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'07 TX RB Bradley Stephens (Texas A&M Verbal)

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A great article on Bradley.

Make sure you don't miss the jersey in the background either.

Colleges around U.S. courting McAllen running back
August 21,2005
Wade Baker
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The Monitor



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McALLEN — The first carry of his varsity career was a 76-yard touchdown.

He has rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons at McAllen Memorial.

The Sporting News ranked him as the No. 6 football player in the class of 2007 — the No. 1 running back overall. And he has almost every major college in the country salivating at the chance to land him.

Welcome to the life of 16-year-old Bradley Stephens, who hasn’t played a single minute as a junior, but is well on his way to becoming the most highly recruited football player in Rio Grande Valley history.

"There’s no doubt, right now, he’s one of the top five backs in the country," said Max Emfinger, a national recruiting expert with more than 26 years in the business and a consultant for The Sporting News.

"No question, he’s the real deal."

In recent years, there have been few Valley players to gain as much hype as that surrounding Bradley. Former Mission High quarterback Koy Detmer (1989-91) signed with the University of Colorado, former Brownsville Hanna running back Tony Ellis (1993-95) signed with the University of Texas, and former Harlingen High running back Maurice Hunter (1993-94) drew heavy collegiate interest, but failed to qualify academically. None of the above, however, has received the celebrity treatment from college coaches that Bradley has this early in the recruiting process.

"There have been a few (in the Valley) to get the attention that Bradley Stephens has gotten, but not this early," McAllen High football coach Tony Harris said. "I mean, it doesn’t get any bigger than Texas. But (Bradley) hasn’t even started his junior season. That’s what sets Bradley apart from Tony Ellis and the others. He hasn’t played a single down as a junior."

Bradley secured his first NCAA Division I scholarship offer from Iowa State two weeks ago, rare for a football player entering his junior season. On an unofficial visit to Ames, Iowa, with his father Craig Stephens, he got an offer 10 minutes into his visit — from Iowa State coach Dan McCarney and the Cyclones’ running backs coach Tony Alford.

"Coach McCarney said, ‘Turn off the tape, that’s all I need to see,’" said Bradley, who owns a 4.0 grade point average. "The next thing I knew, they presented me with an official scholarship offer. On the spot."

Emfinger estimates the junior standout still can expect about a dozen or so offers from major NCAA Division I colleges by the midpoint of his junior season this year. Coaches at Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Washington are just some who have expressed interest in Bradley.

Under NCAA guidelines, college coaches cannot call Bradley directly until Sept. 1, the same day McAllen Memorial opens its season against Mission Veterans Memorial. College coaches can call Bradley’s high school coach, Bill Littleton, or send the junior e-mails.

Bradley, though, can contact the college coaches, and they can offer him scholarships at any time. He cannot officially sign a scholarship offer until February 2007.

"When Sept. 1 gets here, we’re going to have to put a switchboard in the house," said Craig Stephens, 44, who was a college running back at Illinois State. "The Iowa State coach (Alford) told us we better be prepared for the calls, the coaches, everything. He said he knew this because, when Sept. 1 gets here, he’s going to be camping out outside of our house."

Alford recently sent Bradley an e-mail telling him about an Iowa State alumnus who lives in the Valley.

"He told me that this guy (Bruce Eason) gets his hair cut at the same place I get mine cut," Bradley said. "How does he know where I get my hair cut? That surprised me. It’s like he’s a private investigator.

"He already knows everything about me."

When Bradley returned for a routine trim this past week, he had a few Iowa State posters waiting for him, courtesy of Eason.

"I’m amazed," Craig said. "I couldn’t believe that e-mail when I saw it."

His uncle, Robert Stephens, a 49-year-old associate professor of physiology at Ohio State, has experienced the hype surrounding his nephew all the way up in Columbus, Ohio. When an Ohio State alumni group discovered the connection between the two, Robert Stephens’ picture was posted on an Ohio State fan Web site, along with his e-mail address.

