Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Tyre Brady embraces bowl game opportunity
12/8/2018 12:15:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall will face South Florida on Dec. 20 in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Tyre Brady doesn't have one reason to play in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 20.
He has every reason.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound senior receiver from Homestead, Florida, will return to his home state next weekend for Marshall's bowl game against South Florida at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Thundering Herd players land in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday, Dec. 16, which is fitting for Brady. He wants to spend his professional football career in NFL cities every Sunday.
Brady believes the best way to do that is to showcase his skills in the bowl game, which is on a Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN – the only football game, pro or college, on TV that night.
But that isn't Brady's only motivation. He loves his teammates and coaches, and wants another 60 minutes between the lines with them. He wants to help preserve Marshall's six-game bowl winning streak and the best bowl winning percentage in college football. He wants to produce for the fans who have supported him and high-fived him and welcomed him into the Herd family.
He isn't just playing for himself. He is playing for everyone.
"I owe so much to Marshall University for investing in me and my future," Brady said. "Because of Marshall, I will leave Huntington with a degree and be the first person in my family to be a college graduate. I couldn't imagine missing out on the bowl game with my coaches and teammates who have fought hard with me day after day. I'm a better person and player because of all of them.
"The bowl game is one more chance to suit up with my brothers and compete. It is one more opportunity to play for the greatest fans in the country. And I believe the best way to prepare for the NFL is to show scouts what I can do. I can't wait to return to Florida and go for another bowl win."
Brady was named to the Conference USA all-conference first team this week. On Sunday, he accepted an invitation to compete in the prestigious Senior Bowl in January.
Brady has been one of Conference USA's top receivers this season, ranking sixth in the league in receptions (66), fifth in receiving yards (914) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (nine). He enters bowl season with a streak of 23 consecutive games with a reception, and needs 86 receiving yards to be the first Marshall player since 2014 (Tommy Shuler) to reach the 1,000-yard mark.Â
Last season, Brady produced one of the most prolific receiving days in Marshall history – a 248-yard performance at NC State. Brady turned 11 receptions into the fourth-most receiving yards by a player all-time at Marshall, the most receiving yards by a Herd player on the road and the most receiving yards by a player, home or visitor, in the 53-year history of NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium.
This season, Brady had a pair of 162-yard receiving games (at Western Kentucky and vs. UTSA). The latter of the two games, at Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium, was the 21st-best receiving performance by a Marshall player in the stadium's history.
Overall, Brady has seven career 100-yard games and four this season. Last December, Brady caught six passes for 165 yards and one touchdown in Marshall's 31-28 New Mexico Bowl win against Colorado State, which earned him the bowl game's Offensive MVP honors.
