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| Mark Bradford answered questions in the gostanford.com chat room on Thursday, September 16. |
Cardinal Commitment: Mark Bradford Chat Wrap
Sophomore wide receiver answered questions beginning at 11:00 am, PT.
Stanford, Calif. - Sophomore wide receiver Mark Bradford made an appearance in the gostanford.com chat room Thursday, September 16 (11:00 am, PT) to continue a series of weekly chats with Cardinal football players throughout the 2004 season. The chat series is one element of the in-depth, detailed and exclusive coverage of the 2004 Stanford Football team featured on the Cardinal Commitment page of gostanford.com. Other features on the page include press releases, a behind the scenes look at the Stanford Athletics Department staff, promotion and ticket information, Buddy Teevens' press conferences, player reports, assistant coaching reports, and of course, Gameday Central every Saturday for all Stanford Football games.
As a true freshman last season, Bradford earned Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-American and First Team Freshman All-Pac-10 honors, while also winning Stanford's Menlo-Atherton Trophy given annually to the team's Most Outstanding freshman. He moved into the starting lineup in game four and has remained there for all 10 of the team's games since, including the first two this season. Bradford finished his 2003 campaign as the most prolific true freshman receiver in school history with 37 receptions for 587 yards (15.9 ypg) and three touchdowns. He paced the team in receiving yards, while tying for the club's lead in receiving touchdowns and ranking second in receptions. Bradford had a pair of 100-yard-plus games, catching seven balls for 153 yards at Oregon, including the team's longest play from scrimmage of the year on a 71-yard pass reception from quarterback Chris Lewis. He also had seven catches for 129 yards and one TD on a 65-yard pass from Lewis in the season finale against Notre Dame.
Bradford is off to a solid start in his sophomore campaign, catching seven balls for 116 yards in the team's first two games. In Stanford's 37-10 win over BYU last Saturday, Bradford made four catches and tallied 91 receiving yards, including a 76-yard hook up with quarterback Trent Edwards in the second quarter for the team's longest play from scrimmage this season.
He has now combined for 703 yards and 44 catches with three touchdowns in his first 13 career games on The Farm.
Bradford was also a member of the 2003-04 Stanford men's basketball team, joining the squad at the conclusion of the football season last November.
Still an undeclared major at Stanford, the Los Angeles native spent his prep career at Fremont High School in the Southland's biggest city, where he was one of the nation's premier receivers during a consensus All-American senior season. Bradford was ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver in the nation by PrepStar as a senior and was the publication's top-ranked receiver in the West. He was also a two-time All-City choice in both football and basketball, as well as the California Freshman of the Year in hoops for the 1999-2000 campaign.
Stanford (2-0, 0-0 Pac-10) is currently in the midst of a bye week before continuing its 2004 football season by hosting top-ranked USC (2-0, 0-0 Pac-10) in the Pac-10 opener for both teams at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, September 25 (4:00 pm, PT). The game will be nationally televised live by TBS. Live audio broadcasts can also be heard on KNEW 910-AM, KZSU 90.1 FM and gostanford.com, as well as on the Stanford Football Radio Network (KFIA ... 710 AM, Sacramento ... KPSI 920 AM, Palm Springs ... KUIK 1360 AM, Portland).
