3-star QB Jayden Bradford commits to Liberty: 'I felt this was the place I belonged'

Jayden Bradford knew on his visit to Lynchburg that Liberty was where he was supposed to be. He made his college decision on that visit and now has announced his commitment to the Liberty Flames, choosing the Flames over UAB and others.

Bradford, a three-star quarterback out of IMG Academy, took visits at numerous colleges — waiting for the right feeling — before officially visiting Liberty in June.

“They always say whenever you go to the school that you will end up at, that you will know,” Bradford told On3. “I never really understood that, because I had been to a lot of great schools and never really felt that I needed to be there. . . I had that feeling at Liberty. . . I felt this was the place I belonged on the visit, so I knew then that I was going there. . . I made my decision on the visit, but decided to hold it to announce publicly on my birthday.”

Bradford’s visit: ‘I loved everything about it’

This commitment was a long time coming for Bradford, who had maintained communication with both Liberty and Jamey Chadwell’s Coastal Carolina staff throughout his recruiting process.

“Liberty has honestly been recruiting me since my freshman year,” Bradford said. “The new staff there now was at Coastal Carolina before, and they were recruiting me very early. Coach Jamey Chadwell and his staff started recruiting me early, and as soon as they got to Liberty, they recruited me hard. Then they got a little more serious with me the last couple of months. Coach Willy Korn attended my spring game, they communicated with me a lot and they got me on their first official visits for the summer (June 9-11).

“I loved everything about it,” Bradford said of that visit. “It was my first time on campus and I saw a lot that I liked. I like the coaches a lot, I feel I have a chance to start early and really build my own legacy there. At Liberty, I feel I can make a big impact and solidify myself as a top quarterback and help shape the path of the program to where they want to be in a couple of years.

Connections with Korn, Chadwell paved the way for Bradford

Liberty’s facilities and the relationships between the coaching staff and its players stood out to Bradford on his visit. Bradford spoke about his instant connection with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Willy Korn, and how that connection played a role in the official visit’s immediate impact on Bradford’s recruitment. Korn joined Chadwell’s Charleston Southern staff in 2013 and has remained a coach under Chadwell ever since.

“As a quarterback, it is really important to have a good connection with your offensive coordinator,” Bradford said. “You want your quarterback and offensive coordinator to operate on the wavelength, think the same, know what calls are coming and me and Coach Korn have that. We just hit it off right away and we have similar interests, we watch the same TV shows and that instant connection really played a role in my commitment.”

In addition to Korn, Bradford connected with new head coach Jamey Chadwell. Chadwell comes to Liberty after six seasons at Coastal Carolina, where he was promoted to head coach in 2019. He led the Chanticleers to back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2020 and 2021 before finishing off his stint with a 9-3 season last year.

“I love Coach Chadwell’s demeanor,” Bradford said. “I am a calm and not a big rah-rah guy because I just like to be in control and command, so we share that personality trait. He has won everywhere he has been and he has developed quarterbacks. 

“Coach Chadwell turns programs around and I am excited about playing for him at Liberty.”