THE SITUATION
As National Signing Day inches closer and closer, the final pieces of LSU's fourth-ranked recruiting class are falling into place.
After his first visit to Baton Rouge for an official visit, Rivals250 running back Kevontre Bradford put an exclamation point on his recruitment and committed to LSU.
Bradford picked the Tigers over a late push from Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Oklahoma State.
Despite the historical offensive statistics this past season, the Tigers struggled to recruit running backs for the 2020 class and had centered much of their focus on five-star Zachary Evans, who signed with Georgia in December and was released from his letter of intent weeks later. Both sides seemingly moved on, which opened a door for the Tigers to shift their sights onto Bradford, who elected not to sign during the Early Signing Period.
Bradford is the lone back in LSU's 2020 class. He picked up the offer from the Tigers back in October midway through his senior campaign, which included 169 carries for 1,563 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground in addition to another 242 yards and three touchdowns receiving. That amounts to 9.25 yards per carry; 20.7 yards per reception and a touchdown almost every seven touches.
HOW IT UNFOLDED
Prior to the fall, Bradford's recruitment was going at a somewhat slow pace. Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Wisconsin were the early favorites, with the Badgers landing an official visit over the summer. However, the running back elected not to make a decision at the end of the visit, which allowed other teams to jump into the fray this past fall.
Those teams included Ohio State and LSU -- in that order.
Ohio State moved quickly on Bradford and had him on campus for an official visit for the Michigan State weekend, but surprisingly, he held off on a decision then, too. In recent months, the Buckeyes' pursuit of running backs shifted away from Bradford and onto players like Georgia Tech commitment Jahmyr Gibbs. Meanwhile, the Badgers landed a commitment from Jalen Berger during the All-American Bowl earlier this month.
That whittled away some of the contenders for Bradford, leaving LSU, Oklahoma State and Texas, which extended an offer in December before the Early Signing Period. The Cowboys were the team courting Bradford the longest, but his focus was on Texas and LSU.
Texas put the full-court press on Bradford, but with five-star Bijan Robinson already on board, LSU -- which was still without a running back for its 2020 class -- was the more attractive destination. Coach Ed Orgeron visited Lancaster in the week leading up to Bradford's official -- and did so on the same day as ace Longhorns recruiter Bryan Carrington -- but the opportunities in Baton Rouge won out for the uber-talented four-star tailback.
RIVALS REACTION
Bradford becomes the lone running back in LSU's 2020 recruiting class as one of the final pieces in Coach Ed Orgeron's haul, which remains in a position to contend for the No. 1 spot in the Rivals rankings.
Bradford is well-built at 6-feet tall and 190 pounds with a thick frame and fantastic track times. He has verified 4.4 straight-line speed, which is quite evident in-person or on tape. He makes a habit out of taking runs to the edge or to the outside, but has the build to run between the tackles as well.
The Dallas-area back is a one-cut-and-go runner who makes very decisive, sharp cuts and is always a threat to cut runs back inside. He shows immaculate burst through holes and blends power with elusiveness in a very natural way. Bradford, of course, has breakaway speed and made a habit out of home-run plays this past season for Lancaster High.
Bradford is a bit atypical from previous LSU running backs like Leonard Fournette or Jeremy Hill and has more Derrius Guice to him than the others. He prefers to break runs to the outside and is also a dangerous asset in the passing game. Bradford consistently won when left in 1-on-1 situations in the passing game and has reliable hands to catch passes out of the backfield and run routes downfield. He also contributed on kickoff return and housed a few returns during the 2019 season.
What separates Bradford is his vision as a runner. He has a good grasp of where defenders are on the field and has the athleticism, burst, balance and agility to follow his eyes. Of course, he also has the straight-line speed to turn any run into a long touchdown.