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| Moderator: Mark is here and ready to begin answering your questions. |
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| Jone: Great games you guys had. Any thoughts on the game with USC? I always wonder how sports teams travel to other schools. |
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Mark Bradford: I'm really looking foward to the game against usc. Its always fun going against them because they're from my home town. The traveling process for us starts with a chartered flight, then a ride to a local hotelfor an overnight stay until game day. |
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| Steve ( Menlo Park): Besides Even Moore and yourself, which of your football teammates are the best basketball players, and which of your hoops teammates would make the best football players |
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Mark Bradford: The best basketball playing football player i would have to say would be OJ Atagwe because he's very athletic and can shoot, but i've heard that Anthony Kimble can really play. The hoops player with the most football game would be either nick pops robinson or tim morris |
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| Arlo (south city): The Cardinal receiving corps is extremely deep this season. Is there good competition for spots at the wideout spot? |
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Mark Bradford: yes, there is a lot of competition at the spot right now. I feel that everyone is dealing with the competition well. I think it will benefit the team because it will bring the best out of us and cause us to take our game to the next level. |
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| Bobby (P-Town): What are you guys focussing on in the lead up to the USC game? |
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Mark Bradford: right now we have a bye week so we're focusing on ourselves. we're working on a lot of fundamental things and trying to fix tje little things that need work. |
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| Angela (Redwood City): Hi Mark - do you look forward to an increased role with the basketball team in the coming seasons? I know it must be hard though, what with you coming in late from football each year... |
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| Angela (Redwood City): Hi Mark - do you look forward to an increased role with the basketball team in the coming seasons? I know it must be hard though, what with you coming in late from football each year... |
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Mark Bradford: i'm not really sure what's going to happen with playing time on basketball team, and coming in late does hurt, but right now its football season and i'm thinking the later the better. |
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| Kelvin (Houston): With classes starting so late, how has it been playing the first two games of the season at home without many students there to support you? |
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Mark Bradford: for me it doesn't matter who's in the stands while im on the field i'm just out there with my teammates and having fun. the hard part is after the game when you go back to the dorms and there's no party to go to. |
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| John (Chico: Can the team rely on its defense all year or will the offense keep up its positive performance? |
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Mark Bradford: within the course of this season anything can happen. we rely on each other to do our jobs and during this season some games we will need them to step up more to cover our backs and some games they will need us to step up more to cover thiers. |
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| Alex (Foster City): Mark - in addition to your excellence as a receiver, I am impressed with your durability. It seems you're never injured or dinged up, and I've never even seen you wearing the yellow jersey in practice.
How have you been able to remain so durable? |
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Mark Bradford: i would have to say that i've just been lucky. i don't do anything special to keep myself healthy. |
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| Kelvin (Houston): Sup Mark. Last year you had one of the best freshman campaigns for a Cardinal receiver to date. How do you think you stack up with other top Pac-10 receivers this year. Good luck with USC |
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Mark Bradford: i think that i stack up pretty well. i think could hold my own with them, but we'll see this year. |
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| Nicole (Marin): What game are you looking forward to the most this year? |
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Mark Bradford: right now im most looking foward to usc. |
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| Huey (Stanford): Mark, what's it gonna take to get more people in the seats? |
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Mark Bradford: i think that wins should do it. |
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| Huey (Stanford): Wbat's your evaluation of the coaching staff so far? |
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Mark Bradford: they're al great guys and its a pleasure to be playing for them. |
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| Papatunde, Chicagoland: How has the new WR coach benefited and improved your game other than him being a good guy?
GO CARDINAL!!! |
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Mark Bradford: he's really easy to play for, i think that i benefit from him because i can play relaxed. He lets me play a lot on instinct and feel for the game. |
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| Jonnel (Palo Alto): How much did Luke Powell help you with your transition to college football? Did he give you an idea of what to expect or how to be successful at this level? |
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Mark Bradford: luke helped in mentoring me. he showed me what an elite reciever looked like and some of the things that it takes to get there. hopefully i can try to duplicate some of the things that he has done here on the farm. |
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| Scott (San Diego): What will be the key if Stanford is going to upset USC? |
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Mark Bradford: the execution of the little things, and big plays. |
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| Michael Forrest (Northridge, CA): Congratulations on a great start to the new season. Two-part question: One, with the demands on your time running practically year-round, how often do you get to see your family? Two, as a two-sport athlete, how do you manage your academic work load?
Best of luck the rest of the way.
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Mark Bradford: i get to see my family when play in southern cali and during the summer for about a month.
the academic work load is tough to handle but using the time that is available wisely is the only way to get it done. |
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| Tyler(San Jose): How is the WR core preparing for the USC game and what is your goal for that particular game? |
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Mark Bradford: the WR are working hard in anticipation for the game, and all i want is a win. |
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| Greg (Ft. Lauderdale): Hey Mark - do any of your family members or friends from the LA area make it up for some of your home games? |
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Mark Bradford: yea they come up to about one or two games a year. |
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| Tommy (San Bruno): Why does the offense seem to be clicking better than it did last year? |
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Mark Bradford: i think that its because the players are a little more mature. they have settled into the offense. the year of experience for this team has done a lot.
well i have to go to eat and get ready for practice. thanks for you questions. |
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