Brady Grateful to Be Back in Lineup : Prep football: Running back returns to lineup after one-game suspension to help South Torrance earn a berth in playoffs.

When South Torrance High held a “Hippie Day” earlier this fall, Spartan quarterback Alan Hook knew where to go for clothes. He paid a visit to teammate Ryan Brady’s house and picked through his closet.

Brady, a senior running back and linebacker, has a reputation for being different. He is a devoted fan of the Grateful Dead, wears a nose stud during games and drives a beat-up Volkswagen van.

“He’s unique, his own man,” Hook said. “He likes to have fun and he’s proud of his Volkswagen bus.”

On the field, Brady plays with a reckless attitude not always seen in running backs. He plays with a linebacker’s mentality when running the ball.

“Hitting people is the reason why I play,” said Brady, who will lead South (6-4) against St. Joseph of Santa Maria (6-4) in the first round of the Southern Section Division VIII playoffs Friday night at South. “Against West (Torrance), I punted and their guy was running down the sideline and I got to get a free shot, that was great.”

As a running back, Brady prefers to put his head down and ram into a defender to gain extra yardage.

His most memorable play this season was not one of his game-winning touchdowns, but rather a 12-yard run against St. Anthony where eight defenders had a chance to tackle Brady, who broke away from four defenders in the backfield.

Brady led South to a Pioneer League championship, rushing for 1,271 yards and 12 touchdowns in 213 carries. He is also among team leaders in tackles and interceptions and contributed to several game-deciding plays.

Against Mira Costa, South trailed, 17-3, until two Brady touchdowns in the final 3:01 rallied the Spartans to an 18-17 victory. Brady’s 10-yard touchdown run on a draw play, combined with a two-point conversion run by Hook with 1:35 left, provided the winning points.

Two weeks later against St. Anthony, Brady scored what he thought was the game-winning touchdown with five minutes left. South later had to forfeit the victory because of an ineligible player.

News of the forfeit came the following Thursday night, and Coach Don Morrow was not sure how the team would react in its game against Beverly Hills, which at the time was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in Division VIII.

The Spartans came out in an unbalanced line, utilizing two extra blockers and no wide receivers, and upset the Normans, 28-18, as Brady scored on a 46-yard run with 46 seconds left.

“When it’s late in the game I pick my intensity up a little bit because I figure it’s all going to come down to me,” Brady said.

In the Spartans’ league opener against West, Brady rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes to help South to a 27-14 victory.

“Both of those were like, ‘happy birthday to me.’ They were both tipped balls that I caught,” Brady said of the interceptions.

“He’s such a prominent part of our offense that you don’t always notice his defensive contribution,” Morrow said. “In the two games that were really key to our season, you could see that.”

Brady’s affection for the Grateful Dead caused him to be suspended for the Leuzinger game, a 17-14 nonleague loss. Brady and two teammates went to Oakland for a Grateful Dead concert and were not able to get back in time for Monday’s practice.

Although he suspended the players, Morrow credited the three for practicing hard before the Leuzinger game.

“I thought that was a show of class,” Morrow said. “They could have gone the other way, but they didn’t.”

Brady, who acknowledged he let the team down, came back strong and led South to a victory over Centennial by rushing for a season-high 286 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-30 victory Nov. 8.

On Friday, South defeated rival North Torrance, 16-7, to gain a share of the Pioneer League title with West. Brady had three sacks of North quarterback Frank Ramirez and rushed for 138 yards.

“We have two kids we go to in the clutch, Brady and Alan Hook,” Morrow said. “Every time we needed a big play, (Brady) seemed to be there. In the game against North, he turned an ankle a little bit and we couldn’t get him to come out of the game.”

Brady’s injury kept him from practicing early this week. He sat on the field Tuesday wearing torn cutoff gray sweats, a flannel shirt and a gray baseball hat.

“Personally I think Ryan’s on a mission,” guard Josh Waybright said. “I think he wants to win CIF.”

As Brady puts it, South’s first season is over. The Spartans now have a four-game season beginning Friday against St. Joseph.