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Bruce Irvin is a freak of nature. The West Virginia pass rusher is 6-3, 245 pounds and ran a 4.45 forty at the combine. If you are impressed with him as an athlete, you will be more impressed with what he’s overcome in his life . . .
Q)Did you ever think you would be here?
Irvin: I never thought I’d be in this situation.
Q)When did you realize it?
Irvin: It actually started to sink on my way to the airport [recently]. I started to tear up in the car because I
come from a rough situation. So to almost be in the NFL is just a blessing.
Q)How bad was your situation growing up?
Irvin: I have a different story than a lot of these guys. Grew up in a rough neighborhood in Atlanta, dropped out of high school in 11th grade and got in some trouble, ran with the wrong crowd.
Finally saw the light, got my GED, took the test and passed all five parts on the first time. That January I went to [college] and never looked back.
Q)Were you in a gang?
Irvin: I was never associated with a gang.
Q)Were you in jail?
Irvin: I was in jail. I was in jail for two charges. I was only in for about three weeks.
Q)NFL teams must be asking you some very tough questions in these meetings . . .
Irvin: They’ve heard the stories, read the articles. They’re questioning me which I don’t blame. They kinda want to hear it from the horses mouth.
Q)Have you changed? What do you tell teams?
Irvin: Check my past four or five years, I got a lot of people who can vouch for me.
Q)Who was the most influential person in helping you turn your life around?
Irvin: My mentor, a guy who saved my life, Chad Allen. I was homeless, pretty much. And he took me under his wing and let me live with him and train with him. He paid my tuition and it took off from there.
Q)Why did he do all that?
Irvin: [Allen] would come up there (to the home for troubled teens, which folded) and talk to the players and the kids and give them real life experiences.
I was homeless and he talked to me, and we kind of had a heart to heart and he told me ‘I can’t let you go back to you doing what you were doing’ so he opened up his house to me.
Q)Did you ever wonder why he did so much for you?
Irvin: I never asked him, I started getting free meals. I didn’t have to struggle any more, didn’t have to bounce from house to house. Honestly, he doesn’t ask me for anything, he just asks me to work hard and strive to be the best I can be.
Q)You couldn’t go home before (too many people looking for him), can you go home now?
Irvin: Yah, I can go home. I couldn’t at the time. My so-called friends at the time where still involved with that kind of stuff and I didn’t want to surround myself with that type of stuff or even be in the same state as it. That’s why I went to California (for junior college) to be as far away from it as I could.
Q)How did you end up at West Virginia?
Irvin: West Virginia is a great place. I kind of wanted to go to a place who needed me as much as I needed them. Coming out of Junior College, I had 27 offers, I had all the big schools, but I kind of wanted to be the big fish in a small pond so to say. So West Virginia was a perfect fit. The best decision that I’ve made.
Q)How did you go from safety to defensive line in junior college?
Irvin: I went to Junior College as a safety. I only played one year of high school football, I was kind of slow to the game. So picking up the coverages and all the extra stuff in takes to be a free safety, it was just taking me a long time to grasp it and get concept of it. One day at practice after the sixth game, I was only playing kickoff and punt team, I was a gunner on punt team, coach was like ‘we have to get you on the field someway’. Since then I’ve put my hand in the dirt.
Q)How do you get to the quarterback so much?
Irvin: I’m a fast guy, I like mismatches. So I think that gives me the chance, especially if I have big guys in the middle to occupy the guard. It allows me to go one-on-one with the tackle, I usually won those in college most of the time. It’s going to be different at the next level and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Q)After all you have been through, are you looking for a big pay day?
Irvin: I don’t look at the materialistic things – that’s what the average football player thinks – get the money, you want the car and jewelry and stuff. I just want to be able to let my mom retire and buy her a house or something. Just make sure she’s comfortable, [allow her to do] everything she wants to do while she’s still living.
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