I remember he was getting "blown up" in the Peach Bowl by some Georgia Tech defensive lineman, then in the third quarter in comes Rob Sale and Rohan Davey and well, that's history....
Give Brad my best and thank him for his efforts as a WM Rebel and as a LSU Tiger. That was one hell of a WM team with him and Tommy. Brad's a good guy that will never pay for a meal if I'm in the resturant.
Brad was one of the top linemen in the nation coming out of HS but was very sub par at LSU and ended up quiting the team. He was a Tiger even though he quit and I wish him well.
Sounds to me like an argument between you and his dad over some comments. I wish Brad well and hope that he makes it in whatever he decides. Remember the name but dont really recall specifics of his playing .
I remember Smalling as a very big guy with talent who just . . . well, quit. I don't think he was disappointing or failed to live up to hype (who does). I just don't think his heart was in the game of football. Guys that size get steered into football from a young age, whether they like it or not. Deep down, perhaps he would have rather been something else.
I remember the hype as he was coming out of HS. Manchild. Destined to be one of the best LSU linemen ever. Etc. I do vividly remember the peach bowl (Funny since I was there and drunk as usual). He was the starting right tackle when Booty was the QB in the first half. He performed poorly against a talented DE for the jackets who made life in the backfield miserable for Booty. The regular starter (Sale? per earlier poster), who had a broken hand or something, came in in the second half, along with ROhan. THe rest is history. Many felt that the real difference-maker in that game wasn't Rohan, but rather the regular starting RT. I never heard a bad word about Brad the person. I got the uninformed personal impression that he was overwhelmed by the pressures of big-time college football, the level of competition he was facing, and perhaps the disappointment that comes along with that. I felt he would have grown into a better than average lineman by his senior year, but that's a long wait under the circumstances with no guarantees. Wish him our best!!
Guys, It was Brandon Winey who was dressed in street clothes for the Peach Bowl in '00. He had seen enough of Booty getting assraped by the Georgia Tech DE(Geathers), strapped on his helmet and gave Rohan the protection he needed to pull off one of the best comeback wins in Tiger history. The last time I saw Brad was the night of the recruiting bash in '01. We signed Whitworth, Wilkerson, Niswanger & a couple other o-linemen that year. I guess Brad saw the writing on the wall, because that night I personally saw the dude chain-smoking at the Gold Club(not exactly what I want out of our players...not the GC part, just the smoking like a chimney). Never heard from him after that. He quit the team & his career was over. Wasted potential if you ask me. Hate to be so brutal, but you wanted honest opinions.
