He’ll come to USC with blue-chip teammates and offers an option at unusual spot
South Carolina coaches probably got to watch plenty of Bradley Dunn’s high school film.
When they flipped on game action of Hammond School’s defensive line, with four-star tackle Alex Huntley and five-star end Jordan Burch, Dunn was on there too, often bursting past tackles and wreaking havoc on the other team’s offense. He did admit, having those two teammates helped out a little.
“It makes my job a whole lot more easier,” Dunn said.
But genetics conspired to make it hard for him to take those skills to the next level. They simply don’t make that many college defensive linemen who stand between 5-9 1/2 and 5-foot-10.
So a different plan came into place. Hammond coach Erik Kimrey saw an opportunity before last season. It took until after the first signing day for the opportunity to become an offer, but the one he wanted eventually did, even if it came as a surprise.
“I had no idea,” Dunn said. “I didn’t start to think about this till like December 19 when coach (Will) Muschamp called me and said that he would like me to walk on and play fullback.”
That’s a role South Carolina hardly had in its offense until this offseason. Muschamp hired new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who likes to have a few options for that blocking role. For the position in the past, Bobo has picked out a slightly slower linebacker or a tight end who was a little small. USC added grad transfer Adam Prentice at fullback as well.
Dunn has the kind of build that could find a home at that now-rare position. Standing 5-foot-10 at best, 224 pounds and strong, Kimrey saw something in it and started to get him some work there this season.
“We’ve always thought Bradley could be a fullback on the next level,” Kimrey said. “I think he’ll be able to help one day and I’m happy for him, a guy that’s, you know, only about 5-9 and a half, sometimes it’s hard for him to get on somewhere as a defensive lineman. But for him to find that kind of role at the next level is really cool.”
On film he did a bit of everything at fullback. He cleared the way for Burch in Wildcat looks, caught a few passes and took some handoffs.
He admitted he was somewhat ambivalent when the idea was first broached, but through the season he took to it and realized he was pretty good.
The road for a walk-on isn’t an easy one. Dunn comes in at a position that isn’t all that glamorous and requires cracking shoulder pads in the pits. But he’s coming in alongside Prentice, who worked his way up under Bobo’s guidance.
And he believes he to could work his way onto the field.
“Even though I may not be the tallest, I could prosper there,” Dunn said. “I’m gonna continue to work out and just get bigger and have a chance to really, if I work hard enough, I could really play.”
