By Shoshana Burrus
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 16, 1997

Bruschi 'bouncing of the walls'

"I'm looking at it as the only chance I'll ever get," he said last night from his home in Massachusetts. "You don't get a lot of chances - that's what the veterans on the team have taught me. This is it."

Nothing could be more exciting for Bruschi than going to Super Bowl XXXI against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 26.

"I feel so many things right now," he said. "I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement."

Bruschi isn't the only one who is excited. UA defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff said he could talk for hours about Bruschi.

"We're ecstatic," Mac Duff said. "We love him. He is so deserving of this opportunity."

Bruschi, who played defensive end for Arizona, was a third-round draft pick in the NFL draft last April. He is tied with Alabama's Derrick Thomas for the most career sacks with 52.

Since Bruschi joined the Patriots last fall, many things have changed - including his role on the defensive line.

"I started the year not knowing what to expect," Bruschi said. "I was nervous and anxious."

Nerves and anxiety are one thing, but Bruschi said that trying to make the transition has been tough.

"You have to get up and relocate in a strange new city," Bruschi said. "It's a big transition. That transition is a lot easier when you win."

Now that he has settled in and made the New England area his home, Bruschi has moved from spending most of his time on special teams to more time on the defensive line.

"I started to help the team with special teams and defense," the 23-year-old said. "My role got greater and greater as the season progressed."

Bruschi is now playing everything from defensive end to a linebacker.

"I do so many things," Bruschi said.

Bruschi did more than just "things" against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday for the AFC Championship. Bruschi stepped up at a crucial time intercepting a Mark Brunell pass with two minutes left in the game which all but ended Jacksonville's hopes for a Su per Bowl berth. He finished the game with 3 tackles, a tipped pass and returned the interception for 12 yards.

"When it's a big and important game, I will lay it on the line for this team, just like I would do for the Wildcats," Bruschi said. "No matter what team it is - Wildcats or Patriots - I will look them in the eye and tell them I will be there every time."

The 6-foot-1, 260-pound linebacker was certainly effective during the regular season for the Patriots as well. He ended the regular season with four sacks and one touchdown on a six-yard blocked punt return.

Mac Duff said he is not surprised at all in Bruschi's ability.

"He was a major contributing factor in the Patriots drive to the Super Bowl," Mac Duff said. "He was very much involved."

As the season has progressed, Bruschi's relationship with the coaching staff has grown as well.

"I now have an understanding of what the coaches want from me," Bruschi said. "As they gave me the role, I've continued to improve and make plays from that role."

However, blocking punts and sacking quarterbacks isn't all that's on Bruschi's mind.

"If I didn't have one tackle and we won, I wouldn't care," he said. "I want to win. The ultimate result for me is getting the victory."

With an experienced Super Bowl winner like head coach Bill Parcells, the Patriots can get in the mind set it takes to win.

"When you have a coach (Parcells) who has been at the top of his profession, twice, everything that comes out of his mouth you listen to him because you know he knows what he's talking about," Bruschi said.

Being the underdog to the Green Bay Packers by 13 1/2 points, doesn't seem to bother Bruschi.

"We're a tight-knit group," he said. "The only thing that matters to us is the minds of the other 52 guys on the team on Super Bowl Sunday."

And being a rookie won't stop Bruschi from giving it his all.

"Even though it's my first year," he said, "it shouldn't hold me back from winning the championship."