Story Poster
Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Junior OL With Major Offers Visiting Notre Dame

October 20, 2017
1,516

Anthony Bradford‍ figures to be one of the most heavily-recruited offensive linemen in the Midwest for the Class of 2019. Really, he already is.

The 2019 Michigan offensive tackle already owns offers from schools like Ohio State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Alabama and Georgia among others. He’s also receiving interest from several other schools, including Notre Dame, which is where he’ll be on Saturday for the Irish’s game against USC.

“At one time, they were interested in our other tackle AJ Reed, who is committed to Penn State,” Muskegon High School head coach Shane Fairfield said. “Anthony likes Notre Dame a lot, so we’re just working on getting him steered in the right direction. He wants to go visit and see the place and see a big-game environment. He’s a very special kid, very, very special.

“I think it’s just the rich tradition, the history. Of course, a lot of kids love it because of the gold helmets. It might be the fact that it’s a smaller university compared to the larger universities. It’s close to home. I think just being around high school and college football, you always see Notre Dame has that primetime TV spot. He plays for a tradition-rich school here at Muskegon High School and I think could be the draw to Notre Dame a little bit. He hasn’t been there before and he’s interested in going. He’s seen it on TV, but he wants to go experience the Irish way.”

Fairfield isn’t surprised to see the attention Bradford is receiving.

“One, it’s his overall strength and his ability to run block and pass block and do it so nonchalantly,” the coach said of what catches the attention of college coaches.

“It’s effortless for him right now, he’s just so strong.”

What can be surprising at times for Fairfield is seeing how effortlessly Bradford is able to navigate between fun-loving kid off the field and destructive force on it.

“He’s a pleasant kid, which is so funny because he’s got so many pancakes and I don’t think I’ve even heard him cuss before,” the coach laughed.

“Watching him annihilate people and he’s only just learning how to do it because he’s only a junior. To be 6-foot-5, 331 pounds. He’s just a special teddy bear. He’s got a big bear claw on him and he kind of hits you or smacks you and it backs you off his feet, but he doesn’t realize it. He loves to hug on you and stuff like that. To see that side of him and watch him go on the field and just dump people is incredible.”

Look for Bradford to continue hitting the road in the weeks to come as he gathers more information on all of the schools on his list.

 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.