Brad played at the University of North Texas:
Kassell giving team headache during practice
Doesn't slow down during drills
By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer
With blood pouring down his face, Brad Kassell looked almost like someone who'd just stepped off the set of a horror film.
In reality, the Titans linebacker had just finished a training camp practice.
A few weeks later, an ugly scar remains on the bridge of Kassell's nose. It took eight stitches to repair it, but left a mark much bigger.
"It put a dent on my modeling career, I'm afraid," Kassell said. "I was really looking forward to that."
Kassell was kidding, of course.
Anyone who's crossed paths with the rugged 25-year-old knows the last place he'd get caught is on a modeling runway. He is, however, the perfect model of a guy most offensive players hate practicing against.
"I still despise Brad Kassell. He is a crazy redneck," said guard Zach Piller, offering only a hint of a smile. "Nah, he is a good dude, really. He is just a little deranged. But I guess you have to be deranged to play middle linebacker."
Over the years, most offensive players seem to have developed a love-hate relationship with Kassell. They love having him on their team, only not during the week.
That, of course, only makes the members of the organization who don't suit up in pads smile just a bit. They love his style.
"I am sure he is a pain in the fanny. He understands one thing and that is 'go fast,' " Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said. "When somebody else might be looking for a break on a certain play or try and catch his breath, Brad doesn't understand that kind of language. If you hesitate a step he is probably going to put a helmet on you some place."
Kassell, heading into his fourth NFL season, has built his reputation on being a hard-nosed player. He made the team as an undrafted free agent back in 2002 by doing the same thing he does on a regular basis today  he plays hard, stirs things up, and apologizes to no one.
He says he's toned it down a little bit to make sure no one gets hurt. But some aren't buying that.
Center Justin Hartwig, for instance, accused Hartwig of going overboard in warm-ups before Friday's preseason game at San Francisco.
"Sometimes in warm-ups guys go half-speed and he decided he wanted to get his first lick of the Negroht in on me and it jarred my head back," Hartwig said.
"I have to block Brad a lot in practice and I pretty much have to bring whatever I have to the table whenever I do. ... He'll try and knock your head off. I always have head-to-head collisions with Brad and I feel concussed just about every time.
"I definitely say he is the toughest guy on defense. He doesn't care. He plays with reckless abandon. Really, he's a madman."
This offseason, the Titans rewarded Kassell for his work. When the Lions tried to sign him as a restricted free agent, the Titans stepped up and raised his salary from $656,000 to $1 million to keep him.
This fall he'll once again be the team's starting middle linebacker after racking up 128 total tackles last season.
While Kassell has been involved in a number of practice field skirmishes over the years, the one that required the stitches on his nose was purely accidental  it came during a collision with guard Benji Olson.
He did have a heated run-in with rookie running Damien Nash earlier in training camp, however, and exchanged punches with another lineman during a kick coverage drills.
Hardly a practice goes by when he doesn't exchange a shove or a glance with someone on the opposite side of the football.
"I went and told Nash after his little incident with Brad, 'Hey, pick your battles.' This is a guy you have to see every day, you better be a little wiser about picking who you're going to get mad," cornerback Andre Woolfolk said.
"He enjoys being physical. That is his nature. He's not the first guy you'd want to mess with."
Kassell, who's 6-foot-3, and weighs 242 pounds, said he doesn't necessarily mean to be such a pain in the rear, it's just the only way he knows how to play.
And while he insists he has tried to tone it down a little bit over the years, he admits that's not always easy.
"I know Zach used to hate me when I was a rookie because my coach used to always tell me to hit the linemen and ... sometimes I would just try to hit him in the face," Kassell said. "But I was talking to him one day and told him, 'You know, it hurts me just as much when I hit them.' So they cut me a little slack now. They said, 'Well, if you're in pain, too, then it is a little better.'
"That's just how I am. I just try and practice a little smarter now because when you are going against the starters every play and if you go hard and get on the ground and get in peoples' legs, you don't want to do something stupid. But I like to hit. It is the fun part of the game for me."
