DL Tony Bradford Jr.
Defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr. was the most impactful and noticeable member of the Red Raider defensive front on Saturday. With 8 stops (6 solo and one for loss), he was third on the team in tackles behind McPhearson and safety Eric Monroe. What’s more, he was credited with a pair of QB pressures.
In fact, in this game alone, he surpassed by one his total of tackles for the first three games of the year. Also, this was the second-straight game in which he had a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
Bradford appears to be coming on as of late. With three tackles last weekend against Kansas State, he’s now put together back-to-back games with multiple tackles. Those are the only two games with more than two tackles in his young career. What’s more, in only four games this year, he’s already surpassed last season’s tackle total of 14.
For the game, the Red Raiders had little pass rush. Credited with only four QB hurries and failing to register a single sack of ISU’s Brock Purdy, Tech did not do a good job of making the ISU QB uncomfortable.
That’s why he was able to complete 16 of his first 17 passes on his way to 32-43 passing for 302 yards and two TDs. But the only Red Raider defensive lineman that Purdy might remember from this game is No. 97 because, unlike his d-line cohorts, Tony Bradford Jr. was able to get after the QB a little bit on Saturday.