For the 10th time in the past 11 days, the Red Raiders have received a commitment to their football program. This time, it’s weak-side defensive end Tony Bradford Jr. The Houston North Shore senior was the sixth defensive commit in the class and the second on the defensive line.
Here’s some measurables and some info on Bradford’s commitment:
Tony Bradford Jr – Weak-Side Defensive End (North Shore HS, Houston, TX)
Height Weight Bench Squat 6’1″ 235 lbs 285 lbs 505 lbs Ratings: 79 by 247 / NR by ESPN / 5.6 by Rivals / 82.26 by 247composite
Interest: Arizona, Colorado State, Memphis, Purdue, Syracuse
Bradford started to gain attention from D-1 football programs in late January, which started with offers from Memphis and UTSA according to 247sports. Teams started offering the next few months, with Arizona becoming the first Power 5 offer in late February and Texas Tech offering in early May.
He also visited a few schools, which includes SMU and UTSA for their Junior Day, and Purdue a week ago for an official visit. However, he shut down his recruitment few a short while ago and choose the Red Raiders. His recruiters with Zac Spavital and David Gibbs.
Now let’s see what Bradford can do on the football field. You can tell from the first film why the coaching staff likes this guy. He’s a damn quick lineman. Despite not a big size, he can burst through the line and get into the backfield quickly. We also see in later plays that his speed generates power and makes it harder for lineman to push him around.
He also looks like he can read blocking schemes well. There are times where he find the hole and splits the line to get into the backfield. Bradford also plays in Houston, so he faces a lot of good competition. There’s some potential here with Bradford.
Links: Here are a couple links to commitment stories for Bradford. The 247sports story in behind a paywall (unless you have a membership) and the Rivals one is free to look at:
- Zach Tanner’s InsideTheRedRaiders wrote about the commitment, but we don’t know much about it.
- Brandon Soliz of RedRaiderSports talked to Bradford about his visit to Texas Tech, the coaching staff and about the fact that he’s moving to outside linebacker. Some good quotes here.
The recruiting class in now ranked 33rd overall and fifth in the Big 12, with an average rating of 84.90 according to 247sports. Rivals has Texas Tech listed as the 31st overall class and fourth in the Big 12, with an average star ratings of 2.83. The class is about halfway over, and I’m sure we’ll see a few more Red Raider commits before the fall semester begins.