Ole Miss commit Hayden Bradley finds second home in Oxford with Lane Kiffin and the Rebels: ‘They took me in with open arms like I was part of their family, and that really meant a lot to me’
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss recently received a commitment from Hayden Bradley, a stellar tight end out of the 2025 class. Holding 39 total offers, Bradley’s decision did not come easy, but once he took the visit to Oxford, he knew he had found a second home.
“Driving into town, it kind of reminded me of my hometown. Buford is a small town, Oxford is a small town, and as soon as I stepped on campus, they took me in with open arms like I was part of their family, and that really meant a lot to me. They showed me a lot of love.“
~ Bradley on the town of Oxford
Similar to Bradley, another face we can expect to see be a crucial part of this Ole Miss team in the future is newly hired tight ends coach Joe Cox, who previously coached at Alabama alongside college football legend Nick Saban. The addition of Cox to the Ole Miss staff played an important part during Bradley’s recruitment, along with the offense run by head coach Lane Kiffin.
“He is awesome. In my opinion, he’s the best tight-end coach in all of college football right now. He’s coaching two of the best tight ends in college football right now. Same with Coach Kiffin, he has coached four Mackey Award winners, so they definitely know how to utilize a tight end in their offense.”
~ Bradley on the offensive coaching staff
Before Bradley joins the loaded tight end room at Ole Miss, he will play his final season of high school football at Buford High School, a program that has sent eight players to the NFL and hundreds to power five schools across the country. Hayden discussed what it has been like to play for such an elite program.
“There is no better place than Buford. The coaching, the players you’re going against every day—it’s really a legacy over there. It’s all about family, and it’s never about you, it’s about everybody. The one thing that you’ll always get out of Buford is that you’ll always be a better man after leaving that place, and I felt that way when I was at Ole Miss.”
~ Bradley on playing for Buford
To wrap things up, Bradley talked briefly about two of his favorite NFL tight ends and how he tries to model his game after them, combining both an incredible pass-catching ability and being able to block at a forceful level.
“Isaiah Likely with the Ravens and Travis Kelce. Likely is a mismatch, his routes are pristine, and Travis Kelce is just a dog. He can be a big body or put his nose in the dirt.“
~ Bradley on who he models his game after
Moving forward, Hayden will be an early enrollee and plans on joining the Rebs for spring ball in 2025. Until then, be sure to stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all of your Ole Miss sports updates. Hotty Toddy!
