Quiet Man -- Archer Makes a Hoosier Tight End Impact
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Bradley Archer pauses. He wants to get this right. He needs to get it right. He’s a thoughtful guy who measures his words because he knows they matter.
The question pertains to leadership. It’s crucial to team success and while Archer, a Stanford transfer, is new to the Hoosiers, he’s not new to college battles. In a tight end room dominated by youth, that matters.
“I’m not a super vocal leader,” Archer says. “I lead by example. I am trying to lead the young guys. They’re going to be great players.”
Archer is asked to assess his play against No. 3 Ohio State. It was his first IU game and, as it turned out, his first Indiana start. After some rocky early moments, including a false start, he found his rhythm, which bodes well for Friday night’s game against Indiana State (0-1) at Memorial Stadium, and beyond.
“In the beginning, there were things I needed to correct. As the game went on, my confidence grew. I finished pretty strong. We were having fun, but it stinks we lost.”
Archer didn’t generate any box score stats in the season opener. Still, he started along with fellow tight end James Bomba. His impact came in blocking and pass protection.
“There were some first-game jitters,” he says. “Coming from Stanford, I played in some big games, but I don’t think I played a team at the level of Ohio State.
“As an offense we were slow at first. We started to figure it out. Personally, there were some little things in the beginning I need to work on. Things we watched together on film with (tight ends coach Kevin Wright). He gave us some pointers.”
In four years at Stanford, Archer played in 28 games with four starts. He totaled four receptions. At 6-3 and 245 pounds, he has the size, strength, and athleticism IU needs from the position.
“He’s been a wonderful addition,” offensive coordinator Walt Bell says. “He’s big. He’s strong. He’s really smart. He does a great job in-line, and catches the ball well. He doesn’t say a whole lot. He just works hard every day.”
Archer showed plenty of promise while at California’s Livermore High School. The son of a Livermore coach thrived as a tight end, middle linebacker, and long snapper when he wasn’t a clean-up-hitting third baseman while earning academic honors.
In his last two prep football seasons, Archer totaled 179 tackles, 36 for loss and five sacks on defense, and 61 catches for 849 yards and 12 touchdowns on offense.
Then it was off to Stanford and a reserve role
Why did Archer, a Californian for his entire life, become a Hoosier after entering the transfer portal?
Bell, Wright, and head coach Tom Allen made strong recruiting impressions. So did IU’s renowned Kelley School of Business.
“The Kelley School was hard to pass up,” Archer says. “Business is something I’m pursuing.”
Mostly, though, it was the players and Allen’s Love Each Other culture.
“Something just felt right,” Archer says. “It felt like home. The guys on the team care about football; they care about each other. It was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Now that he is, the goal is to make the most of it. Figure tight ends will play a large offensive role
IU can mix power formations with two tight ends and two backs as well as spread things out. Archer says Ohio State All-America linebacker Tommy Eichenberg told Allen after the game that the Hoosiers’ offense was hard to read.
“He said he struggled with his read keys,” Archer says. “The offense we run can be so diverse. It opens up a lot of opportunities for tight ends, running backs, and wide receivers.”
Still, IU managed just three points and 153 total yards.
“We had some missed opportunities,” Archer says. “We need to focus on the little things, the little details, and that will open up more opportunities for all of us.”
Bell envisions making the most of that.
“That’s a big thing for us as these guys continue to develop. It’s a young room. It’s whatever the game plan allows us to do with those guys.”
The goal is to bounce back against an Indiana State team coming off a 27-0 loss to Illinois State. The Hoosiers are 6-0 against the Sycamores.
“It’s a new week, new practices,” Archer says. “We talked as an offense about the things we need to get better on. We’ll focus on that in getting ready for Indiana State.”