By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Andrew Bradshaw, grandson of a Catawba College Hall of Famer who grew up cheering for the football Indians at Shuford Stadium, wound up making a name for himself at Carson-Newman University.

On a six-year, COVID-interrupted journey far from home, Bradshaw was a decorated long snapper for the Eagles, one of Catawba’s bigger rivals. He twice earned postseason accolades for his work on the field. He was even tougher in the classroom where he has been recognized as the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football.

“I guess you could say it’s all been a dream come true — but in reverse,” Bradshaw said with a laugh. “My family does have a lot of ties to Catawba.”

Bradshaw’s grandfather, Reid Bradshaw, was a Hall of Fame Catawba lineman in the 1960s and also was the head coach who led South Rowan High to tremendous football success during his 12 seasons at the helm in the 1970s and 1980s. Andrew Bradshaw’s father, Trent, also is a proud Catawba graduate.

Like every kid, Andrew grew up with quarterback dreams. They lasted for roughly 15 minutes at his first middle school practice.

“We were running the option, and I couldn’t figure it out,” Andrew said.

He made a move to the offensive line. That worked out better.

He proved to be a solid lineman in high school for the Carson Cougars. He understood o-line play like a coach and could play any of the five positions. He was All-North Piedmont Conference as a senior.

Andrew’s father dragged him away from driveway hoops one day and showed him the basics of the art of long-snapping. That session paid off. He was an All-Rowan County long snapper for two seasons. That unique skill became his ticket to playing college football. He worked at it and took lessons to sharpen his craft.

“Well, I stopped growing at 5-foot-9 and I was 215 pounds as a high school senior,” Bradshaw said. “Fortunately, you don’t have to be 6-foot-5 and 260 to be a college long snapper.”

Recruiters didn’t bang down his door despite his fine senior high school season. Bradshaw mostly recruited himself, firing off a barrage of emails and introducing himself to every school in the SAC.

One school responded: Carson-Newman.

Mike Turner was the head coach at Carson-Newman in 2019. Antonio Goss, who had won Super Bowl rings as a San Francisco 49ers linebacker and is still part of the Carson-Newman staff, was coaching special teams. Goss was the key connection. Goss saw something in Bradshaw, and Bradshaw loved the school, loved Mossy Creek and loved Burke-Tarr Stadium. Most of all he relished being welcomed into a family atmosphere.

When Bradshaw arrived at Carson-Newman in 2019, the Eagles already had an experienced long snapper. So that was a learning year, a practice year, a year of adjustment for Bradshaw not only to college football but to college academics.

“I was fortunate they put us in study halls when I was a freshman,” Bradshaw. “It was necessary for me to learn better time management skills to deal with the class work while spending so much practice time with football. The other thing I learned was the most valuable resource I had available were the older players in the program. They’d already experienced everything. They had good advice.”

Bradshaw’s second season on campus was a wash. COVID was the only winner that year. Carson-Newman played only one football game.

But 2021 was the season Bradshaw had dreamed about. He earned the job and was the starting long snapper for every game. He had zero bad snaps on punts and place kicks that season. Long snappers can’t win games, but they can lose them. Bradshaw didn’t lose any.

Long snapping is not a routine physical act. It requires a player to take an odd stance and fire a brisk, accurate pass between his legs.

“Long snapping is something where no one notices you unless you mess up,” Bradshaw said. “The important thing you learn right away is not to worry about running down the field as fast as you can. The snap is what matters. If you don’t execute a good snap, it doesn’t matter how fast you get down the field.”

Bradshaw was even better in 2022. That’s the year he was named first team All-SAC.

He went to Carson-Newman as a P.E. major, eager to prepare for a career as a teacher and coach. He earned his first college degree that year.

The redshirt year and the COVID year teamed up to make it a six-year voyage for Bradshaw at Carson-Newman’s Burke-Tarr Stadium.

“I can say it was a really good place to be for six years,” he said. “I matured a lot. I made lifelong friends. I met my future wife — hopefully. I wouldn’t do anything different.”

One of the most satisfying parts of Bradshaw’s journey was Carson-Newman’s return to prominence in his farewell season. The Eagles won nine games, played in the SAC championship game and made the Division II playoffs.

“We had a four-week stretch where we won three games that were pretty  miraculous against Wingate, Catawba and Mars Hill,” Bradshaw said. “We kicked a field goal in overtime to beat Wingate. A late extra point decided the Catawba game, 35-34. We were down two touchdowns with less than two minutes against Mars Hill, but we pulled it out. We scored on the last play and kicked the PAT to win it.”

Bradshaw’s extra years of school gave him a chance to work toward a master’s in business administration. He has been a regular on the dean’s list, the president’s list and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He has an outstanding GPA of 3.91.

“I’ve been working eight to 10 hours a week to finish that business degree up,” Bradshaw said. “But I haven’t decided yet what the next step in my life is going to be.”

As much as he loved Burke-Tarr Stadium and the home crowds in Jefferson City, the trips home to play against Catawba, with his family supporting him from the stands, were always the most special Saturdays for Bradshaw.

“Those were my favorite days, playing in my favorite stadium,” Bradshaw said. “Now that football is over, it will probably be an even bigger adjustment for my family than it will be for me. They’ve known where they were going to be every fall Saturday for a long time.”