Bruce Bivens

Position:
Inside Linebacker
Height:
6-0
Weight:
231
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Houston, Texas
High School:
Davis
Major:
Communication

Will again be counted on as one of the top headliners and conference honors candidate for the Pirates’ defense … Will open “second” senior season as the projected starter at “mike” linebacker on ECU’s preseason two-deep … In all, has played in 43 career games (22 starts) and logged 179 tackles, 14.5 TFLs (-47 yards), 3.0 sacks (-13 yards) and a pair of fumble recoveries … Credited with at least one stop in 35 outings and multiple hits on 32 occasions … Logged double-digit tackle totals on four occasions … Of his 179 career stops, 145 have come on rushing plays (81.0 percent) … Offers an impressive blend of speed and quickness with plenty of intensity and physicality … Will complete collegiate career playing under four different position coaches in five seasons (Ryan Anderson/2017, David Blackwell/2018, Byron Thweatt/2019 and Blake Harrell/2020-21) … Completed spring scrimmage action with a solo tackle during the Purple-Gold Game on April 24.

2020: Played in eight of nine contests and made six starts at the “will” position – Georgia State, Tulsa, Tulane, Cincinnati, Temple and SMU … Did not experience action at South Florida (injury) … Booked 47 tackles (17 solo), 4.5 TFLs (-13 yards), two quarterback pressures, one batted pass and one interception … A noted run defender, made 38 of his 47 stops in rushing plays (8 on passes, 1 on special teams/kickoff return) … Recorded two or more tackles in seven outings, which included two double-digit performances … Credited with a career-best 13 hits against Tulane at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium before notching 11 during ECU’s 28-3 triumph over Temple in the road finale … Other notable efforts include a pair of six-tackle tilts (Navy, Cincinnati), a five-stop afternoon (SMU) and a season-opening four-hit contribution against UCF … Also had a pair of tackles at Tulsa … Was not credited with any defensive statistics in only non-conference matchup at Georgia State prior to suffering injury … Added TFLs against Green Wave (2.0/-8 yards), Owls (2.0/-3 yards)) and Mustangs (0.5/-2 yards) … Picked off first career pass at Lincoln Financial Field in fourth-quarter action vs. Temple (no return) … Credited with QB hurries against Tulsa and SMU, while also batting down a pass vs. Mustangs … Was unit’s third-leading tackler in four home contests (28) and stood fifth in four road games (19) … Topped all defenders in the second half of the season (last four contests) with 35 stops – an average of 8.8 per outing – and 4.5 TFLs … Made 39 of his 47 tackles (83.0 percent) during day games … Month-by-month splits include four (September), eight (October) and 35 (November).

2019: Opened nine of 12 games as a junior … Ranked fifth on the unit with 61 tackles (31 solo) … Broke camp as ECU’s top “mike” linebacker and started the first six contests (NC State, Gardner-Webb, Navy, William & Mary, Old Dominion, Temple) … Returned to the No. 1 unit against USF, Cincinnati and SMU before coming off the bench in final two outings of the season … Booked two or more stops in all 12 games and logged five or more hits on eight occasions … Credited with a season-high nine tackles twice (vs. William & Mary and against Temple in a primetime nationally-televised tilt at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) … Other notable performances include a pair of six-stop efforts (in back-to-back weeks vs. Gardner-Webb and Navy) and four five-tackle contests (NC State, USF, SMU, Tulsa) … Also recorded 1.5 TFLs (1.0 vs. GWU, 0.5 vs. W&M) … Produced only sack against Bulldogs in home opener (-8 yards) and added a fumble return for 10 yards at Old Dominion … Enjoyed strong start to season as the team’s second-leading defender, averaging 6.5 tackles (39 overall) per contest in first the six games compared to a 3.6 tpg (22) mark in the final half-dozen outings … Also stood second on unit with 24 stops (6.0) in four non-conference matchups (4.6 tpg in eight AAC battles) … Other split includes 37 home tackles (6.2) and 24 road stops (4.0) … Tallied five hits in August, 25 in September (2^nd on team), 16 in October and 15 in November … Of the 61 overall tackles, 50 came on rushing plays (82 percent) … Successfully bounced back from an idle spring (late 2018 injury and subsequent off-season rehabilitation process) to earn starting designation at the start of the campaign.

