Among all the players that could return to Last Chance U at Independence Community College for the 2018 season is linebacker Bobby Bruce.
For the first two parts of the Netflix docuseries “Last Chance U”, fans got a close glimpse into the football program at East Mississippi Community College. For Part 3, the series turned to Independence Community College to shine a spotlight on the Pirates’ 2017 season.
One of the most popular players that was profiled heavily throughout Part 3 at Independence was a freshman linebacker Bobby Bruce. As one of the linebackers that emerged in the second half of the regular season, Bruce became a fan favorite among all the players that had ever been featured on “Last Chance U”.
Numerous fans were disappointed and let down to see that Bruce might not be returning to Independence for the 2018 season due to an arrest that happened earlier in the summer. That happened before the third part of the show was released on July 21.
A Tweet that was run across this morning from a former head football coach of Bruce’s back in Titusville, FL, in Yusef Johnson. It showed Bruce in the car with Johnson with part of the Tweet stating from the football coach “I’m taking you back to the airport myself”.
The first lead up to a hint at a possible return to the gridiron at Independence for Bruce came from his own Twitter timeline. That also came from a football coach out of the state of Florida in Matt Diesel.
I want to thank my former player @bobbybruce20 for coming to workouts today! It is great to see him the day before he goes back to Independence CC to finish up🏈💯🐍#BALLER #LastChanceU #BDC pic.twitter.com/v9z6xlmj7G
— Coach Matt Diesel (@mdiesel321) July 23, 2018
A return to Independence this year would be an interesting storyline to follow if the Netflix series remains at the junior college for the next part. Bruce was similar to past characters like defensive tackle Ronald Ollie and running back Isaiah Wright in terms of the uphill battle facing talented players to reach the next level of their football careers. Each of those stories could wind up with a different ending.
Bruce finished the 2017 season for Independence with more than 20 total tackles and one tackle for loss. He would be a sophomore for the 2018 season and would likely be looking to take his career to the D1 level for 2019. Saturday Blitz will continue to follow this story with Bruce and Independence closely in the months to come.