Cowbell Corner

Vardaman athlete sees recruitment boom after dominant freshman season

Mississippi State will have hands full to keep programs across nation out of its backyard

Jacob Davis

Vardaman Rams freshman athlete Braylen Bedford
Vardaman Rams freshman athlete Braylen Bedford / Braylen Bedford
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Vardaman Rams freshman athlete Braylen Bedford has quickly become a household name across the state of Mississippi and will soon capture the admiration of college scouts from coast to coast.

The 5-foot-10, 150 pound athlete can play multiple positions at the college level including defensive back, running back, wide receiver and both return units.

Bedford is purely explosive with ball in his hands and has the knack for being opportunistic when it comes to making big plays.

"He was really good as a freshman playing varsity," Vardaman coach Reggie Buchanan said. "His IQ and skill set is very high and it allows him to make big plays on both sides of the ball and special teams."

Bedford recorded 1,260 combined yards and 15 touchdowns on offense and two kick return touchdowns.

Defensively, he compiled 67 tackles, six forced fumbles, one fumble recovery returned for a score, one pick six and one blocked field goal.

Buchanan is high on his rising sophomore's potential to do big things at the high school level. His impact helped Vardaman reach the quarterfinals of the 1A playoffs with an 11-1 overall record, 3-0 in district play and achieve back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

"He works out five to six times a week and mostly two times a day," Buchanan said. "I could tell he was going to be a special talent in eighth grade, if he stay on this path he’s going to be one of the best players to come out of Mississippi."

Being mentioned in the same conversation like Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Willie Gay, Deuce McAllister, Brett Favre, Fletcher Cox and many more so early in his career speaks to just how special coaches believe Bedford can be once he reaches his senior year.

Bedford's goals will not change going into his sophomore season as he plans to do much more of the same, dominate his competition.

"My goals this season it to get 2000 yards, more than 20 touchdowns, surpass the six interception mark and win a Mississippi Class 1A state championship," Bedford said

When it comes to which teams reach out most, there were three Bedford rattled off in Texas A&M, Ole Miss and SMU. As he approaches 20 Division I offers, it gets pretty tough to go down the list.

Although Colorado's two-way superstar Heisman winner Travis Hunter impacted games on both sides of the football,

Bedford may decide to focus on one position once he makes it to college despite how good he is with the ball in his hands.

"My favorite position is defensive back," Bedford said. "I feel very comfortable with my coverage ability and it’s very natural to me."

He plans to take several trips to various colleges across the nation this summer including Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

While several schools are avidly recruiting Bedford, he was complimentary of what Mississippi State has to offer and can even see himself playing at Davis-Wade Stadium.

"Yes [Mississippi State] have [expressed interest]," Bedford said. "They are a great school and could see myself playing there one day."

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter. Follow on X: @ jacobscottdavis

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