Tom Bradley (American football)

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For other persons named Tom Bradley, see Tom Bradley (disambiguation).
Tom Bradley

Title "In charge of defense/cornerbacks"
College Penn State
Conference Big Ten
Place of birth Flag of the United States Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Career highlights
Playing career
1977-1978 Penn State
Position DB
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1980-present Penn State

Tom Bradley a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania is an assistant football coach at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania in the United States. A graduate of Penn State and former player for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, Bradley has been an assistant to coach Joe Paterno since 1979. [1] His title on the Penn State coaching staff is "In charge of defense/cornerbacks". This is roughly equivalent to being the defensive coordinator with additional responsibility of being the position coach for the cornerbacks. Bradley is widely rumored to be the eventual successor to Joe Paterno [1] who has been the head coach at Penn State since 1966.

In addition to his role with the defense at Penn State, Bradley has been a highly successful recruiter for the Nittany Lions. Coach Bradley served as the lead recruiter for Nittany Lions such as Shane Conlan, Alan Zemaitis, and Justin King. Bradley has coached many All-American and all Big Ten standouts including, LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, and David Macklin. [2]

Bradley and Galen Hall served as "co head coaches" for part of the 2006 season when Coach Paterno was out with an injury sustained during a game at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Hall remained in his usual place in the press box while Bradley coached from the sidelines.

Coach Bradley has remained loyal to Penn State and Joe Paterno. He is rumored to have received several head coaching opportunities including as recently as 2005 at Temple and Illinois. Bradley's feelings about coaching at Penn State or another school have been quoted, "There's a lot of loyalty that has been built up over the years. There's a family atmosphere between the staff, the players, and the community. It's a place that means a lot to my family. I don't want to go be a head coach just to say I've been a head coach. That's never been part of it. If I find something better, I'll go. But I haven't found it. It's that simple." [1]

[edit] Personal

Bradley is the second-oldest of seven children. His older brother Jim was a captain and standout linebacker at Penn State from 1973-74, played for the Cincinnati Bengals, and is the long-time team surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His younger brother Matt played for the Nittany Lions from 1979-81. Bradley's nephew, Jim Kanuch, also played receiver at Penn State.[3]

Undersized, but tenacious, Bradley was given the nickname "Scrap" by teammate John "Mother" Dunn. In 1978 the Nittany Lions special teams adopted the name, calling themselves the "Scrap Pack." Fans printed t-shirts and bumper stickers honoring them.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Mark Schlabach. Bradley's roots run deep at Penn State. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  2. ^ Tom Bradley Profile. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  3. ^ a b Frank Bodani. Lions can count on "Scrap". York Daily Record. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.

[edit] External links