Getting to see his dream of college football realized is testament to his heart and work ethic.
“It’s something I’ve worked for for a long time. A lot of people doubted me. I had just as many doubters as I did people supporting me. If you watch me play, I play with this huge chip on my shoulder and that’s what led me to get here,” Bridges said. “You know, I’m a big believer in outworking people. I’m not the most talented kid. There are kids bigger than me, maybe a little bit faster, but no one’s got the heart and that’s what got me where I’m at.”
That heart is evident on and off the gridiron. Bridges stood out as one of the top defensive linemen and overall football players for the Rebels in each of their three consecutive state championship seasons, a leader in a talented senior class. Head coach Jason Allen describes Bridges as the “heart and soul” of the football team, with Bridges carrying his heart on his sleeve off the field, too.
“Gabe is a special kid and he’s been a joy to coach for three years. One of the better football players I’ve had the opportunity to coach in my career, just unbelievable work ethic, unbelievable character. Then to put on top of that, he has a great desire to play. He just loves ball. Those are the kind of kids you want to see to be able to go on and play in college and I’m looking forward to great things for him and his college career,” Allen said. “He’s a great leader. Any kid that works as hard as he does, his teammates notice and they follow. He really worked hard on his craft. He’s one of the better defensive linemen I’ve had as far as using their hands, getting off blocks, and he loved the physicality side of football. He loved to hit, which is something you’ve got to have to be a really good football player, and he was one of the best we’ve had. It’s going to be a great loss losing him. He’s been kind of the heart and soul of our team for the last three years.”
Allen also got to coach Bridges in basketball, and Bridges was part of this year’s state championship team in that sport as well.
“Anything you get to coach Gabe in is joy,” Allen shared. “Obviously he didn’t contribute in basketball the way he did in football, but he played a huge role in our team and he was a great leader for our guys and the kind of guy you’ve got to have on your team to win championships with, and he won a lot of them in his career.”