Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford was born November 8th of 1978 to his loving parents, Martha and Kent Bradford. Sam is the only child, which allowed his parents to devote all their time to him and support what it is he wanted to do. Whether it was playing sports or the cello, his parents did what they could to develop it. They encouraged him in everything. "As long as it was a good, wholesome thing,” Kent said. "If he wanted to do it, do it.” Even though Sam was central to their lives, he wasn’t coddled. There was discipline if he misbehaved. There was tough love. Martha and Kent’s devotion to Sam remains just as strong to this day. Much of what the Bradford’s did involved sports. Martha is a physical education teacher for an elementary school and Kent was a former sooner offensive lineman. Some might say it was nature and some say it was nurture, either way Sam tended towards sports. Bradford attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City. There he starred in golf, basketball, and football. His senior year he was the star quarterback for the Panthers. Bradford threw for 2,029 yards and scored 17 touchdowns in 12 games. He received an athletic scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, where he played for Coach Bob Stoops.
In 2006, Oklahoma's starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, then a sophomore, was dismissed from the team for violating NCAA rules. Paul Thompson, a senior quarterback-turned-wide receiver, converted back to quarterback and led the 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team to win the Big 12 Championship Game. His departure left a void at the quarterback position at Oklahoma. On August 21, 2007, Bradford won the starting quarterback role for the 2007 team as a redshirt freshman.
In his first game for the Sooners, against the University of North Texas, Bradford completed 21 of 23 attempts for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a little over two quarters, breaking the school record for passing yards in a half, held by his quarterback coach