Since he was old enough to walk, Hunter Bradley wanted to play football in the Southeastern Conference. For the past six years at Mississippi State, that dream has become reality and one of the most memorable experiences of his life.
A Collierville, Tennessee, native, Bradley entered his first semester at MSU in 2012 to play tight end as a new recruit. However, after tearing his ACL multiple times, his tight-end plan “went out the window.” At the encouragement of his father Mike, a former Delta State University offensive lineman and long snapper, Bradley took on a new role for the Bulldogs.
“Being a long snapper is a technical and detail-oriented position that involves muscle memory building. You have to do the little things over and over again in order to get the results you want, so it was a big learning curve for me,” he said. “My dad made me take snaps when I was younger, and I’m thankful because that helped in making the transition from tight end to long snapper.”
Granted a sixth year by the NCAA, Bradley played during the 2017 season with a kinesiology/clinical exercise physiology bachelor’s degree already in hand. As he works to complete a master’s in workforce education leadership through MSU’s Center for Distance Education, he couldn’t be more excited about his accomplishments and new memories yet to be made.
“In overcoming knee injury after knee injury, I see how much I have changed,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of great moments, but going from a walk-on player to earning a football scholarship stands out the most.”
Bradley said the flexibility of his MSU online master’s degree program can help in achieving his plan of moving to Florida. He also aspires to continue his football career in the National Football League and may consider physical therapy or chiropractic school.
“Leadership is college athletics in a nutshell,” he said with a smile. “That’s a key tool or trait I learned from playing sports, and I decided to pursue workforce education leadership because it was something I thought I would enjoy digging deeper into. I want to come back and visit because I’m proud to be a Bulldog.”