The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

August 25, 2010

Irvin becoming big man on WVU campus

By Dave Morrison Sports Editor

MORGANTOWN — There’s not much Bill Stewart doesn’t like about Bruce Irvin.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Mount San Antonio Community College (Calif.) transfer is, by all accounts, a big-time defensive end. A five-star stud on the stopper unit.

“Oh, my. Bruce Irvin is very, very impressive,” Stewart said. “He’s a Mountaineer. He’s rough and tough.”

And that, Stewart said, is going to make an already stout WVU defense even better.

“He makes us better,” the coach said. “He makes us step up our game. He isn’t the only one, though. With Will Clarke, Julian Miller and those guys, we have some major pressure coming and that is just going to make us better.

“Bruce has good quickness off the ball and he can adjust. If you offset one way or another and you aren’t on the leverage point with him, he will slip right past you. He is very slippery. I am excited to see him play in this league.”

A one-time offensive wide receiver, Irvin was switched to defense when he couldn’t remember his plays.

His coach told him to put his hand on the ground and get the quarterback. And he did, accounting for four sacks in his first game.

His path to West Virginia started about as far west as you can get from the Mountain State.

“I kind of wanted to get away for a while,” Irvin said of leaving his native Atlanta. “There was nothing but trouble at home, so I wanted to get as far away as possible, but I didn’t have the grades to go Division I out of high school. I now take life more seriously because I was struggling a lot and making a lot of bad choices. Now I know how blessed I am to have another opportunity to be doing what I love to do.”

And that is sacking the quarterback. Of course, defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and his coaches on defense are not going to keep it as simple as “get the quarterback.”

“It’s more than going after the quarterback,” Irvin said. “It’s about keeping the containment. I have a lot of raw abilities I still need to work on. For example, I need to learn to stay low. With a 6-foot-4 body it’s hard to stay down, but I’ll get it together. (Linebacker) J.T. Thomas has been a big help. (Offensive lineman) Don Barclay and I go at it quite a bit. We compete a lot to get better.”

His success as a hybrid linebacker/lineman makes one wonder why he hadn’t tried it earlier in life.

“I don’t know. I first tried to be a safety, but I had no clue what was going on, so my coach told me to try out the defensive line,” Irvin said. “It was pretty easy for me, and with my speed, it made it much easier. It was the right fit.”

He is starting to feel at home in Morgantown. In fact, the transition from Atlanta to California to Morgantown has been easy.

“I’m older, so the transition has been easier,” he said. “Coach (Lonnie) Galloway has helped me a lot not only on a personal level, but he has made it easier for me on the field as well. Last year was my first playing defense. I’m still a baby with defense.”

Possibly, but his play has made him a man about town.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” he said. “It’s weird, but I’ll get used to it.”

So will opposing quarterbacks, whom he says he plans to get up close and personal with.

— E-mail: demorrison@register-herald.com

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