When Sam Bradford stepped on to the scene as a red-shirt Freshman for the Oklahoma Sooners after Senior Quarterback Paul Thompson graduated, the competition was between six quarterbacks including three walk-ons to fill the void. Bradford proved to Head Coach Bob Stoops by a landslide that he was indeed the top candidate for the job. In 2007, Bradford, in only his second week as a starter, tied a school record for touchdowns thrown in a game with five and was named player of the week by the Walter Camp Foundation. In his Sophomore year, the Oklahoma Quarterback came in to the season on fire. By week 8 of the season, Bradford surpassed ex-quarterback Josh Huepel's school record for yards passing in a game. In 2008, Bradford brought home both the Davey O'Brien Award and the most highly regarded award Heisman Trophy. At the time, he was only the second Sophomore in history to receive that honor.
After he was projected to be the number one overall pick ahead of quarterback Matt Stafford, Bradford decided to forgo the NFL Draft and return for his Junior season. Bradford's luck changed dramatically his Junior year. The very first game of the 2009 Season against BYU, Bradford sustained a third degree AC Joint sprain to his shoulder early on in the game and would not return. Projections had Bradford returning for the Red River Rival game between Oklahoma and Texas. However, the Junior quarterback beat the predictions of what the experts were saying and made it back one week earlier to face Baylor. The following week in that Red River Rival game, Bradford went down again with an injury to the same shoulder on the second drive of that game; it would require season ending surgery. Bradford recently announced that he would not return for his Senior year and would in fact face the odds and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.
There has been much debate as to whether or not Bradford will be an effective Quarterback in the National Football League for multiple reasons. Speculation has been made on whether or not his shoulder will be healed up well enough to throw the way he did when he won the Heisman. The other factor that people have made mention of is that the particular style of offense that Bradford played in would not translate well. While this has been concern with other Quaterbacks that have come from similar style offenses, some have failed and some have succeeded. The theory of "spread" Quarterbacks don't do well going in to the NFL has been widely debated as myth versus truth. Either way, time will be the decider on just how well Sam Bradford's game will translate.
Below the jump, we'll take a look in to some of Bradford's highlights, stats, awards and honors and projections on where he may end up next season.
The video shows that nearly 100% of Bradford's snaps are taken out of the shotgun. He will need to learn how to take more snaps from under center at the next level. However, if you look closely, his mechanics are very polished and he has a fairly quick release but also demonstrates the ability to put touch on the ball. Depending on where he is drafted and what quarterbacks coach he gets, Bradford has the chance and ability to do well at the next level.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2007 Sporting News Freshman of the Year
- 2007 Second Team All-American
- 2007 Honorable Mention All-American
- 2007 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
- 2007 All Academic Team
- 2008 Second Team Academic All-American
- 2008 All Big 12 Academic Team
- 2008 First team All-American
- 2008 Davey O'Brien Award Winner
- 2008 Heisman Trophy Winner
- 2008 AP College Player of the Year
- 2008 Sammy Baugh Trophy
- 2008 Harley Award
- 2008 Touchdown Club of Columbus Quarterback of the Year
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Passing | |||||||||
| YEAR | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT |
| 2007 | 237 | 341 | 3121 | 69.5 | 9.15 | 65 | 36 | 8 | 12 | 176.52 |
| 2008 | 328 | 483 | 4720 | 67.9 | 9.77 | 77 | 50 | 8 | 11 | 180.84 |
| 2009 | 39 | 69 | 562 | 56.5 | 8.15 | 64 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 134.51 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | LNG | TD | INT | RAT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | |
| 9/5 | Brigham Young | L 14-13 | 10 | 14 | 96 | 71.4 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 152.60 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9/12 | Idaho State | W 64-0 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 9/19 | Tulsa | W 45-0 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/3 | @Miami (FL) | L 21-20 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/10 | Baylor | W 33-7 | 27 | 49 | 389 | 55.1 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 128.52 | 3 | -5 | -1.7 | 5 | 0 | |
| 10/17 | @Texas | L 16-13 | 2 | 6 | 77 | 33.3 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 141.13 | 1 | -13 | -13.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10/24 | @Kansas | W 35-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/31 | Kansas State | W 42-30 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/7 | @Nebraska | L 10-3 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/14 | Texas A&M | W 65-10 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/21 | @Texas Tech | L 41-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/28 | Oklahoma State | W 27-0 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | LNG | TD | INT | RAT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | |
| BRUT SUN BOWL | @Stanford | W 31-27 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
SUMMARY AND PROJECTIONS:
Sam Bradford is going to have alot to prove at the combine to keep his stock up. As Mel Kiper's mock displayed yesterday, he feels that Bradford will still be the very first quarterback to come off the board. The decision will most likely be made between quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Bradford for the first quarterback off the board.
Possibilities -- 1st round. Redskins, Bills, or later round team in the 1st TBD.
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