Oct. 5, 2009

DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois senior defensive end Brandon Bice has always enjoyed football and has learned many great life lessons through his years of football and school. But he knows that at some point football will be over for him and he will have to find his niche once again. Fortunately, Bice has always known what he "wanted to be when he grew up."

"I always wanted to be some kind of a doctor so I could be a surgeon," Bice said. "When I was researching what type of surgery I wanted to pursue, I came across oral surgery and found out that you had to be a dentist to do that. As I furthered my pursuit, I was able to shadow a few dentists and they told me that it was a great career."

At 6-4, 250 pounds, the McCook, Ill. native doesn't seem like the prototypical dentist with his bulky stature and large hands. Even Bice admits that he does not resemble what most people envision in a dentist, but he soon learned that he was wrong.

"Actually, three of the four dentists that I shadowed were bigger than I am," said Bice. "Everyone always asks how such a big hand can fit into a mouth, but one of the doctors pointed out to me that dentists don't really put their hands inside of mouths because they mainly use utensils."

So size doesn't seem to be a big deal for a dentist's techniques, but how will it factor when dealing with children? According to Bice, it's more about presentation than size.

"The best lesson I learned from shadowing was how to interact with patients," Bice said. "Little kids come in and are usually pretty scared. One dentist told me that he never wears his mask around little kids because it is less scary. He said to use bright colors because kids always seem to like that."

With his size no longer standing in his way, Bice must now determine which path he will take to become an oral surgeon.

"The dentists I shadowed said the best way to go is to be a general dentist for a few years because you get to do a little bit of everything," Bice said. "So I think I will give that a try to start, and see how I like it.

"You are also required to get a certain amount of credit hours every year to keep your license, and you can work toward an oral surgery degree through that system. I could accomplish that over a 10-year span or so. A lot of people will be dentists for 20 or 30 years and work toward their degree so they can work with braces. Then they will do braces until they retire."

With retirement a long ways down the road, Bice must first make the transition from football player to dentist. According to the senior, he sees similarities between the two pursuits that will make for a smooth transition.

"As a football player, you run through the plays that you will see most often during the games, but the opponent may change its blocking scheme," Bice said. "So you may see a block that you haven't seen in practice and you have to react to it. The same can be applied if you are in the middle of a surgery and something unexpected happens. In both cases you have to be able to think quickly and react."

Bice also plans to use many of his other football experiences to help him in his future career. As a member of head coach Jerry Kill's Leadership Council this year, he became directly responsible for a group of his teammates.

"We select the eight council members as a team, and we are supposed to model ourselves well and do the right things on and off the field," he explained. "During offseason workouts, the eight of us have a team draft and we get points based on our performance in the weight room and in running drills as well as for community service activities. The last place team each week has to run extra and the first place team at the end gets a steak dinner and recognition at the end of the season."

Bice's selection to the Leadership Council this season meant a lot to him as it signified a different role for him as a senior without the veteran defensive linemen that had been here during his entire career.

"It meant a lot to me for Coach Kill to put me on the council," Bice said. "I think it really helped our relationship and helped me feel like a part of the team, more so than I felt before."

In addition to learning leadership skills through the experiences Kill has given him, Bice said he has learned to appreciate the opportunities he and his teammates have as Northern Illinois football players.

"The first thing I learned from coach Kill was about how good we really have it in life," Bice said. "Coach Kill talks a lot about his whole cancer experience and how he beat it. He also brings in others who have done the same. We are told that if we aren't feeling it, we still need to come out to practice and give it our best effort because there are other people in hospitals that can't get out of bed every day. He preaches to us to appreciate the opportunity that we have been given."

Bice says the many lessons he has learned during his time at NIU have shaped him during his collegiate career.

"Another important lesson I have learned from my experience here at NIU is to be able to fight through adversity," he said. "I have learned to rely on [other people]and be relied upon. The concept of team work is another big one. There are a whole lot of them."

Bice also can recall many of his favorite moments on the field.

"I remember my first tackle at Ohio State against Beanie Wells as he was running over [former NIU DB] Bradley Pruitt," Bice said. "I remember my first sack. It was a twist play that we called against Buffalo. Anthony Antonacci kept contain like he was supposed to and forced the quarterback to pull up. He was just sitting there and I was able to make the play just as we had drawn it up to be. Playing three years alongside Larry English was great too."

With his senior season already underway, Bice wants to stay focused, but he also wants to be able to enjoy his final year on the gridiron before he fully commits to the next stage of his life - dental school.

"The biggest thing is that I just want to have fun," said Bice. "A lot of guys are too tense and don't absorb the environments that we go to, such as, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State, Soldier Field and Wisconsin. My first game was at Ohio State. Not everyone gets to play at those places that you see on TV growing up. It's fun to be able to absorb those experiences without letting it affect your play instead of shutting them out and not being able to remember it."

Future patients of Dr. Bice will have plenty to remember after visiting him because of all the remarkable stories he will be able to share while working on their teeth. Of course, these days, Bice also is busy trying to create future dental patients with his big hits on the field.