Mar 30, 2015
'Air Canada' hopes to soar into NFL
Brandon Bridge, the strong-armed quarterback from Mississauga, Ontario, will likely have to wait until Day 3 of the NFL Draft to hear his named called – if it's called at all. The 23-year-old nicknamed 'Air Canada' has a chance to become just the third Canadian-born quarterback to be drafted into the NFL and the first from South Alabama University.
Things have a way of coming together late for Brandon Bridge.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that the strong-armed quarterback from Mississauga, Ontario will likely have to wait until Day 3 of the NFL Draft to hear his named called – if it's called at all.
The 23-year-old quarterback who received just one NCAA scholarship offer out of high school has a chance to become just the fourth Canadian-born quarterback to be drafted and the first from South Alabama University.
Bridge's football career began in Mississauga and travelled through Alcorn State in Mississippi and, following a transfer, South Alabama.
With just two years of starting experience – coming in his true freshman and redshirt senior season – Bridge is viewed as a developmental quarterback, but one with likely the best arm of any prospect in the 2015 class.
"I truly think I'm very good with the deep ball throw," Bridge explained to TSN.ca ahead of his Pro Day, "and I'd like to say I can make any throw. Whether it's the left hash, right hash, or the deep ball, it doesn't matter. I feel I can really put it on the money anywhere."
However the 6'4, 229 lbs. passer knows that his confidence in the strength of his right arm can also work against him.
"Obviously that gets me in trouble some of the time because I think I can fit the ball in anywhere," Bridge said honestly. "So it has its pros and cons having a very strong arm."
Bridge first developed his arm strength at St. Marcellinus High School, where weather and a wider field taught him the importance of throwing a long ball. He won back-to-back high school
championships but was left without a scholarship offer after a coaching change at the University of Buffalo.
An independent recruiter helped him earn a scholarship offer from Alcorn State after seeing his highlight reel on YouTube.
His career then appeared destined for stardom as he totalled 27 touchdowns as a freshman, earning the nickname "Air Canada" as a tribute to former Braves great Steve McNair.
However, another coaching change led him transfer to South Alabama and, as a result, he was forced to redshirt his junior season. After another season on the sidelines in 2013, Bridge was finally given a chance to start again as redshirt senior.
His numbers were modest; 1,927 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Yet, Bridge battled through two separate injuries without missing a start and lost multiple receivers to injuries of their own.
"I hurt my shoulder [in the second game of the season] against Mississippi State," Bridge recalled. "So I played with an AC sprain and I ended up hurting my ankle against Louisiana-Lafayette, but a lot of guys were banged up... But hey, that was the cards that we were dealt and other players went in and stepped up pretty well."
South Alabama head coach Joey Jones also took note of the toughness of Bridge, who he describes as a great leader.
"He was very tough," Jones told TSN.ca. "I thought he really fought through some tough injuries there and a lot of people may have missed a game, but he didn't miss any time due to that and I thought he did a great job fighting through it."
Bridge believes his best game of the season came against Mississippi State despite a 35-3 loss, while Jones recalled a 47-21 win over Appalachian State as Bridge's best performance as a passer.
Bridge quarterbacked the South Alabama Jaguars to their first ever bowl game – a 33-28 lost to Bowling Green in the Camellia Bowl.
After the loss, Bridge graduated and travelled to California to improve as a passer with renowned quarterback coach Steve Calhoun, who has worked with NFLers such as Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Nick Foles.
He attended the NFL combine in February and was pleased to be reassured by teams and scouts he had been working on the right things.
"I said I needed to work on my footwork and make sure I have a good base to throw an accurate football and they said that's what they believe too," Bridge remembered of the combine meetings.
"They all said I have a very strong arm and I can make all the throws, they just want to see me do it more consistently by having a better base under me and better footwork."
He continued his efforts to improve by returning to Alabama to work with quarterback coach David Morris, a decision NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted was noticed by NFL teams.
Bridge hopes his strong arm and physical skill set will be too enticing for a team to pass up during the draft weekend from April 30-May 2 while Jones believes his former quarterback simply offers too much upside to pass up.
"First of all, Brandon will get better," Jones said confidently. "He's shown that because he has a great work ethic and he has goals in his mind to get better. You see a lot of ability; great arm strength, tall, can run. What he needs is experience.
"He only really had two years – played as a freshman at Alcorn and his senior year (at Southern Alabama) – playing college football, more experience is going to help him. I think he's a guy who will come in and fit in as a No. 2 or 3 quarterback on a team and work his way. In four or five years, you may have a great football player on your hands.
"I feel any team that feels they want to have a developmental quarterback, he'll be the guy."
On top of his arm, Bridge also offers strong legs and ran a 4.72-second 40-yard dash at the combine and rushed for 297 yards and four touchdowns last season with Jaguars. His dynamic ability to run and throw has drawn comparisons to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, a comparison Bridge sees as the closest between himself and any current NFL passer.
"Kaepernick's a guy who can definitely make people miss, he can definitely hurt a defence with his legs and he has a very, very strong arm," Bridge said. "He can obviously make every NFL throw and I feel he's one of the best quarterbacks that's out there right now just in terms of an athletic standpoint, to make guys miss, and make all the throws. I'd say Colin Kaepernick is the closest my game could possibly model after."
Despite possible long odds, Bridge remains focused on the NFL rather than the looking north to CFL. However, he has not ruled out the CFL if an opportunity is not available south of the border.
"Obviously I want to play in the NFL and have a long career there, it's been my dream," Bridge explained. "I remember a quote 'you don't have to have a Plan B because Plan B distracts Plan A.' My Plan A is definitely to play in the NFL and hopefully I play there for a long time and if not, I'll try to find what else to do then.
"If the CFL is the next thing, I'll do that, but I haven't really thought about anything past the NFL right now."
Bridge skipped the CFL Combine because of the timing of his Pro Day, but he is expected to draw interest from teams in the three-down league.
With his Pro Day now complete, Bridge will look to visit NFL teams over the next month for private workouts and a final chance to impress. Then, he'll return home to Mississauga and await a call, though he's not sure his nerves can handle the network coverage.
"I might not even watch it, I'll just have it on the TV," said Bridge. "I know my mom and my dad will probably want to watch it, but it will be such a stressful and nerve-wracking weekend that I don't think I can watch it, as opposed to how I could if I wasn't in it."
If drafted, Bridge, who idolizes Tom Brady for defying long odds early in his career, will join Dan Feraday, Mark Rypien and Jesse Palmer as the only signal callers drafted from Canada. He could also be the first player from the University of South Alabama to drafted – tight end Wes Saxton could also be drafted.
Jones recognizes the impact that could have on his school's young football program, which became bowl eligible prior to the 2013 season.
"I think it's going to happen, and we're excited about it," Jones said. "It just shows you the type of players we're getting now and not only (Bridge and Saxton), but I think we'll have three or four others that get invited to camp, so we're excited about that."
Fourteen quarterbacks and four Canadians were taken in 2014 NFL Draft and Bridge hopes to join both those groups this year.
"I definitely want to hopefully play in the NFL and put Toronto on the map, showing that we have the talent," Bridge said at the NFL combine.