Bronzeville Native Starts at QB for Army West Point

Evan F. Moore | As of Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Army West Point quarterback, Ahmad Bradshaw.
Army West Point quarterback, Ahmad Bradshaw.
Photo By: West Point Athletics

Since the start of the 2015 season, the United States Military Academy at West Point has celebrated the 125 years their football program has been in existence.

Playing for the Black Knights isn’t like any other college football program. Many of the cadets at the nation’s service academies will go on to careers in the armed forces.

When Bronzeville native Ahmad Bradshaw was given the chance to play football for the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army West Point), one of college football’s most storied programs, he said his South Side Chicago upbringing prepared him for the rare opportunity.

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Ahmad Bradshaw starts as quarterback for the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“It was rough sometimes. I wanted to get away from all of the violence I was around,” the sophomore quarterback says.” I was really excited. I practiced hard all week. My teammates have a lot of faith in me and they were happy too.”

Bradshaw, 20, a former All-Public League quarterback, first start playing as an Army West Point Black Knight was on Sept. 4 against Fordham University.

Even though the Black Knights fell short in a 37-35 loss, Bradshaw combined to run and throw for four touchdowns, had 143 yards on the ground and threw for 107 yards.

Army West Point coach Jeff Monken said of Bradshaw during a press conference last week:

“I thought Ahmad played well. I thought he played hard and he really impressed us with how well he ran the football. He ran through some tackles and made some plays when there wasn't much there. He made a couple critical third down runs and I thought he did a nice job. He made some mistakes, and there were some plays where he could have made some different decisions and not got us in a pickle a couple of times, but for a guy who is a rookie for all intents and purposes, I thought he played really well. He is going to play well and improve the more he plays and that is one of the things that is encouraging going into this week is that I think he will get better."

During Bradshaw’s time at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep High School in Chicago, he not only played football, he was also a member of the wrestling and basketball teams. He served as team captain in two sports.

Bradshaw says his mother, Kizzy Collins, is his biggest fan and his most outspoken critic.

“She calls and asks me, ‘You nervous? Are you scared?”

He says his aunt, Shanice Carlock, who served as a Petty Officer in the Navy, gave him some advice on how to handle military life.

“She told me it’s going to be hard sometimes but you got to be strong-minded,” Bradshaw said. “Be the person I was raised to be and do what I’m told.”

Bradshaw, who is listed at 5’10”, added that he models his game after quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.

“I can take something away from each of those guys about leadership,” Bradshaw said of his idols.

Through the Black Knights’ first two games of the season, Bradshaw has amassed close to 394 yards on offense (272 rushing yards and 122 passing yards) along with five touchdowns. He says that he will do what is asked of him in order to win games.

“Quarterback is an important job but no matter what position I’m at, I’m going to take the same attitude and approach to help the team wins game,” Bradshaw explained.

Army West Point’s next game will be on Saturday, Sept. 19, when they host Wake Forest. Kickoff is scheduled for noon EST and the game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.

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