Four years ago, Beau Brade graduated from River Hill as one of Howard County’s most accomplished defensive players. The safety started all four years for the Hawks and capped off his stellar career as the 2019 Howard County Times Defensive Player of the Year.
Now, Brade, a senior at Maryland, is another step closer to realizing his NFL goal.
Brade recently accepted an invite to the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl which will be held in Mobile, Alabama, on Feb. 3. The all-star game highlights some of the top college football talent in the nation and offers players a prime opportunity to impress NFL organizations.
“It means a lot,” Brade said. “I’m from a pretty nice area, but a lot of people don’t make it where they want to go in the way of athletics. So, it’s cool to show kids and people from where I’m from that if this is what you want to do, these are your aspirations, you can get it done. Before me, there were only two other players from River Hill that went to the NFL and that’s Michael Campanaro and Kevin Johnson. So hopefully I’m the third.”
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Brade learned he was invited during a team meeting with Hall of Famer and Terps Director of Player Development Kevin Glover. He embraced his teammates but remained humble, feeling that other teammates deserved the opportunity as well. Last year, 100 players from the game were drafted, according to the game’s website, including three of Brade’s former teammates.
“What excites me about it is the experience, but also hopefully creating a pipeline from the University of Maryland to the Senior Bowl. Last year I got to see [defensive back] Jakorian Bennett, [offensive tackle] Jaelyn Duncan and [kicker] Chad Ryland go. Of course, I talked to JB. He’s in my position room, he’s like a mentor for me. Chad was my roommate last year, so it’s been a cool ride to see those guys do it and now I’m here now, too.”
To be selected, there is an eight-month evaluation process, which begins after the preceding NFL Draft. In late August, the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List is released, comprised of 400 players. From there, the 58-man rosters for each team are selected after detailed film study and visits with the prospects and coaching staffs. Each team is led by an NFL coaching staff, offering invaluable first-hand experience before being drafted.
“Having NFL coaches work with him and just getting to know Beau as a person, he’s a great student-athlete, high character kid, great leader,” River Hill coach Brian Van Deusen said. “You see those traits and you get to work with Beau throughout the week, I think that’s only going to help his draft stock. When those coaches get to see his work ethic and his football IQ, I think he’s going to really impress some people. There are a lot of people who probably haven’t seen him as much playing on the East Coast at Maryland, so he’ll get that exposure and hopefully go out there and have a great game and bring a little more attention to himself.”
Brade entered College Park known for his physicality and hard-hitting, as Van Deusen compared his style in high school to NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. As a freshman, Brade played in all five games of the pandemic-shortened season, primarily on special teams. He gained increased playing time his sophomore year, excelling in the Pinstripe Bowl Victory over Virginia Tech.
That continual growth paid dividends as Brade started all 13 games at safety last season. He finished with a team-high 85 tackles, also with five pass breakups, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Still a physical downhill tackler, Brade has improved both his coverage skills and ball-hawking ability, developing into a more complete safety.
A key leader in the secondary, Brade once again is Maryland’s leading tackler with 72, highlighted by a career-high 10-tackle performance against No. 1 Michigan. He’ll showcase those talents on a larger stage in February, looking to become the next member of his defensive back group to play at the next level, joining Deonte Banks, a first-round pick by the New York Giants, and Bennett, a fourth-round selection by the Las Vegas Raiders.
“It’s great. We take a lot of pride in that,” Brade said. “The best part is seeing that the work that we’ve all put in is starting to pay off. A year ago, I tweeted that we had the best corners in the nation and I believe that wholeheartedly because I see the work they do day in and day out in and outside the facility. That paid off for those guys and they’ve done a great job.”
Moving closer to achieving his NFL dream, Brade has remained loyal to his roots, still keeping in close contact with Van Deusen, other members of the Hawks’ coaching staff and former teammates. He still maintains a connection to the program, hoping to be the third former Hawk to lace up his cleats on Sundays.
“It’s awesome,” Van Deusen said. “He came to the Glenelg game and he’s right on the sideline with our players. Our players certainly love to see that and I think that gave us a little boost that game just to see Beau around. I was able to see four or five games at Maryland this year and watch him play, and it’s been great to see him develop over the last couple of years and become one of the best players in the Big Ten. I’m just really excited for him to see all of that hard work pay off because I know all the stuff he does in the weight room, watching film. You’ve seen him the last couple of years take more of a leadership role and you can see it out there on the field, so that’s been great to see.
“For River Hill, it’s really exciting to have another person playing and potentially getting drafted is really great for our program.”