During this prestigious era of Jeff Monken football at West Point, the emphasis on team and brotherhood is embedded in the Black Knights football culture.
But if there is one player who we would point to as one of the major elements in assisting in turning the Army football program around, it would be quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw.
Bradshaw had no rating from Rivals when he was recruited out of Chicago in 2013 by current slotbacks coach Tucker Waugh. He played a year at USMAPS before entering West Point in 2014.
GoBlackKnights.com named Bradshaw to our Army All-Decade Team despite his lack of passing skills, which was more than made up for by his running ability and team leadership.
He earned a lasting spot in the memories of Army fans by leading the Black Knights to the win over Navy in 2016 that snapped Navy’s 14 game winning streak.
Bradshaw broke into the starting lineup in his sophomore year, competing for starts against AJ Schurr, who was clearly the better passer of the two. He ran for 468 yards and 5 touchdowns in 8 games in 2015, but then took moved up to become the starter in 2016, running for 826 yards and 8 touchdowns in 12 games. He completed 40 passes for 703 yards and 4 touchdowns that year with a lot of help from Edgar Poe. With Poe gone in 2017, Bradshaw focused on running the ball rolling up 1,725 yards rushing for the season earning the all-time Army single-season rushing record. Despite playing only 3 seasons and sharing the starting job in one of those seasons, Bradshaw ranks 5th on the all-time list for Career Rushing Yards with 3,040 and tied for 5th in Career Rushing touchdowns with 37.
So we asked the QB mainstay … what does the Army-Navy game mean to him and what is his fondest memory of the rivalry?
“The Army-Navy game is the most exciting game I've ever played in,” Bradshaw declared. “It means the world to us … battling as brothers versus a well-known rival. Winning that game means the world to not only us (cadets) but also to the men and women in uniform around the world.”
“For me, I know what momentum does for teams, and winning that game gives momentum and excitement to our soldiers watching from deployments. That drives me to work harder to ensure those men and women have bragging rights for the next 365 days.”
“My fondest memory of the rivalry is breaking the streak in 2016 on 2nd and 8, scoring the game-winning touchdown,” added an enthusiastic Bradshaw, as if he reflected on that moment. “Earlier that year I lost my brother, Brandon Jackson, and he wore the No. 28; after scoring on 2nd and 8, I knew Brandon was with us.”
“If I could talk to the team prior to the game, I would tell them to follow Coach Monken's football commandments (they know them),” explained No. 17. “I would tell them that this game comes down to 3 things every year: 1. Toughness 2. Fundamentals 3. Who wants it the most. Toughness is physical and mental. Outwork your opponent and don't make mental mistakes. Fundamentals include doing the proper footwork and protecting the ball. Win the turnover battle. Finally, be determined that you will not be beaten… ‘BEAT NAVY’.”
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