It's not Brodrick Bunkley's move up the draft board that intrigues me most about the Florida State defensive tackle. It's that he's on the board at all and that he somehow managed to creep into the upper tier of its defensive linemen.
|
|
| Brodrick Bunkley has no doubts about his own talent. (Getty Images) |
In fact, a year ago. Brodrick Bunkley wouldn't have guessed it, either. After serving as a part-time starter in 2004, Bunkley wasn't sure when or if he'd suit up for the Seminoles again.
"I was told I would be academically ineligible coming into the season," he said. "I was at the point where there was a guy telling me I was not going to play at Florida State and that my career was done. I remember him telling me I couldn't play and the feeling of emptiness I had.
"I thought I'm not going to graduate. I thought about what I was going to tell my mother. I thought that what I came here to do with football I'm not going to do. I had a chance to do something big, and I failed. I remember sitting in the car and thinking: I can't play football; people really don't know me; what am I going to do? It was embarrassing."
What Bunkley did first was raise his grades. That kept him in the game. What he did next was raise his play, stepping in to produce a monster season after predecessor Travis Johnson graduated to the pros.
He had nine sacks, a school-record 25 tackles for losses and 15 quarterback hurries.
| 2006 Draft Features | |
|---|---|
| Mocks: | Prisco | Judge | Dodd |
| Rankings: | Prisco | Judge | GM Junior |
| Previews: | WR | TE | ST | QB | CB |
| Coverage: | Draft Tracker |
Now Bunkley is no worse than the second defensive tackle in this year's draft, with some teams pushing him ahead of Oregon's Haloti Ngata on their boards. Bunkley is pleased, but he is not surprised.
"I don't want to sound cocky," he said, "but it speaks to the statistics. A defensive tackle with nine sacks and 25 tackles for losses? I would think someone with those skills would be considered one of the best, so, no, I'm not surprised. I'm physical. I'm strong. I'm 306 pounds but not really what you'd consider fat. I just figured I would get a lot of attention."
And he has.
But let's give Bunkley credit here. It's not only his talent that propelled him to the top; it's hard work and patience. A highly recruited defensive tackle who produced 18½ sacks his senior year of high school, he rode the Florida State bench until his junior year.
Occasionally, injuries slowed him, but, mostly, it was that others simply were better -- and Bunkley has no trouble admitting it.
"I realized how much I had to learn," he said. "In high school, it was all power and strength, but it was different in college. I understood I was going to have to wait, and I'm glad I was patient."
