Towson?s Brian Bradford hopes his team?s home opener against the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils is a big hit ? in every definition of the word.
First, the senior linebacker hopes his unit physically domiantes a Blue Devil squad that averaged a Division I-AA high 285 rushing yards per game. Secondly, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound captain hopes a decisive victory will serve as a catalyst toward raising the profile of a team that has struggled to maintain the interest of the Baltimore area.
“It?s going to be a live and an exciting game. There?s going to be tons of hitting,” Bradford said. “You are going to go against some teams who are going to try to run it down your throat.”
And beginning tonight in front of an expected sellout crowd of more than 11,000 at Unitas Stadium, it will be up to Bradford to make sure that doesn?t happen. The preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association first team selection posted 75 tackles and a sack last year on a team that many believed finished one victory shy from earning a berth in the Division I-AA playoffs.
But if Towson is going to contend for the CAA title and a spot in the 16-team, Football Championship Subdivision tournament, the Tigers must play much better defensively than they did last year. Towson struggled at times last fall, when it finished 63rd in Division I-AA in total defense, giving up more than 314 yards per game. Towson recorded only 12 sacks, one of the lowest totals in Division 1-AA. However, Bradford is joined by the return of fellow linebackers John Webb and Jordan Manning, who along with first-year starter Maurice Wilkins, gives Towson one of the best sets of starting linebackers in school history.
“I feel like we have four good [linebackers] and it starts with Brian Bradford,” Combs said. “They are all tremendous athletes and can run to the football.”
Bradford emphasizes the importance of the team sticking together though the adversity on the field, which he feels is an intergral part of winning games. He acknowledged the Tigers were a close-knit group last year, but came apart at the end of the season. Towson lost two of its last three games, including a season-ending, 38-3 drubbing to James Madison tofinish the season 7-4 overall and 4-4 in league play.
“Playoffs, nothing less,” Bradford said. “We haven?t been there yet.”
