In the end, Chandavian Bradley decided to exchange one shade of orange for another following his senior season.
Platte County’s senior-to-be defensive end announced his verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee through his social media accounts on Sunday afternoon, ostensibly bringing to an end a lengthy process. By far the most highly recruited player in program history, Bradley burst onto the recruiting scene following his sophomore season as measurables and potential gained the attention of increasingly high-profile Division I programs.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound projected edge rusher ranks in the top 50 overall across the board for 2023 graduates, and 247 Sports lists him as the No. 1 player in Missouri. He ended up with 32 total scholarship offers, including Florida State, Arkansas, Auburn, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Wisconsin, and he took visits to Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Kansas and Missouri.
Eventually, Bradley narrowed his list to Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas A&M — all SEC programs — before landing on the Volunteers.
Bradley opened his sophomore season as a special teams contributor and reserve defensive end for Platte County and recorded 11 tackles (two for loss) but came up with six sacks as a situational pass rusher for the Pirates, who reached the Class 5 state championship game. He started all of his junior season and earned first team All-Suburban Conference Blue Division honors with 26 tackles (seven for loss), seven sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, which he returned a short distance for the first touchdown of his career against Ruskin.
In addition, Bradley returned kickoffs late in the season, and Platte County could use him as a receiving option, especially in the red zone, during the upcoming season.
Platte County players to sign or walk on at the Division I FCS level in recent years include current assistant coach Derek Kohler (Missouri State), Collin Tyson (Eastern Illinois), Trevor Scott (South Dakota State) and Dayton Mitchell (Southern Illinois). The Pirates’ history of FBS players in the modern era is predictably more exclusive with quarterback Zac Wegner — a 1995 graduate — appearing in 26 games at Kansas from 1997 to 1999. He accrued 2,640 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in that time.
In addition, Cole Rhoden, a graduate this past spring, has signed to Kansas as a walk-on where he will compete for time as a wide receiver and kicker.
