A couple of Bradshaw articles from various papers

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

http://dailymail.com/news/Chuck+Landon-20040812

 

Yes, Herd freshman back is that good

 

Chuck Landon

Daily Mail sportswriter

 

HUNTINGTON -- Marshall University fans don't realize just how good Ahmad Bradshaw is.

At least, not yet.

 

They will, however, and it will be sooner, not later.

 

That's because the freshman running back is the most talented player to join Marshall's football program since Randy Moss.

 

There, I said it out loud.

 

Somebody had to, because it's true.

 

Not that I'm the first. MU Coach Bob Pruett has been whispering that same contention all week, but he didn't want to say it for the record.

 

I will, though.

 

All I had to see was the incredible 70-yard run Bradshaw made during preseason practice here Tuesday. That convinced me. It also convinced Herd senior quarterback Stan Hill.

 

"He broke that one," said Hill.

 

"There wasn't anybody that was going to touch him. That was just a little dive. We're trying to get 5 or 6 yards on that play. He just made something happen.

 

"He cut back across the defense, and that takes a lot of heart for a running back to do that, because those guys are running full speed."

 

Bradshaw does indeed have heart, not to mention 4.45 speed in the 40 and tremendous vision. The 5-10, 185-pound wunderkind is the whole package.

 

"He's special," said Hill. "He looks like a special back. You can tell. It's only been three days and he's already standing out as a freshman. That's awesome."

 

This kid is that good.

 

So, it doesn't matter if you love Herd football or love magic. Either way, you're going to love Ahmad Bradshaw.

 

That's because he's part Houdini and part Zontini.

____________________________________________________________

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/notebookplus/

 

Bradshaw conjures up memories of Moss

 

By Doug Doughty

THE ROANOKE TIMES

 

The latest developments in the saga of prep All-America running back Ahmad Bradshaw have caused me to make a mental note to myself:

 

Next time, I need to ask if a player has been released from his scholarship.

 

I wasn't surprised to learn that Bradshaw would not enroll at Virginia, although that broke sooner than I anticipated, and I was even less surprised to hear that his next destination would be Marshall.

 

Dating back to the Randy Moss days and maybe earlier, Marshall has been known for offering second choices, but I also was aware of a relationship between Virginia head coach Al Groh and his Thundering Herd counterpart, Bob Pruett, dating back to Groh’s days as an assistant at North Carolina and Pruett’s as the head coach at Gar-Field High School.

 

I could almost hear Groh calling Pruett and saying, "We can't take him. Do you want first crack at him?"

 

That’s not exactly the way it happened, Pruett said.

 

“He didn’t even know [bradshaw] visited here,†Pruett said. “I talked to [Groh] after he visited. Al liked the kid, spoke very highly of him and thought that he would fit in here.

 

“The kid lives with his grandmother, and his aunt sort of takes care of him. Her son just graduated from here last year and was very familiar with our program and thought this might possibly be a good place for him.â€ÂÂ

 

Groh announced July 23 that Bradshaw would not participate for the Cavaliers this season but UVa had nothing to say about Bradshaw’s status as a student or whether he had been released from his letter-of-intent.

 

If he hadn't been released at the time, he eventually was.

 

"He can't come unless he's been released," Pruett said.

 

Bradshaw faces a hearing Aug. 13 in Charlottesville General District Court on a charge of obstruction of justice. That stemmed from an incident July 17 in which Bradshaw ran from police who were questioning him outside a Charlottesville restaurant.

 

Bradshaw's coach at Graham High School, Glyn Carlock, said later that Groh had called him to inquire about any possible improprieties prior to Bradshaw's June arrival in Charlottesville.

 

“I don't know what the climate is and all that other stuff,†Pruett said. “All I know is about the problems up there [in Charlottesville]. That’s where we are, that's where we're going to leave it and we're going to go on with life.â€ÂÂ

 

Bradshaw might be the most impressive Marshall newcomer since Randy Moss, according to Chuck Landon, who writes columns for the Charleston Daily Mail, where ex-Roanoker Jack “Pops†Bogaczyk is the lead columnist. Landon said Pruett has been saying some of the same things privately.

 

“The kid wanted to come to school here, we talked to him, he got admitted and we let him walk on,†said Pruett, who said Marshall was out of scholarships. "That’s all I’m going to say about it, buddy. The kid’s been through enough, know what I’m saying.â€ÂÂ

[Lance 228]

Well...cool!

 

I was hoping he would end up at TN...but I'm just glad he's playing somewhere and I wish him the best. Sounds like MU is glad to have him! Hope he keeps his mind straight from here on out.