Amontrae Bradford hasn’t spent this season complaining about a reduced role. He kept working, kept his head down, and now the Georgia Tech EDGE is getting more chances because injuries have thinned the edge rusher group and pushed him into a bigger spot.
Bradford said Thursday that he’s embracing the opportunity and trying to help steady the room while the defense continues building off its second-half surge on Saturday.
“I feel like I'm a very positive guy. I always pick up each other's head when they're down and I never like let any negative negativeness slide.
Stay positive and just tell them we got this, man. Like, trust in the coach and believe in the coach, and the linebacker got the quarterback, got it.
Offense got it. Just believe in offense.
We're going to they're going to go score. We're going to get it back.
We're going to get the ball back to them. They're going to go score again.
We're going to win,” said Bradford.
He also pointed to the kind of growth the pass rush can still make as the season goes on. Bradford believes the production is coming if Georgia Tech keeps dialing up pressure.
“I definitely feel like those turnovers are coming, and I feel like with us just keep doing what we're doing and keep putting more pressure on the quarterback each week and getting better and better. I feel like those pressures and sacks and all that are definitely going to come,” said Bradford.
Boston College presents another test, and Bradford described the matchup as a physical one up front. He highlighted the size and strength of the Eagles’ offensive line and said Georgia Tech’s scheme should make it a competitive battle.
“I feel like they're a good offensive line, and I feel like with the scheme we're going to do and how they run, I feel like it's going to be a good matchup. They're a pretty good offensive line.
They're pretty physical and bigger. They're bigger offensive tackles.
Yeah, I feel like it's pretty good. They're pretty good offensive line,” said Bradford.
For Bradford, the increased workload hasn’t caught him off guard. He said the bigger role felt like something that was coming, and he was prepared for it. He also said he’s been trying to help the younger players adjust as responsibilities shift around them.
“I feel like I was ready for it. I feel like you know it's just more reps, more everything.
So, I feel like that role was expected to come, and I was ready for it. I just had to push the freshmen and tell them, "All right, now that their role is gone and mine has stepped up, you know, fill the next role so they can step up also,” said Bradford.
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