coming back to school, I would have a better chance to be more successful in life, and because I can’t play football all my life, I need that degree to be successful in today’s society.”
Not only has James excelled on the gridiron, but he has also been a classroom success, earning a selection to the 2001 SEC Academic Honor Roll after posting a 3.0 grade-point average as sociology major.
Now, as one of six returning starters on defense and one of 12 starters overall returning from the Tigers’ 10-3 team in 2001, James looks to engrave his name alongside those of Roy Winston, George Bevan, Mike Anderson, Warren Capone and Michael Brooks in the long line of great LSU linebackers.
James was named pre-season All-SEC at SEC Media Days in July, and was also named to the prestigious Playboy All-America team. James is also on three watch lists for national honors: the Butkus (outstanding linebacker), Nagurski (outstanding defensive player) and Lombardi (outstanding lineman) Awards.
James has been one of the Tigers’ vocal leaders on defense over the past two seasons, and those qualities are a large reason for his selection as one of LSU’s permanent captains for the 2002 season, along with junior running back LaBrandon Toefield.
“It was a goal that I set for myself, and I just want to go out and lead and do what I’ve always done, and that’s be a good leader,” James said. “The leadership comes naturally to me, and it’s something that has to be done.”
Although James has been one of the constants at LSU over the past three seasons, even he is not immune to change. For his senior season, James moves from weakside linebacker to middle linebacker, a position that is referred to as the “defensive quarterback”, as the “Mike” linebacker often calls the defensive alignment on the field and must react quickly to audibles and other shifts by the offense.
It’s a challenge that James says has kept him on his toes when he might have otherwise lost some concentration.
“With me playing weakside linebacker for three years and knowing the scheme and my position as well as I do, it’s a challenge,” James said. “But it’s kept me interested in the position, and I’m always learning new things.”
Despite the new position, The Sporting News named James its preseason SEC Player of the Year and the nation’s second-rated inside linebacker.
For the move to the middle, James has put on 20 pounds of muscle, and heads into the season listed at 248 pounds.
“I just felt like since I got older, I had to protect myself playing the middle,” James said. “I felt that if I could play with the extra pounds, I could be that much better.”
If James ever needs advice on being a captain or playing middle linebacker, he turns to his former running mate at middle linebacker, Trev Faulk, a first team All-SEC selection in 2001 who was one of the Tigers’ 2001 captains.
“Trev and (former quarterback) Rohan Davey were great captains, and I talk to them on a regular basis,” James said. “When problems come up, I can always get a second opinion and talk to those guys as much as possible.”
And for the fourth time in as many years, James will be working with a new position coach, as former Notre Dame assistant Kirk Doll has taken over as linebackers coach for Will Muschamp, who has become the Tigers’ fourth defensive coordinator in that same span.
“That’s the nature of the game,” James said. “Each position coach and each coordinator has instilled in me something new, so I take something from each person.”
Whether or not James makes it in the NFL won’t be known until at least next year, but he certainly will certainly enter a pro camp with great experience thanks to three seasons with Nick Saban, a former NFL defensive coordinator who has moved into the elite among college coaches.
“I can’t say anything about the future; I can only control what’s here today,” James said. “But coach Saban is a great coach who has prepared me for a great career here at LSU.”
As a freshman, James experienced the pain of a 3-8 season and a coaching change. Eighteen wins, two bowl victories and a conference championship might want to make some shoot for the moon, but James is more realistic about his expectations for the Tigers in 2002.
“I just want to defend the SEC championship, and go from there,” James said. “We’re just looking forward to playing each game.”