Platte County senior Chandavian Bradley claps his hands as he runs onto the field on national television before the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 3.
When Chandavian Bradley stepped foot onto Tropicana Field in the Under Armour All-American Game on the biggest stage yet in his young, bright career, he became the first player in the history of Platte County football to reach the feat and be on ESPN.
The all-star game was more than 1,300 miles away from Platte County – taking place in Orlando, Florida – and brings together the best high school athletes in the country. Bradley has committed to play outside linebacker at the University of Tennessee and in that recruitment process, he found a spot on the roster for Team Speed in the Under Armour All-American Game that was played on January 3.
“I got my first college offer back in in February of my sophomore year so once I racked up some (offers), one of the directors gave me a call and invited me to the Under Armour Game,” Bradley said. “Around the same time, I ended up getting invited to the Adidas All-American Game on NBC, but I ultimately chose to go to Under Armour.”
The 2023 Platte County senior made the decision to choose Under Armour over Adidas due to the players and coaches that picked the same brand. The coaches have ties to some of Bradley’s favorite NFL players – such as Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jamar Chase and Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Von Miller – and even called one of them up to talk to him on the phone.
Bradley became the first player ever from Platte County to play in the Under Armour All-Star Game.
“When we were down in Florida, coach called Von Miller and let me talk to him and it was really cool. Von is a very chill person and even though he’s injured right now, he gave me some good advice on how I should take life,” Bradley said.
While the Under Armour All-Star Game was on one night, the players were in Orlando for multiple days before the game took place. While there was plenty of practice, there was also bonding time amongst the top 2023 college football prospects around the country.
“The first day, they went to the beach, but I wasn’t there because I flew in a day late. The second day we went to K1 Speed – which is like go-karting, bowling and a bunch of other games on top of that – and then we went to Topgolf the third day and had our game on the fourth day,” Bradley said.
As for the football aspect of it, the players would wake up and eat breakfast together in a recovery lounge then have meetings that were split up by the offense and the defense. Afterwards practice took place each day.
“I was more nervous about practice than I was the game because when it comes down to game time, I just like to have fun, especially in that type of setting when it’s an All-American Game. Nobody’s really trying to hurt anybody or doing anything like that, we’re all friends so we’re all there just having fun,” Bradley said.
Bradley chose to play in the Under Armour All-American Game over the Adidas Under Armour All-Star Game due to the players and coaches that Under Armour has.
When the 6’4.5, 209-pound defensive star took the field for Team Speed, he knew it was a big deal to play in one of the biggest stadiums any high schoolers get to play on. While it was on a huge stage with it being nationally televised, the game also gave Bradley some insight on the type of players he’ll be facing in college.
“I’m going against them while I’m underweight and I was still doing things well and doing things easier than I thought I was going to be able to do. I know that once I get my weight up in college that it’s going to come naturally, and hopefully I can get to the stage where I’m going to be an All-American in college too,” Bradley said.
Bradley helped Team Speed’s defense hold Team Phantom scoreless in the second half in losing effort as his squad lost 14-7. Platte County has been a respectable football program for years, but Bradley was the first one to ever make it to the Under Armour All-American Game and he had a ton of support from his hometown.
Bradley was on the losing side in the Under Armour All-American Game as Team Speed was defeated by Team Phantom 14-7.
“I never thought that I’d be up to this place before since nobody else has even gotten close to having the chance to be at a stage like that out of Platte County School District. It’s a good feeling to be able to come out and be a role model for the little kids that I grew up with since my mom did daycare for them,” Bradley said.
In the aftermath of a busy week of football festivities, Bradley still made it back to Platte County in time for its basketball game on January 4. Showing his impressive athleticism, he led the team in scoring while also having three dunks hours after flying in.
“It was definitely hard because I started out really slow, but I got back in my groove after a while. I feel like I’ll be ready for out next game,” Bradley said.
Bradley is a multi-sport athlete who is expected to not only play football at the University of Tennessee, but also play basketball. He’s improved vastly in both sports in his time at Platte County and has potential to be a huge threat in the SEC in the upcoming years.