OU's Bradford once wanted to play hockey

By John Helsley

Published: July 21, 2007

All Sam Bradford wanted for Christmas was a pair of ice skates.

He was 5. And a hunger for hockey was about to overtake him.

And Bradford, the kid who eventually showed so much promise on the ice that former NHL standout Mike McEwen once tried to talk him into ditching all his "other” sports, hatched big ideas.

"Sam really thought we should pack up our bags and move to Vancouver,” said Martha Bradford, Sam's mom. "He really wanted to play ice hockey for the Vancouver Canucks.”

These days, Sam Bradford dares to dream big still. Except, this time his dream isn't farfetched or aimed at some far-away land, but dangling right there within his reach … Oklahoma quarterback.

Son of a Sooner, Sam Bradford sampled all sorts of sports and more as a youth rising through the Oklahoma City sports scene.

Now, however, Bradford has tightened his focus on football, really, for the first extended time in his life.

And as the OU kingdom awaits perhaps the missing piece — capable quarterback — to a possible 2007 title team, might the impact of Bradford's devotion to one sport spur him to the front of a three-man competition to lead the Sooners?

We'll see soon enough, when in 12 days Bradford resumes a battle with Keith Nichol and Joey Halzle for the OU quarterback job.

One focus, one sport

Bob Wilson, the football coach at Putnam North High School, recognizes the differences in Sam Bradford now from his days as a three-sport star as a Panther.

"Sam's put on about 15 pounds, up to about 215,” Wilson said. "And it looks like 15 pounds of solid muscle that's in the right places.

"And you can tell in his face he's matured.”

Wilson, too, is curious what differences might appear now that his former pupil is a full-time football player, even if it's been little more than 12 months since Bradford graduated high school.

"When you put all the time and effort into one sport, get in the weight room, understand what it is to get your body in the type of shape it needs to be for the long haul of football …” Wilson said, "there's no doubt Sam is nowhere close to reaching his potential yet.”

Bradford's potential once was the talk in several sports.

McEwen, who was working with a youth team of 11- and 12-year olds after a stint as coach of the Oklahoma City Blazers, said he recognized something special in Bradford, despite his limited ice time.

"I tried to talk him into hockey, but they didn't go for it,” McEwen said.

Bradford was a baseball pitcher and shortstop through his freshman year of high school.

He averaged 18.6 points and 10.5 rebounds on the basketball floor as a Putnam North senior.

He played on the varsity golf team, too, and remains a scratch player.

"I don't know if he has an established handicap, but he's pretty salty,” said his dad, Kent Bradford. "He told me about a month ago that he shot a 63 out at Hefner.”

All the jumping from sport to sport, while demonstrating his versatility and athletic ability, may have hindered Bradford from learning some nuances.

"Prior to OU, I don't know if he ever was truly exposed to watching tape much,” said Kent Bradford. "I don't know if he was too exposed to actually trying to know and read coverages and stuff.

"He's truly just learning – a lot.”

Sam Bradford's love affair with hockey eventually waned, to the chagrin of McEwen.

"He was one of our two or three best players,” McEwen said. "His weakness was skating, but he wasn't on the ice as much as the other kids. He had everything else. Good hands. Smart. He saw the game and read the game well. He was a playmaker, a goal scorer.

"And he was a captain. You could tell he was a leader from the get go.”

The leader tag has accompanied Bradford from sport to sport and from kid to his bid to become the Big Man on Campus that is any Sooner starting quarterback.

If anything, that's what OU coaches are looking for from their next quarterback appointee.

The Sooners are loaded with returning starters and radical talent. There's no call for the quarterback to carry the offense. He merely needs to be a facilitator, a distributor of the ball.

One thing that is being asked, however, is for the quarterback to command the respect and attention of his teammates both in the huddle and in the locker room.

All the success of his past has produced a shear confidence in Bradford, yet he's more of a quiet guy who goes about his business.

"I'd say he's a quiet kid in that he's not a real talker,” said his father. "He doesn't ever really brag about himself. He's not a real rah-rah guy.

"But if you're playing anything — basketball, he wants to drive by you and jam on you. If you're playing golf, he doesn't want it to be close. That's just how he is.”

Sam Bradford's allegiance to OU didn't have to be formed. He's Sooner bred, by blood and locale.

Kent was an offensive lineman for the Sooners in the '70s, when he butted heads with the Selmon brothers on a daily basis.

Coming out of Putnam North, Bradford had interest in other schools, Michigan, Stanford, Texas A&M and Texas Tech among them.

"But when he went home to his room, it was filled with OU stuff,” Wilson said.

More Sooner quarterbacks than not over the past 40 years have hailed from beyond the state's borders. Texans. Guys from Utah, Georgia and California.

Bradford knows what it means to be the Sooner quarterback.

"When your dad played at OU, had season tickets forever, you're raised a Sooner and you have the opportunity to be that guy,” Wilson said, "I think it means a lot to him.

"He loves sports,” said Martha Bradford. "And that's been our life. The only thing different now is it's all football.”

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