Bradford enjoyed the trip back to his home-state school
SPORTSTALK / September 20, 2022
Former Chapin star QB Jayden Bradford (6-0 185) is playing this season and next at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. He’s earned the starting job with the Ascenders. Through three games he has passed for 359 yards and 7 touchdowns completing 21 of 26 passes with no interceptions. His QB rating is 161.1.His team was off this past weekend and that gave him the chance to return home and visit USC again for the Georgia game.
“It was good to see everybody and kind of just reconnect,” Bradford said. “I can actually talk to them now that I’m a junior, so it was cool to see them and talk to them. They are still on my radar, obviously, being my home-state school. I’ll always have them in consideration. I’m pretty sure that they are still recruiting me hard and are still on me.”
Bradford walked the Gamecock sideline pre-game and got a few minutes with head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield as the team was warming up for the Bulldogs.
“I talked to Coach Satt before the game,” Bradford said. “He didn’t know I was coming. He saw me on the sideline and came to say what’s up. We only chopped it up for a minute. He was locked in for the game. I saw Coach Beamer too, just said what’s up, how ya doing, a small chat. It was good to see him and just talk to him again.”
Bradford then settled into the stands with the other recruits, enjoying the atmosphere of a big game that turned sour for the home team. But that one bad defeat did not sour his interest in the Gamecocks.
“It doesn’t really play a role in how I think because you’re going to have good games and bad games,” Bradford said. “If I’m going to a school, I’m going to change the program. It doesn’t really affect me and how I think of the school really. Georgia is a great team, the number one team in the country. They looked better than they did last year. They were a great opponent.”
Bradford also holds offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Missouri, East Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Vanderbilt. USC currently is holding their own with the best of them who are coming after Bradford.
“They are definitely still high on my list just because it’s home, twenty minutes up the road,” Bradford said. “I definitely will keep them in consideration probably up until I sign with whatever college.”
Bradford also visited USC a couple of times earlier in the years, including the spring game. He’s also made stops at Georgia, LSU, Texas, NC State and Louisville. He said some of the others showing strong interest are Penn State, Louisville, LSU, Texas, Mississippi State and Michigan State.
Bradford said he’s not definite on a decision timeline but is looking at some time in the spring or summer of next year for that.