Grace Christian embraces former rival coach Rusty Bradley

Eyebrows were raised, for sure, when Grace Christian Academy running back Cody Estep got the unexpected news in May.

Rusty Bradley, who turned cross-town rival Christian Academy of Knoxville into a state power, was the new coach at Grace.

After guiding CAK to an 88-30 record in nine seasons, followed by a one-year stop last season at University School of Jackson, Bradley resurfaced at the home of his former arch enemy.

Estep knew things would be different under the pass-happy Bradley.

“As a running back who is used to running the ball, I was kind of skeptical about going to the spread,” Estep said.

Bradley and his all-out passing attack were the antithesis of Grace during his run at CAK.

The Rams generally shunned the pass for the run in their wing-T offense under Randy McKamey, who left for Clinton in December after going 89-32 in 10 seasons at Grace.

Bradley had a well-earned reputation as somewhat of a mad scientist on offense with his West Coast attack at CAK.

The Warriors went 88-30 during his stint (2007-15) and produced a litany of prolific quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Quarterback Charlie High led the Warriors to state championships in 2011 and 2012 and still holds multiple national passing records.

Even worse, Estep and the Rams lost 48-7 and 21-7 to Bradley’s last two teams at CAK.

But it didn’t take Estep long to be a Bradley convert once fall practice began. He quickly embraced the new coach and offense. In fact, he’s now a fan of both.

“I won’t just be running the ball,” Estep said. “I’ll be catching more passes, too, and it’ll be an all-around better offense.”

The senior quickly buried another misconception that Bradley was all business on the football field.

“That’s what we were hearing,” Estep said. “But he shows up and he’s kind of goofy and a very fun coach to be around.”

Grace went an uncharacteristic 6-6 and 7-6 the past two seasons, but senior lineman Ben Arnold said Bradley is the perfect shot in the arm to rejuvenate the program.

“I’m definitely excited,” Arnold said. “Coach Bradley has come in and just given us a new kind of taste.”

Bradley said the warm reception by the players blew him away.

“The transition really hasn’t been that difficult,” he said. “The guys have done a phenomenal job of buying into the system and the way I want things done. I have been completely shocked at how they’ve handled it.”

Grace already has a date, Oct. 5, circled on its 2017 schedule.

That’s when the Rams host CAK in their traditional rivalry game that figures to be packed with even more emotion given the Bradley factor.

“It will be intense, but what I preach to the guys is we’re not gonna play because we don’t like our opponent,” Bradley said. “We’re gonna play because we love each other.”