Scout.com > Football Recruiting Roussel Lets the Cat out of the Bag Story URL: http://recruiting.scout.com/2/711109.html Chris Fetters SuperPrep.com Dec 13, 2007 BATON ROUGE, LA - A friend called up Holenn Roussel to pass along the good news. After all, Holenn's son Bradly had committed to play football for the University of Washington, despite offers from Tennessee, Kansas State and others. Problem was, Bradly wasn't supposed to say anything. But as with life, some things don't necessarily go according to plan. "Congratulations," the friend said. "What for?" was Holenn's reply. "About Bradly going to Washington." "He's thinking about it," the elder Roussel said. "He's just thinking about it? You better go buy a newspaper. There's about a half-page article on it." "Oh my God." What the friend didn't realize was that the Roussel's had hoped to keep Bradly's decision under wraps. But in the midst of a recent all-star practice, the 5-11, 215-pound linebacker from Redemptorist High told his coaches about the decision. "There were some reporters standing behind the coaches that he didn't see, so that's how that cat got let out of the bag," Holenn said. The reporter in question was William Weathers of The Advocate - Baton Rouge's newspaper. Weathers talked with Roussel at the practice, and posted a story out on the Advocate's website Thursday morning. Here's the link - Redemptorist LB Commits to Washington "He committed to (Washington Linebackers) Coach Chris Tormey on Monday, and (Washington Head) Coach Ty (Willingham) yesterday, and he'll be up on his official visit on the 4th (of January)," Holenn said. "We were hoping to wait until after his official visit (to commit). We really wanted Coach Willingham to break it through the school or however he wanted to do it." Recruiting has changed just a little bit since Holenn Roussel played for Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow at Louisiana-Monroe - although at the time it was known as Northeast Louisiana. The Warhawks offered Bradly too, but when schools like Washington and Tennessee called, they never had a chance. And with the numbers the younger Roussel put up at Redemptorist, it's a wonder the local LSU Tigers didn't at least take a sniff. Bradly Roussel was a three-year All-State performer who racked up 362 total tackles in his career for Head Coach Guy Mistretta. He was a starting inside linebacker for the Wolves his sophomore year - the last time they won State. Just this year alone Roussel had 109 tackles, five sacks, 10 QB hurries, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. "I'm an aggressive player," Roussel told Scout.com Thursday. He added that he'll be starting out at the WIL linebacker position when he gets to Seattle. "I have good instincts and good fundamentals. I play hard." The interesting thing about the connection between the Roussels and the University of Washington is that there is no connection. The closest Bradly can figure, his father sent out a bunch of junior film to schools all across the country, and the Huskies took notice. "They came to me and they offered me pretty early on, so that's what made me take a look at them," Bradly said. "They offered him and recruited him very heavily," added his father. "He established a good relationship with Chris Tormey, and when Coach Tormey came down for the in-house visit he made a very good impression on him. And Bradly wants to get into some sort of scientific research/development or engineering, and Washington has a very good school. They just did a very good job of keeping up with him and recruiting him and they really want him. He felt very comfortable with Coach Tormey. That's where he wants to be." Despite not having seen the campus yet - Roussel felt that Washington was his best fit. So he gave Willingham a call Wednesday night. "He was pleased," Bradly said of Willingham's reaction to the commitment. "He said he wanted to wait to get down there and talk to me face-to-face to make it formal. "I like Coach Willingham. He's a real respected guy and I'm excited that I get a chance to play for him." Roussel claims a 4.7 40, as well as a 315-pound bench and 315-pound clean. With those numbers, as well as what he's accomplished on the field, this linebacking legacy could have taken his game to schools all over the south. But in the end, the school that showed him the most love throughout the process gets the prize - even if the announcement didn't come out quite as planned. "I want to get away and try something new," Roussel said. Copyright © Scout.com and SuperPrep.com