FREE - The maturation of QB Ahmad Bradshaw: Countdown to Army vs. Navy
There was plenty of pre-season debate on who would win the starting quarterback job running Army’s triple option offense and the two obvious names at the top of the list were junior Ahmad Bradshaw and sophomore Chris Carter.
But as the 2016 spring/summer training camps continued to unfold and into the first quarter of the season, it became apparent, at least from where we sit ... this was Bradshaw’s team, at least offensively. Yes, comparatively speaking when it comes to his stats ... one can see his progress.
- 2015: appeared in 8 games with 7 starts.
Rushed for 468 yards on 130 attempts for an average of 3.6 yds per attempt with 5 rushing TDs
Completed 23 of 48 passing attempts (47.9%) for 429 yards with 5 TDs and 2 INTs for an Efficiency Rating of 149.03.
Caught one pass for 25 yards
- 2016: started 10 games.
Rushed for 644 yards on 157 attempts for an average of 4.1 per attempt with 6 rushing TDs.
Completed 36 of 84 passing attempts (42.9%) for 615 yards with 4 TDs and 8 INTs for an Efficiency Rating of 101.02
Caught 1 pass for 12 yards
Even when we asked senior WR Edgar Poe to discuss the Chicago native’s maturation under center, he confirmed that Bradshaw has stepped up to the plate this season.
“I’ve been privileged to play with him and watch him grow ever since he was a freshman to now,” voiced Poe in his conversation last week with GBK.
“Unfortunately he battled some injuries last year, but I think his confidence has grown and it’s really amazing to watch. He’s a phenomenal athlete, he makes plays happen and I’m confident in him and he’s expressed his confidence in me and I like our relationship.”
And when it comes to his injury plagued 2015 season, that saw him miss the final two games of the year against Rutgers and Navy, Bradshaw had this to say about his present frame of mind compared to this time last year.
“I mean, last year I knew that I was hurt, but I knew that I still had to prepare and be ready to go if I had the opportunity be given to me even though I was hurt,” he stated relative to 2015 contest versus the Midshipmen, but then turning his attention to Saturday’s game. “I still feel the same way. I feel like this is the biggest game of the year right now and I’m going to prepare my best to do the best that I can do to help the team win.”
It has been noted in other articles on the quarterback, that he has a very close relationship with your family, especially his mother.
GoBlackKnights.com ask Bradshaw what does he think his mother, Kizzy Collins would say about his development as a young man from the time he left Chicago to make his way to the academy up to this present time?
“I would definitely say that she would say that I have matured a lot,” he explained. “I am more focused on what I want to do in life and care more about other people other than myself. Meaning, I am not as I probably was younger or in high school.”
And if this was Family Feud, host Steve Harvey would have awarded the sophomore quarterback the maximum allotted points for his answer.
“THE SURVEY SAID ....”
“There are a lot of different things that has changes about Ahmad,” acknowledged his mother, who is transparently proud of her son’s maturation. “West Point has definitely made him more discipline, humble and a creative thinker. He has matured, he is more responsible and I see more leadership qualities.”
“He has a divine personality and since of humor that draws others to him and makes everyone love him,” she added. “I remember asking him how he felt about not being able to play in the Army-Navy game last year and he said to me ... Ma, it's not about me it's about our team. That alone showed me how much he has grown.”
But we didn’t stop with Ahmad’s mother ... we asked senior wide receiver and team’s 2015 MVP Edgar Poe to talk about Bradshaw’s development as a QB, especially his passing and then we asked the quarterback himself what did he think Poe had to said?
“{Laughing} I don’t know ... I think he said that I throw the ball quicker and further then I did before,” Bradshaw stated.
Through his development on and off the field, Black Knights’ offensive coordinator Brent Davis readily admitted to GBK that the 5-foot-11, 198 pounder has earned the right to be called Army’s starting signal caller.
Although Bradshaw and his teammates have not openly displayed any sense of the pressure that you think goes along with attempting to end the losing streak against their academy rival, the QB realizes how important Saturday’s game on is and beat the Navy Midshipmen.
“It’s very important,” he declared. “It’s been over ten years since the last time we beat them and it’s definitely something that is on our minds all the time ... so, it’s very important that we come out and do our best and give ourselves a chance to win this game.”
If you have never met Bradshaw up close and personal, the common characteristic that he displays on and off the field is his calm demeanor. So, in the pressure cooker of non-stop football practice, managing his academics load and his military related academy obligations ... what does he do to relax or what qualifies as quality down-time for him?
“If I am not doing any of those three things, I’m probably either on my computer, playing chess, listening to music or talking to my girlfriend or talking to my mother on the phone,” says Bradshaw, who indicated that being under recruited coming out of high school was a blessing in disguise because he still isn’t sure which college he might have ended up at and he has no regrets on being at the United States Military Academy at West Point and wearing the Black & Gold on Saturday.
“I will answer the regret question first {laughing} and I don’t have any regrets about attending West Point at all,” he firmly stated. “But, I honestly don’t know where I would have ended up if I hadn’t come here. Honestly, a lot of people didn’t recruit me as hard as the coaches at West Point and I’m thankful that was the case.”
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Not a subscriber to GBK? There’s no better time than now as the Army Black Knights take their 6-5 record for their December 10th head-to-head with their academy rival the Navy Midshipmen, but also gearing up for a bowl game this 2016-17 football campaign.
PREVIOUS BRADSHAW RELATED ARTICLE:
'FREE' UPDATE (8/31): Ahmad Bradshaw not looking over his shoulder going into opener