After three years of waiting and battling injuries, the bruising and lightning-quick Allen Bradford is getting his chance to shine.
By Pedro Moura
USCRipsIt staff writer
Perseverance is key to succeeding with USC football.
Just ask junior tailback Allen Bradford. He's now in his fourth year with the Trojans after he spent the first three toiling in relative obscurity behind backs like C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight and Chauncey Washington. This season, he's finally getting his chance to shine, and, boy, is he running with it.
Through five games, the 5-foot-11, 235-pound Bradford is second on the team in rushing with 28 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown.
"It's showing that hard work pays off," Bradford said of his 2009 success. "I'm still not where I want to be, but I just gotta keep on working for it. When I get there, I'll show them what hard work does and how much hard work paid off."
Bradford was a first-team All-American and PARADE Magazine's All-Purpose Player of the Year out of Colton High in 2006.
He came to USC as a safety but moved to tailback at the coaching staff's request in his initial fall camp. Since then, he's been plagued by a surplus of tailbacks and a recurring hip injury that has severely limited his practice time and production. Before this season, his previous season high was 57 rushing yards.
Yet, the unassuming Bradford has never complained publicly. And he's always been a role model.
"He shows me that when things get hard, keep going, because you never know what's going to happen," said redshirt freshman tailback Curtis McNeal, now in a similar boat as Bradford circa 2006, with a quartet of backs currently above him on the depth chart.
"That's what he's doing. He kept his head up and kept fighting."
And now that Bradford has broken out, teammates are taking notice. He's stretched multiple big plays this season and has proved a constant threat on offense, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
"He's a great player, and that's been obvious," receiver Damian Williams said. "Every time he's come in, he's made plays and he's gotten yardage for us."
In the Trojans' 30-3 victory over Cal, Bradford was Coach Pete Carroll's clear No. 2 choice at running back as he ran 12 times for 53 yards behind starter Joe McKnight.
But Bradford still isn't content.
"I haven't really accomplished what I wanted to in college thus far," he says. "I'm just still fighting."
It's all part of his personality. He mentions "earning more carries" on at least three occasions in a 10-minue period. Teammates agree that Bradford -- viciously aggressive at times, unbelievably playful at others -- has an insatiable desire to continue to improve.
"I think the success just makes him more hungry," junior Stanley Havili says of his backfield mate. "You can tell, his body language when he's out there running the ball, he's vying for more carries. The coaches are seeing it and the players are responding to his intensity on the field when the ball's in his hands."
Bradford is different than any of the other USC tailbacks in the stable. He combines top-end speed with a bruising style, evoking images of a younger Jamal Lewis from both defenders -- and Bradford himself.
"He definitely brings a physical presence," running backs coach Todd McNair says. "He's tough, big, strong, and he runs a little harder than the other guys. He gets downhill on the defense."
Beyond his running ability, only one thing's for sure.
Bradford will continue to persevere, continue to fight.
And teammates will continue to look toward him as an inspiration.
"He's got a lot of heart," Williams said. "Things haven't necessarily gone his way -- he's had a lot of injuries and stuff -- but he keeps battling through it and I think that shows a lot about the person he is and how competitive he is.
"I love that about him."
• You can contact USCRipsIt staff writer Pedro Moura via email.
By Pedro Moura
USCRipsIt staff writer
Perseverance is key to succeeding with USC football.Just ask junior tailback Allen Bradford. He's now in his fourth year with the Trojans after he spent the first three toiling in relative obscurity behind backs like C.J. Gable, Joe McKnight and Chauncey Washington. This season, he's finally getting his chance to shine, and, boy, is he running with it.
Through five games, the 5-foot-11, 235-pound Bradford is second on the team in rushing with 28 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown.
"It's showing that hard work pays off," Bradford said of his 2009 success. "I'm still not where I want to be, but I just gotta keep on working for it. When I get there, I'll show them what hard work does and how much hard work paid off."
Bradford was a first-team All-American and PARADE Magazine's All-Purpose Player of the Year out of Colton High in 2006.
He came to USC as a safety but moved to tailback at the coaching staff's request in his initial fall camp. Since then, he's been plagued by a surplus of tailbacks and a recurring hip injury that has severely limited his practice time and production. Before this season, his previous season high was 57 rushing yards.
Yet, the unassuming Bradford has never complained publicly. And he's always been a role model.
"He shows me that when things get hard, keep going, because you never know what's going to happen," said redshirt freshman tailback Curtis McNeal, now in a similar boat as Bradford circa 2006, with a quartet of backs currently above him on the depth chart.
"That's what he's doing. He kept his head up and kept fighting."
And now that Bradford has broken out, teammates are taking notice. He's stretched multiple big plays this season and has proved a constant threat on offense, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
"He's a great player, and that's been obvious," receiver Damian Williams said. "Every time he's come in, he's made plays and he's gotten yardage for us."
In the Trojans' 30-3 victory over Cal, Bradford was Coach Pete Carroll's clear No. 2 choice at running back as he ran 12 times for 53 yards behind starter Joe McKnight.
But Bradford still isn't content.
"I haven't really accomplished what I wanted to in college thus far," he says. "I'm just still fighting."
It's all part of his personality. He mentions "earning more carries" on at least three occasions in a 10-minue period. Teammates agree that Bradford -- viciously aggressive at times, unbelievably playful at others -- has an insatiable desire to continue to improve.
"I think the success just makes him more hungry," junior Stanley Havili says of his backfield mate. "You can tell, his body language when he's out there running the ball, he's vying for more carries. The coaches are seeing it and the players are responding to his intensity on the field when the ball's in his hands."
Bradford is different than any of the other USC tailbacks in the stable. He combines top-end speed with a bruising style, evoking images of a younger Jamal Lewis from both defenders -- and Bradford himself.
"He definitely brings a physical presence," running backs coach Todd McNair says. "He's tough, big, strong, and he runs a little harder than the other guys. He gets downhill on the defense."
Beyond his running ability, only one thing's for sure.
Bradford will continue to persevere, continue to fight.
And teammates will continue to look toward him as an inspiration.
"He's got a lot of heart," Williams said. "Things haven't necessarily gone his way -- he's had a lot of injuries and stuff -- but he keeps battling through it and I think that shows a lot about the person he is and how competitive he is.
"I love that about him."
• You can contact USCRipsIt staff writer Pedro Moura via email.
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