July 27, 2017
Throughout the summer, VUCommodores.com is featuring Vanderbilt football returnees who are relentless, tough and intelligent.
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bruno Reagan first tried his hand at judo when he was three years old. His father, Mackel, was then the director of a community center in Clarksville, Tenn., one that offered judo classes. The young and curious Bruno Reagan decided to give the unorthodox martial arts exercise a shot.
Soon, Reagan found himself infatuated with his newfound hobby. “When you plant a seed that young, that’s just what you do,” Reagan said. “Judo became my life.”
By the fourth grade, Reagan had enhanced his workout repertoire by joining a wrestling team. As a sophomore at Clarksville High, Reagan ventured to the under-18 judo world championships in Ukraine. The next year Reagan finished 57-0 as a high-school wrestler and was crowned the Tennessee state heavyweight champ as a junior.
Today Reagan is a 6-3, 315-pound guard on Vanderbilt’s football team. Though his focus is now fully on the gridiron, Reagan continues to utilize skills learned during his judo and wrestling days.
“People have trouble going through techniques with feet, then transitioning into hips, then transitioning into hands,” Reagan said. “Wrestling and judo have taught me to use my entire body in every aspect. Now I have a crazy sense of balance, center of gravity and leverage.”
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Reagan might use every tool at his disposal as Vanderbilt enters the 2017 football season. The redshirt junior is a key figure along an offensive line that loses two starters, center Barrett Gouger and tackle Will Holden, the latter a fifth-round NFL draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals. In 2016, Reagan started all 13 games at right guard, helping the offensive line pave the way for running back Ralph Webb’s record-setting 1,283 rushing yards. That group also helped Vanderbilt rank sixth in FBS in red-zone offense (93.5 percent).
In turning the page to 2017, Reagan has taken on a larger leadership role in Gouger and Holden’s absence. Now Reagan describes the Commodores’ offensive line as “my best friends for life,” a group that includes juniors Bailey Granier and Justin Skule and third-year sophomore Ean Pfeifer.
That camaraderie is by design, Reagan says.
“The offensive line is the closest position group on any team,” Reagan said. “If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong.”
Cameron Norcross, Vanderbilt’s offensive line coach, said he bears witness to Reagan’s wrestling and judo background every day.
“Wrestling and interior line play go hand-in-hand,” Norcross said. “It is all about balance and leverage. But most importantly, there’s a toughness aspect. With Bruno, he’s got toughness to him. Now he’s becoming a leader and a guy who enjoys being a leader, who enjoys playing the game of football in a physical manner.”
Talents and all, Reagan represents one piece of a Vanderbilt offense hungry for more in 2017. That group loses just Gouger and Holden from a year ago, bringing back Webb, quarterback Kyle Shurmur and senior receivers C.J. Duncan, Caleb Scott and Trent Sherfield. The Dores closed the regular season scoring 83 points in wins over Ole Miss and Tennessee and participated in bowl practices for the first time under Mason. For those reasons, Reagan said Vanderbilt has enjoyed an invigorating offseason.
“This has been a lot smoother of a transition than any other year I’ve been here,” Reagan said. “Guys have really started to feel it, and you can tell in our meetings it’s just clicking. We’re just a more mature unit. That excites me, but it also puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. Everyone on the offensive line is so motivated right now. Now that we’ve reached that point, we can add to our momentum.”
That momentum could lift Vanderbilt to new heights in 2017, when Reagan and his expanded family of linemen expect to grow even closer. That is, as long as no teammate challenges Reagan to a wrestling match.
“They wouldn’t last 30 seconds,” Reagan says with a laugh.
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics. Check out his story archive and follow him on Twitter here.