Back from a season dedicated to competitive weightlifting, Aaron Nice is back to raising the level of the Bridgewater defense. Bridgewater athletics photo

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Two years ago Bridgewater’s Aaron Nice was a third-team D3football.com All-American.

So what did he do for an encore last season? Well, nothing.

Nothing on the football field, anyway. Instead, the standout linebacker traded hitting opponents for hitting the weights in pursuit of his USA Weightlifting dream.

He went in with high hopes.

“My goal was to try to make an Olympic team, and when I stopped playing football, it looked like I was on track to do that,” Nice said. “The more I pursued it, it didn’t quite go how I wanted it to.”

Nice, who started competing in weightlifting the summer ahead of his sophomore year, went to nationals for a third consecutive year this past summer and finished fourth overall. 

He was still enrolled at Bridgewater even while not playing football last season, focusing his attention outside the classroom on training.

As passionate as he was about weightlifting, the decision to walk away from the sport he loves for a season was not one he made lightly.

“It was extremely hard to give up in the first place, and when the goal (in weightlifting) didn’t go how I wanted it to, I decided I wanted to play football again," Nice said. "I couldn’t imagine not playing football if I wasn’t pursuing an Olympic team.”

Eagles head coach Scott Lemn recalls the day Nice told him he was going to step away from football in 2024. Lemn was going to be losing one of the best players in the country, one who led the team in tackles (108) and was a first-team All-ODAC pick in 2023.

“That was a really tough meeting in the spring of ’24,” Lemn said. “It wasn’t just that we were losing a great player, but a great guy his teammates love to be around. He’s a great leader and his weightlifting numbers are hard for others to fathom. He brought a competitive spirit to the weight room.”

And even while Nice wasn’t playing football, his reputation remained prevalent in the program.

“He had a bit of an aura about him with the first-year guys on campus last year, and now they get to be his teammate this year. It’s really cool,” Lemn said.

Around six weeks before the 2025 season got rolling, Nice reached out to his coach about coming back to play football again.

Lemn knew what Nice wanted, and he knew what his answer would be to that question.

“He called me over the summer and there was never any doubt what the choice was going to be,” Nice said.

“Though I think I did make him wait over the weekend to answer him," Lemn added with a laugh.

Nice has no regrets about chasing his weightlifting dream. But football is where his heart truly is.

“Competing (in weightlifting) was a good experience but definitely tough mentally and physically,” Nice said. “While I definitely liked competing, I would definitely say I love playing football more because of the team aspect and having others to push you.”

Getting back to football took some adjusting. The early days of practice weren’t easy.

“The first couple of days of practice were tough. I had to get used to the speed of the game again. That was an adjustment,” Nice said. “The playbook didn’t change a whole lot and I feel like I’ve knocked most of the rust off now.”

And despite all the past success Nice enjoyed as a player, he had to earn his spot on the field again.

“We didn’t make it easy on him,” Lemn said. “He had to earn it. He did not start at the top of the rotation. Or even second. But we anticipated he would earn his way back to it.”

Nice didn’t seem to miss too much of a beat in Bridgewater’s opener against Stevenson this past Saturday. He finished with a team-leading nine tackles, four and a half tackles for a loss, and one sack in a 32-27 loss at home.

Nice was just glad to be back on the field.

“It was awesome,” Nice said. “I definitely missed it. It was awesome to get out there and compete and get back into things. It would have been a lot more fun to come out with a win, but it was still great being back out there with my teammates.”

Lemn would say most of the rust has been knocked off.

“There is always rust to knock off, like anything you get away from doing day after day,” Lemn said. “But he’s a smart individual and a savvy football player,” Lemn said.

Lemn tells a story of just the kind of intelligence Nice has on the field. He remembers going to watch a practice when Nice was still in high school and was impressed with how much Nice was doing on a team of maybe 30 players.

“It was Aaron doing this on one play and then being moved to another spot on another play," Lemn said. "A big portion of game plans worked around him. He’s kind of like a quarterback with the vast amount of information he had to have. But he has a large capacity to understand and execute.”

Nice is part of a Bridgewater team looking to put together another winning season and contend in the ODAC.

“I feel good about this team,” Nice said. “We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of snaps and there’s a lot of talent in the younger classes. I’m excited to see how we grow and work to continue to get better every week.”

Lemn said he is confident the team can do just that.

“We’d like to go to the NCAA playoffs, and it’s good we are facing some great opponents early on before we get to conference play,” Lemn said. “The great thing about this team is it keeps practice loose. We have a very competitive group and a close group, and it’s neat seeing those friendships play out on the field. It’s a fun group to be around.”

Nice is thankful to be part of it and while he isn't sure what the future holds as far as weightlifting goes, he knows he is going to enjoy his senior season with the Eagles.

“I want to lift in some capacity, but not sure competition wise yet,” Nice said. “My focus is on football season, and I’ll worry about that after the season is over.”