TAMPA, Fla. – Brandon Cleveland is looking forward to a “surreal” moment when he runs out of the tunnel and onto the field before Friday afternoon’s Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium for his last college football game.
It is was at RJS that Cleveland, the only Tampa Bay-area player on the Wolfpack’s roster, watched his beloved Buccaneers while cheering on the likes of Tom Brady.
“That definitely adds some juice, for sure,” said Cleveland, who was born in the Bronx, moved to Florida when he was three, and spent his final two years of high school at Carrollwood Day after two years at Seffner Christian. “The Bucs are my team and I’d love to play for them someday.”
Any team would do well to have Cleveland on its roster. The defensive tackle, who will have several family members and friends in attendance, enters Friday’s game against Memphis (2:30, ESPN) with 6.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, giving him career totals of 15.5 and six. Bringing a Tiger to the turf behind the line of scrimmage just might result in a belly rub.
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“Everybody loves the belly rub,” he said with a big smile. “If I make a play, I’ll rub my belly. Hopefully, I can rub my belly a few times at Raymond James.”
Cleveland, who graduated last week with a degree in sports management, has also shined away from the field in doing his part in making Raleigh a better place by helping the less fortunate, including those who may not have a roof over their head. It is something he began tending to as a freshman.
“We started feeding the unhoused community in downtown Raleigh,” he said. “On Mondays we would hand out pizza and water and just spend some time with them and just hang out. I’ve done all types of different things at NC State while I’ve been there, just trying to help out the community.”
Cleveland has helped in donating to Feed the Pack Food Pantry, which endeavors to “meet the food needs of all members of the NC State community.”
“I have really been passionate about that, helping out that program,” he said. “I got my teammates to donate and volunteer, and coaches to help out with that program.”
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Cleveland, who has also assisted with back-to-school bashes that provide school supplies to Boys & Girls Clubs in Raleigh, was on the Wuerffel Trophy watchlist the past two seasons. The award is named after former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel and recognizes those who selflessly serve within the community.
“It’s good to be recognized, but I like to stay low key and do things because I want to do them,” he said. “I think it’s good to have the recognition because maybe my teammates will see it and want to do stuff. That’s more of what I care about. It’s like other people being motivated by it, or knowing that they can also do similar things, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Not only is there nothing wrong with it, but it is pretty awesome what Cleveland has done during his time at North Carolina State. In many ways it reflects the selflessness of his mother, Sonia, who is a nurse at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, formerly known as Brandon Regional Hospital.
“She raised me as a single parent, which is hard and she made a lot of sacrifices,” said Cleveland, who lost his father, Willie, when he was 10.
“My goal is always to try to make her life easier and do things to make her proud. She’s worked a lot of long hours and sleepless nights and did anything she can to make sure I was in the best position possible.”
With the career he has had on the gridiron and away from it at North Carolina State, Cleveland has certainly put himself in a great spot. Now, he just needs a few more belly rubs.
“That would be awesome,” he said.
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