Jordan HammWatching O’Connor defensive end/outside linebacker Bralen Trice’s junior film, you’ll see a lot of sacks, athletic moves and disruptive plays.
You’ll also see relentlessness.
That’s a theme that’s common with Trice, O’Connor head coach Steve Casey and the entire Eagle program. Of the five pillars of their defense, relentless effort is first and foremost.
And their leader has it in spades.
“If you can’t have relentless effort, it’s real hard to play our defense,” Casey said. “Bralen brings relentless effort. For a kid his size, the way he plays, it inspires other kids to play hard.”
Trice is coming off a junior season where he had 75 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. Along the way, he picked up offers from some of the top programs in the Pac-12 and across the country.
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On May 30th, he released a top five of Washington, TCU, UCLA, Notre Dame and Oregon. Shortly after, he was also offered by USC.
But for now, Trice’s focus is on leading the Eagles defense.
“That’s a big part of it for me; getting what needs to be done for my team and my coach” Trice said. “I’m just trying to top what I did last season and give my all and just work hard.”
Trice has looked to take his game to the next level this offseason, looking to get bigger and stronger and solely focusing on football.
“He didn’t play basketball this year, so he spent all this offseason with us in the weight room,” Casey said. “He’s gotten stronger, and with that coming with everything else he has, it will be a lot of fun watching him play. We have him for another year, I wish we had him for a couple more.”
A bigger, stronger Trice and the rest of the Eagles will look to hit the ground running on August 17th on the road against Mesa.
