Sam Bradford was born in November of 1987 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and grew up idolizing the University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners football team that played down the road in the nearby city of Norman, Oklahoma just 20 miles south of where Sam was raised. As Sam grew into a teenager his dream of someday becoming a player on the OU Sooners football team slowly became an increasingly likely reality as he developed into a deft right handed quarterback.
As a star high school athlete Bradford excelled at three different sports while attending Putnam City North High School in his hometown of Oklahoma City. The three sports that Sam participated in where basketball, golf, and of course football where he was a star right handed quarterback for his high school football team. Sam was enrolled at Putnam City High School from 2002 through 2006 and during that time he made quite a name for himself as a standout athlete in the area.
As a senior in high school in the fall of 2005 Sam tossed 17 touchdown passes and threw for over 2,000 yards. Those statistics were strong but despite those numbers and his impressive 6'4" build Bradford was only considered a mid-level college prospect by top tier college football program standards. Bradford ultimately decided against taking scholarship offers to play for less high profile college football programs and instead chose to follow his dream to one day become the starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
Sam Bradford enjoyed impeccable timing in terms of when he arrived on the Norman campus and when the job as quarterback for the OU Sooners became available. After beating out five other players for the open position Bradford established himself as the new starting quarterback for the 2007 season as a red shirt freshman. The phrase red shirt freshman refers to the term given to a college athlete who sat out their first year in order to mature and familiarize themselves with the college and athletic system. A red shirt freshman is technically in his second year of college (after attending classes throughout the red shirt year) but is in his first year of competing in competitions/games.
Bradford would go onto become the second college player in the history of the sport to win the coveted Heisman Trophy (recognizing the top college football player) as a sophomore after an outstanding 2008 season that culminated with a disappointing upset to the University of Florida Gators in the national championship game. Bradford has since dealt with shoulder issues but is believed to be fully recovered and expected to be a top NFL quarterback for years to come.
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