2018: Stood among the unit’s Top 5 tacklers with 61 stops (27 solo) while playing in all 12 contests … Broke preseason camp as ECU’s starting “mike” linebacker and opened a total of seven games – North Carolina A&T, North Carolina, USF, Old Dominion, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati and NC State … Averaged 5.1 tackles per game, which ranked among the Top 50 defenders in the American Athletic Conference … Booked at least one successful hit in each contest and had five or more in six tilts … Also credited with 8.5 tackles for lost yardage (2.0 vs. ODU, Temple and UCF), 2.0 sacks (one each against the Monarchs/-2 and Knights/-3), a fumble recovery (Tulane) and a pair of quarterback pressures (Memphis, Connecticut) … Turned in two double-digit tackle efforts, racking up a season-high 10 stops in separate games vs. Temple and UCF (personal-best six solo hits) … Other performances of note include six-tackle totals vs. N.C. A&T and Cincinnati, a pair of five-hit days at Tulane and NC State, and a trio of four-stop bookings in home matchups against Old Dominion, Houston and Memphis … Also credited with TFLs vs. Connecticut (1.0), N.C. A&T (0.5), Cincinnati (0.5) and NC State (0.5) … Registered 49 (of 61) tackles on rushes, 10 on pass plays and two on special teams (punt returns) … Was ECU’s third-leading tackler during eight-game American Conference schedule (45), stood second in road games (29) and third in night contests (21) … Turned in a productive month of October, topping all Pirate defenders with 24 stops (in three tilts) … Regarded as a key contributor to a unit which ranked third nationally in TFLs (8.8 tpg), 22^nd in sacks (2.8 spg) and 35^th in fewest first downs allowed (243).

2017: Decision to lift redshirt status was made prior to the Pirates’ contest at West Virginia (Week 2) … In all, experienced action in 11 games – all off the bench … Credited with 10 tackles (five solo) … Shined during college debut with six stops (five unassisted) against the Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium … Registered two stops during first appearance at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium vs. Virginia Tech … Picked up single hits in tilts against BYU and Cincinnati … Utilized primarily as a run stopper with eight (of 10) tackles coming on rushing plays … Logged one stop against the pass, while also making another hit on special teams (kickoff return).

High School: An Associated Press First-Team Class 6A All-State selection as a senior linebacker and team captain at Davis … Credited with 87 stops, 20.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and two interceptions in 2016 … Additionally, recorded two defensive touchdowns for Falcons … Listed No. 51 among Houston Chronicle’s Top 100 college prospects in the state of Texas … Earned starting position on school’s inaugural varsity squad as a sophomore in 2014 after competing at the junior varsity level during freshman campaign just one year after DHS opened its doors for first time … Helped program post 7-5 record, capture district title and advance to Class 6A playoffs in first season of competition … A two-time first-team all-district choice … Posted 93 tackles, 7.0 sacks and forced five fumbles to earn first-team all-area honors and team’s outstanding linebacker award as a junior … A 247Sports.com three-star prospect who ranked among recruiting service’s Top 80 inside linebackers nationally … Reportedly clocked at 4.42 in the 40-yard dash, completed the 5-10-5 shuttle in 4.25, benched 315 pounds, squatted 505 pounds and reached a 41” vertical as a prep senior … Was also recruited by Fresno State … Excelled in classroom with selection to all-district academic squad in 2016 … Earned additional letters as a standout basketball performer.

Personal: Full name is Bruce Carlane Bivens … Born at Houston, Texas … Earned inclusion on ECU Honor Roll for academic work during the 2020 and 2021 spring semesters … Graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s degree in communication on May 7, 2021.