South Carolina defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas has liked DE Chandavian Bradley (6-4 242) of Platte City, MO and Hutchinson JC, KS for a long time. Lucas offered Bradley in February of 2022, and Bradley followed up with a visit to Columbia that June.
In fact, Bradley had many Power Four offers in high school, and he signed with Tennessee as part of the Vols 2023 recruiting class. He redshirted that season in Knoxville and then decided to head off to Hutchingson JC, KS to work on his academics.
The academics are now good, and the offers are coming back in. Lucas offered for a second time on November 4th.
“We’ve just been talking, trying to figure out with my transcripts because I do have to complete some classes,” Bradley said. “They were just trying to make sure all that stuff was straight before everything else.”
Bradley went to work at Hutchinson to improve his grades to the point the major offers could resume. He redshirted his first year and has had to show the recruiters this season that he remains a high level player. He was able to do that with Lucas and others.
“It’s just another big on,” Bradley said of the Gamecock offer. “Everybody knows how high I was on them in high school. It’s another school I’ve been interested in for a long time. Maybe I can see what’s there to offer me. I already know what Dylan Stewart is even doing just as a true freshman. That’s a great staff to be able to develop me to the player I want to be.”
Bradley has not set a return visit to USC but one is possible. He is going to Oklahoma State this weekend for an official visit and will take one to Kansas November 23rd. The only place he has visited for a game thus far this season was SMU.
Right now, Bradley has USC, NC State, Kansas and Oklahoma State as his top schools, but he’s not going to rush into a decision.
“Those schools right now are recruiting me the hardest, talking to me the most,” Bradley said. “I just want to make sure I play through my season with my focus on the right things before I really take into account what I need to. I’m going to do everything I need on my visits to take them all into account, but my main focus right now is getting through the season.”
In six games this season, Bradley has 15 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack.