On New Year’s Day morning, Logan Bradley prepared to watch the Fiesta Bowl on television, with a smile on his face. It was played 1,800 miles west of his Auburn, Alabama home in suburban Phoenix.
Bradley, an Offensive Analyst for the Auburn University Football Team who graduated from Cedar Hill High School in 2013, played a role in recruiting fellow CHHS Longhorns, Kaidon Salter and Amarian Williams to Liberty University. Bradley had served on the Liberty football staff from 2019-2022.
Salter and Williams led the Flames to an undefeated regular season and first-ever major bowl appearance. Although the Flames lost convincingly to Oregon, qualifying for the Fiesta was a major feat for the Virginia-based university.
“Hats off to the Liberty Coaching Staff – they did an incredible job,” Bradley said. “Watching the game, you’re happy because you worked there, but you’re happier for the kids because of the recruiting process and the relationships you built with them. A little bit of you is still there.”
Bradley said he plans to continue recruiting Texas, especially Cedar Hill.
“I always make sure I take care of Cedar Hill people,” Bradley said. “Even though I didn’t play alongside Salter or Williams at Cedar Hill, we bonded.”
Bradley grew up in Cedar Hill, attending Highlands Elementary in the early 2000s. When he was a sixth grader at Joe Wilson Intermediate in the fall of 2006, Bradley and his best friend, Quincy Adeboyejo, thoroughly enjoyed watching Adeboyejo’s older brother, Toby, and his friends win Cedar Hill’s first-ever State Football Championship.
Bradley went on to play wide receiver and tight end for the Longhorns. In his senior year of 2012, CHHS finished second at State.
“You don’t realize when you’re in the moment, how special those moments are,” Bradley said.
Bradley said former Cedar Hill head football coach Joey McGuire is “one of the main reasons I wanted to become a coach” and current CHISD Director of Athletics Melanie Benjamin is like a “second mother” to him.
Adeboyejo, who played in the NFL from 2017-2020, is still Bradley’s best friend. Adeboyejo had committed to the University of Mississippi, and he was intent on ensuring that Bradley joined him in Oxford.
After some convincing, Bradley visited the campus and decided to enroll, with the opportunity to become a student assistant for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) program, led by head coach Hugh Freeze.
During his time in Oxford, Mississippi upset Alabama twice and reached three bowl games, winning two of them.
Student assistants work closely with the graduate assistants to prepare the coaching staff, and the team, for the upcoming week’s game.
Bradley earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Mississippi, and began working on a Master’s Degree at Liberty where he helped build a winning tradition with the Flames. He has a year remaining with the degree and has plans to complete it.
Halfway through his four years at Liberty, Bradley was promoted from Graduate Assistant to Offensive Analyst.
He returned to the SEC last year and noted that Auburn is very similar to Oxford. The two schools met annually as SEC West rivals, but that won’t be the case any longer with the expansion of the SEC to 16 schools.
“They’re two special places and two great college towns,” Bradley said. “Both towns revolve around football and church life. The community support in both places is great.”
Auburn went 6-7 in 2023 (Freeze’s first season at Auburn), but the Tigers nearly pulled off a monumental upset in the Iron Bowl. That was until Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Milroe completed a touchdown pass on 4th and 31. The Tigers reached the Music City Bowl in Nashville but lost to Maryland there.
Auburn opens the 2024 season on August 31 vs. Alabama A&M.
Bradley’s goal is to eventually become a coordinator and then a head coach.
Bradley met his wife in college. When they got married, five of his groomsmen were from Cedar Hill.
“I still laugh with my best friends from Cedar Hill every time we get together,” Bradley said.
While opinion has been mixed regarding the transfer portal in college athletics, Bradley strongly supports it.
“The transfer portal is great for athletes and programs,” Bradley said. “Sometimes, it doesn’t work out when an athlete goes to a college, and that’s OK. The transfer portal is good for the sport. It’s hectic at times. It will just take everyone adjusting, just like everything else in life.”