<a href="http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050831/SPORTS01/508310424/1328/SPORTS" target="_blank">
Kassell giving team headache during practice
Doesn't slow down during drills
By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer
With blood pouring down his face, Brad Kassell looked almost like someone who'd just stepped off the set of a horror film.
In reality, the Titans linebacker had just finished a training camp practice.
A few weeks later, an ugly scar remains on the bridge of Kassell's nose. It took eight stitches to repair it, but left a mark much bigger.
"It put a dent on my modeling career, I'm afraid," Kassell said. "I was really looking forward to that."
Kassell was kidding, of course.
Anyone who's crossed paths with the rugged 25-year-old knows the last place he'd get caught is on a modeling runway. He is, however, the perfect model of a guy most offensive players hate practicing against.
"I still despise Brad Kassell. He is a crazy redneck," said guard Zach Piller, offering only a hint of a smile. "Nah, he is a good dude, really. He is just a little deranged. But I guess you have to be deranged to play middle linebacker."
Over the years, most offensive players seem to have developed a love-hate relationship with Kassell. They love having him on their team, only not during the week.
That, of course, only makes the members of the organization who don't suit up in pads smile just a bit. They love his style.
"I am sure he is a pain in the fanny. He understands one thing and that is 'go fast,' " Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said. "When somebody else might be looking for a break on a certain play or try and catch his breath, Brad doesn't understand that kind of language. If you hesitate a step he is probably going to put a helmet on you some place."
Kassell, heading into his fourth NFL season, has built his reputation on being a hard-nosed player. He made the team as an undrafted free agent back in 2002 by doing the same thing he does on a regular basis today  he plays hard, stirs things up, and apologizes to no one.
He says he's toned it down a little bit to make sure no one gets hurt. But some aren't buying that.
Center Justin Hartwig, for instance, accused Hartwig of going overboard in warm-ups before Friday's preseason game at San Francisco.
"Sometimes in warm-ups guys go half-speed and he decided he wanted to get his first lick of the Negroht in on me and it jarred my head back," Hartwig said.
"I have to block Brad a lot in practice and I pretty much have to bring whatever I have to the table whenever I do. ... He'll try and knock your head off. I always have head-to-head collisions with Brad and I feel concussed just about every time.
"I definitely say he is the toughest guy on defense. He doesn't care. He plays with reckless abandon. Really, he's a madman."
This offseason, the Titans rewarded Kassell for his work. When the Lions tried to sign him as a restricted free agent, the Titans stepped up and raised his salary from $656,000 to $1 million to keep him.
This fall he'll once again be the team's starting middle linebacker after racking up 128 total tackles last season.
While Kassell has been involved in a number of practice field skirmishes over the years, the one that required the stitches on his nose was purely accidental  it came during a collision with guard Benji Olson.
He did have a heated run-in with rookie running Damien Nash earlier in training camp, however, and exchanged punches with another lineman during a kick coverage drills.
Hardly a practice goes by when he doesn't exchange a shove or a glance with someone on the opposite side of the football.
"I went and told Nash after his little incident with Brad, 'Hey, pick your battles.' This is a guy you have to see every day, you better be a little wiser about picking who you're going to get mad," cornerback Andre Woolfolk said.
"He enjoys being physical. That is his nature. He's not the first guy you'd want to mess with."
Kassell, who's 6-foot-3, and weighs 242 pounds, said he doesn't necessarily mean to be such a pain in the rear, it's just the only way he knows how to play.
And while he insists he has tried to tone it down a little bit over the years, he admits that's not always easy.
"I know Zach used to hate me when I was a rookie because my coach used to always tell me to hit the linemen and ... sometimes I would just try to hit him in the face," Kassell said. "But I was talking to him one day and told him, 'You know, it hurts me just as much when I hit them.' So they cut me a little slack now. They said, 'Well, if you're in pain, too, then it is a little better.'
"That's just how I am. I just try and practice a little smarter now because when you are going against the starters every play and if you go hard and get on the ground and get in peoples' legs, you don't want to do something stupid. But I like to hit. It is the fun part of the game for me."
<a href="http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050831/SPORTS01/508310424/1328/SPORTS" target="_blank">
