Stardom sudden for Sam

OU's Bradford not enjoying attention

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Bright lights, big city. And Sam Bradford was enjoying every moment of it - for a different reason. No one stopped the gangly 6-foot-4-inch, 218-pound kid from Oklahoma City and asked for an autograph. No one even gave him a second glance as he walked around Manhattan a day after the college football world had focused on him as the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner.

"It was kind of cool that no one noticed who I was and I could just walk around Manhattan," said the University of Oklahoma quarterback the other day as he once again was the center of attention surrounding the national championship game.

For Bradford, private moments such as those in Manhattan are rare. He is "the man" for an Oklahoma offense that Thursday night will put its talents on display one more time when the Sooners take on Florida for the national title at Dolphin Stadium.

As the triggerman on an offense that has been scoring points at a record pace, Bradford, a redshirt sophomore, merits the attention. He threw 48 TD passes with only six interceptions and had a total of 4,464 yards this season, and being named the Heisman winner has brought even more scrutiny.

Bradford said he is dealing with it, which one could take as a polite way of saying he is not crazy about it.

"I think the only thing that has probably changed with Sam is he's probably getting tired of all the media requests and all the autograph hounds, but that comes with the territory," says Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who put in the no-huddle offense to make Bradford even more productive than his freshman season in 2007, when he had 36 TD passes (8 interceptions) and 3,121 passing yards.

Bradford is pure Oklahoma. His father Kent was an offensive lineman who played for former Sooners coach Barry Switzer in 1977-78.

"I grew up an OU fan," said Bradford, who dabbled in many sports growing up in Oklahoma City. "I was pretty much committed [early]."

It wasn't until Bradford was a junior at Putnam City North High School that his commitment to football increased. He actually grew up a hockey fan, making a viewing of "The Mighty Ducks" a bedtime ritual, along with checking on the results of the Vancouver Canucks. He was also a scratch golfer and a solid basketball player who averaged 18.4 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior.

There was the assumption Bradford would be coming to Norman when his high school career was over, but the Sooners got serious only after former OU assistant and current Texas Tech coach Mike Leach started asking about Bradford. "Once [OU] saw me and saw what I could do, I got my shot and I was committed," said Bradford.

Bradford and the Sooners set the table for this season with a run last season that sent them to the Fiesta Bowl, although they lost to West Virginia, 48-28. The Sooners were young in some spots, experienced in others, but talented in all of them.

Especially Bradford, who has blossomed to a superstar in his second season of competition in Norman.

"I think he is a better athlete than given credit for," said Wilson. "He played a lot of sports and in a lot of competitive environments. As a football player, outside of the physical skills, he can mentally process, play within himself, and not stress out. And he's surrounded by a nice complementary group of players. And he's the guy managing the whole deal."

With the no-huddle speeding up the tempo, only a loss to Texas in October has slowed the Sooners down, and a streak of five games in which they scored more than 60 points was enough to vault them over Texas into the Big 12 title game [OU 62, Missouri 21] and now into the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Even Bradford is a little surprised at the Sooners' success, although he said he saw something during summer workouts. "During August in two-a-days I saw an attitude different than the previous two years," said Bradford. "I saw something special."

Bradford, who added, "As soon as I got back from New York, I just forgot about [the Heisman]," said he is completely recovered from torn ligaments in his left thumb he suffered in a 61-41 win over Oklahoma State Nov. 29.

Now that he is here in Florida, however, the hype has returned, especially since he is playing against last year's Heisman winner, Tim Tebow - who became the first sophomore to win the award.

At a news conference yesterday, Tebow pointed to the obvious comparisons. "They're going to try to match us up because we're both Heisman Trophy winners, both won it in our sophomore years," he said. "For me, it doesn't really matter. It's just another team with another great opponent."

Nor does it matter for Bradford, who like Tebow, has had to deal with questions about jumping to the NFL after this season.

"I'm not focused on that at all," said Bradford, who has been projected as a high first round pick if he leaves early.

"I'm focused on what's going on here in Miami. I'm going to take as much time as I have [until Jan. 15] to make the right decision."

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.