Sam Bradford

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Sam Bradford
College Oklahoma
Conference Big 12
Sport Football
Position Quarterback
Jersey # 14
Class Redshirt Sophmore
Major Business
Career 2007 – present
Height ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg)
Nationality USA
Born November 8, 1987 (1987-11-08) (age 20)
Flag of Oklahoma Oklahoma City, OK
High school Putnam City North HS,
Oklahoma City, OK
Championships
2007 Big 12 Conference Champions
Bowl games
2008 Fiesta Bowl

Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. He currently holds the NCAA record for touchdown passes by a freshman with 36.

Contents

[edit] Personal

Bradford is a member of the Cherokee Nation[1] and is one-sixteenth Cherokee by way of his great-grandmother, Susie Walkingstick, who was a full-blooded Cherokee. [2]. His father Kent Bradford was an offensive lineman for the Sooners in 1978 and '79, where he played with Billy Sims.

[edit] High school career

Bradford attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he starred in football, basketball and golf. As a senior quarterback for his high school football team in 2005-2006, he threw for 2,029 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games.[3] His senior year in basketball, he averaged a double-double.[4]

However, Bradford was not that highly ranked among the high school class of 2006, ranked only 17th among quarterbacks by Scout.com and being overshadowed by the likes of Matthew Stafford and Mitch Mustain.[3][5]

[edit] College career

In 2006, Oklahoma's starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, then a sophomore, was kicked off the team for violating NCAA rules. Paul Thompson, a senior quarterback-turned-wide receiver, converted back to quarterback and led the 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team to win the Big 12 Championship Game. His departure left a void at the quarterback position at Oklahoma. That void would be filled by either true freshman Keith Nichol, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford, or junior Joey Halzle (the only one with game experience). On 2007-08-21, Bradford was named the starting quarterback for the 2007 Oklahoma Sooners football team.[6]

In his first game for the Oklahoma Sooners on 2007-09-01 against the University of North Texas, Bradford completed 21 of 23 attempts for 363 yards and three touchdowns in just little over 2 quarters, breaking the school record for passing yards in a half, held by quarterback coach Josh Heupel, with 350.[7] The very next game, Bradford broke Heisman Trophy winner Jason White's school record for most consecutive pass completions with 22 (18 came in the first half and four at the start of the second).[8]

In the second week of the 2007 season, Bradford was named the national offensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Foundation[9] after tying the school record for most touchdown passes in a game with five.[10] Having thrown 25 TDs through his first nine games, Bradford is on pace to break the NCAA freshman record of 29 TDs set by David Neill in 1998 and tied by Colt McCoy in 2006.

In the November 17, 2007 game against Texas Tech, Bradford suffered a concussion of unknown severity. He was removed from the game and replaced by back-up quarterback Joey Halzle. The Sooners lost the game, 27–34. [11] Bradford was able to play in the Bedlam game against Oklahoma State on November 24. [12]

During the November 24, 2007 game against Oklahoma State Cowboys, Bradford broke the NCAA freshman record of 29 TDs by passing his 30th TD to Joe Jon Finley during the second quarter.[13] At the Missouri game, Bradford threw for 209 yards and 0 interceptions. He was 18-26 and threw for 2 touchdowns. The Sooners won the Big XII Championship after defeating Missouri for the second time in a season. The Sooners played West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 2008 and lost 48-28. It was Sam Bradford's first BCS bowl as a starter.

[edit] NCAA statistics

  Passing Rushing
Season Team GP Rating Att Comp Pct Yds TD Int Att Yds TD
2007 Oklahoma Sooners 14 176.52 341 237 69.5 3,121 36 8 31 7 0
Total 14 176.52 341 237 69.5 3,121 36 8 31 7 0


Preceded by
Paul Thompson
Oklahoma Sooners Starting Quarterbacks
2007-
Succeeded by
Incumbent

[edit] References

  1. ^ Natives to watch … Sam Bradford (Cherokee). United National Asian Youth. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  2. ^ Sooners' Bradford turns into an emerging force. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
  3. ^ a b 14 Sam Bradford. SoonerSports.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  4. ^ Ivan, Maisel. "Oklahoma's rookie QB makes college game looks easy", ESPN, 2007-11-30. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  5. ^ Football Recruiting - Quarterback. Scout.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  6. ^ Bradford Gets Nod at Quarterback. SoonerSports.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ Carlson, Jenni. "Sooner newbies Bradford, Murray debut with monster games", NewsOK.com, 2007-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  8. ^ Trotter, Jake. "Sooners' Bradford proves that he belongs", NewsOK.com, 2007-09-09. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. 
  9. ^ Bradford Captures Camp Honor. SoonerSports.com (2007-09-09). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  10. ^ Oklahoma Rocks Miami, 51-13. SoonerSports.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  11. ^ The Sports Network I-A College Football. The Sports Network. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  12. ^ ESPN - Sooners QB Bradford to be reevaluated this week - College Football. ESPN. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  13. ^ "Patrick runs for career-best 202 yards, 2 TDs as OU rolls", ESPN, 2007-11-24. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.