"I was blown away when I found out," the uncle said. "I knew Bradley was getting big, but not that big."

Littleton knows the type of attention his standout running back will receive and already is manning the phone lines with daily conversations from college coaches across the nation. One day it’s Texas A&M, the next it’s Ohio State. McAllen Memorial assistant coach Marcus Kaufmann and Craig Stephens even created a Web site — www.imageevent.com/mcallentxrb — for Bradley’s highlight videos.

"(The college coaches) just want me to tell Bradley that they called," Littleton said. "They can’t call him, but they can call me, and boy, do they. But we know how it’s going to get around here on Sept. 1. We know what to expect. I’ve dealt with athletes similar when I was at Cuero.

"We had our share of Division I football players go through there."

Even if life is getting a little hectic for Bradley, he’s enjoying the fame — for now.

"I’m having fun with it," he said. "There are times when I sit down and just shake my head in disbelief.

"But I just thank God every day that he’s given me this opportunity, the chance to be where I am right now."

———

Wade Baker is deputy sports editor of The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4450.



CleveBucks said:
Has a PhD from OSU in Pharmacology (the study of drugs)

http://medicine.osu.edu/physiology/3487.cfm

http://medicine.osu.edu/search/comphdetail.cfm?ID=stephens%2E6%40osu%2Eedu&group=personnel

STEPHENS, ROBERT LOUIS JR

Unique name at OSU = stephens.6
Email addresses:
Published address = [email protected]
Address:
421 HAMILTON
1645 NEIL AVE
COLUMBUS, OH 43210
+1 614 292 4706
Appointment:
Physiology and Cell Biology
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Click to expand...
Also it looks like his uncle visits the planet b/c this is where he saw the email address.
 
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crazybuckfan40 said:
A great article on Bradley.

Make sure you don't miss the jersey in the background either.
Click to expand...
What, the A&M jersey right beside him? WTF?


Just kidding, I see the Hawk jersey and I like it. :tongue2:

This kid reminds me of Barry Sanders when he runs. So low to the ground and so shifty. I wonder how much of a shot we really have. I guess it all depends on how willing Bradley is to leave the state.
 
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He is an unbelievable athlete and seems to be a great person and student. These are the exact type of recruits we go after. Just offer him now and make an even better impression on him. Who knows maybe we can get an early verbal if he really likes us. Having a relative teaching at OSU really helps us out big time. He can sell him the school's great academics and football tradition. Also can possibly get him some unofficial visits with tickets. I know we don't usually offer untill signing day but we made exceptions with Boone and O'Neal and it payed off. Am I in the minority and should we wait untill signing day?
 
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crazybuckfan40 said:

His uncle, Robert Stephens, a 49-year-old associate professor of physiology at Ohio State, has experienced the hype surrounding his nephew all the way up in Columbus, Ohio. When an Ohio State alumni group discovered the connection between the two, Robert Stephens’ picture was posted on an Ohio State fan Web site, along with his e-mail address.

"I was blown away when I found out," the uncle said. "I knew Bradley was getting big, but not that big."
Click to expand...
Is that us?
 
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I though you weren't allowed to offer an underclassman untill Sept. 1?

I definately agree though. He looks like a stud from those videos, he has a 4.0 gpa, and he's got ties to tOSU. I hope he becomes a Buckeye sooner or later. I think we will offer in September after seeing some of his junior film.
 
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I have never seen us do this for an OOS guy and wonder why. If they have this much talent like Stephens I would think it would work in our favor being one of the first to offer. Might help OOS recruiting. It should only be used on people like Stephens, Devine ect. though.
 
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Rivals $

8/24/05

From the Texas A&M site...more about the offers from Iowa State and TAMU. He mentions that the OSU coaches have recently been in contact with his coach (nice call, 21). He ran for 180 on 10 carries and 3 TDs in a scrimmage last week.
 
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