The Baltimore Ravens may have found an HBCU diamond-in-the-rough with Shemar Bridges.
The former Fort Valley State wide receiver had a big performance under the bright lights on Thursday against the Tennessee Titans. Bridges was targeted five times and caught four passes for 62 yards from backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in his NFL Debut as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Titans.
Bridges’ most-impressive plays came in the second quarter when he converted a 3rd-and-5 on one play before scoring a 14-yard TD on a jump ball in the end zone.
After the game, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh couldn’t help but sing the praises of Shemar Bridges.
“I like Shemar,” Harbaugh told the media. “He’s a big, physical guy. He goes up and gets the ball. He posts a lot of good speeds in practice. He plays hard on special teams in practice.”
Bridges was a big-time target for Fort Valley State last season, putting up 12 catches for 105 yards against Lane College and seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown against Tuskegee in the Red Tails Classic. After the season he competed in both the HBCU Legacy Bowl and the HBCU Combine in Mobile. Here’s how he described himself to HBCU Gameday.
“50-50 guy. Catch the ball. Run routes. Got wiggle. I can be versatile with my size. I can really do anything – play special teams. Just ready to line up and go to work.”
That sounds like a pretty solid scouting report based off his performance against the Titans. Shemar Bridges still has a ways to go to make the team as an undrafted free agent, but he got off to a good start on Thursday night.