BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) — Seeing is believing when it comes to the case of Bradley Bickler.
Watch one play from the 6-foot-7, 240-pound athlete — whether it’s on the football field or the basketball hardwood — and you’d quickly realize he had a future in college football, something he sealed on Wednesday when he signed with Oregon State.
“The first thing that you notice with Bradley is you notice it when he walks in the room,” said Kevin Bickler, who’s Bradley’s uncle and the head coach at Southridge. “He’s got a huge frame and he’s extremely athletic.”
Scouts took notice, too. But when his junior year ended, Bradley said he wasn’t getting as much attention as he hoped. He and his uncle took the experience as an opportunity to see what else they could do to. He had played quarterback his entire life, but maybe they could play him elsewhere, as well. With that size, that strength and that speed, Bradley — they thought — might have a future on the other side of the ball.
“I wasn’t getting recruited very well at the position so my uncle, you know, said something to me about playing defensive-end,” Bradley remembered. “And I was like alright. I put on like 20 pounds, I just, I loved it so that’s where I’m at now.”
The experiment worked, and it worked well. Bradley became a force on Southridge’s defensive front. He also earned first-team All-Metro League at quarterback.
“One thing he really worked on in the offseason was strength and toughness and so we said look we gotta take a look at him on the D-line and when he went in there, every time he was in, he made plays,” Kevin said. “And you know that’s what really got him noticed by the scouts is playing that defensive side of the ball and that toughness factor that he developed really into his senior year.”
Colleges came calling. Weber State and Wyoming offered. Then, on Oct. 30, a dream offer came from right here in Oregon. Bradley had always wanted to play in the Pac-12, and Oregon State interim head coach Cory Hall gave him that chance. Two days later, Bradley committed to play for the Beavers.
Bradley said Corvallis became more than just a chance to play in the Pac-12.
“Just going down there feels like home and when I’m down there I just feel like I’m in the right place,” Bradley said. “The whole coaching staff is just welcoming and it just feels like the right place for me.”
After an 1-11 season ended, though, Oregon State elected to clean house and bring in a new coaching staff. They hired former 4-year starting quarterback Jonathan Smith from Washington to be the new head coach. It didn’t take long for Smith to reach out to Bradley.
“When Coach Smith got hired, Coach Smith told him you’re our guy, we want you and you have a chance to start for us possibly next year,” Kevin said, “and that’s when he made up his mind.”
On Wednesday, in the gym at Southridge, Bradley put pen to paper, sealing a college football future. It makes sense (just look at his size and watch him run). But in order to understand how he got to this point, months away from heading to Corvallis to play in the Pac-12, you’d have to do more than just look at him. You’d have to see the work he put in to go from an athletic quarterback to a destructive defensive end.
You’d have to look past his sheer size and take a look at his character, his uncle said.
“The biggest thing that makes him stand out is just his character you know?” Kevin said. “He’s a great kid and he wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win, he’s a team first guy and I think scouts and recruiters, coaches they really pick up on that stuff, they recruit guys who have that attitude and are there for the right reasons.”
