Compton Standout Fights Stereotypes : Football: Brian Bradford is a top high school student and a talented two-way starter.

Brian Bradford has heard all the stereotypes attached to a student-athlete from Compton High.

He says he knows there are people who think that Compton students get a second-class education and are more interested in gangs than sports.

But Bradford, an honors student and standout football player, is quick to counter that those stereotypes are not accurate.

Bradford, 18, is a two-way starter on Compton’s football team. He has started at fullback for the Tarbabes since his sophomore year and this season is also starting at inside linebacker.

Despite being slowed by an Achilles’ tendon injury, Bradford has gained 249 yards in 38 carries and scored three touchdowns in four games this season. He also has caught eight passes for 52 yards and has 38 tackles.

“Statistics wise, I don’t stand out,” Bradford said about playing for Compton, 1-4 this season. “I just try to lead by example and when it comes game time . . . I’m ready to play.”

What makes Bradford stand out, however, are his academic accomplishments. He has a 3.72 grade-point average while taking college preparatory classes and scored 1,150 points on the Scholastic Aptitude Test last spring. He took the test again, hoping to score higher.

“Brian is a diamond in the rough,” Compton first-year Coach Mike Wells said. “I’ve recommended him to everyone from Stanford to Dartmouth. He’s an excellent student who is a great example to other athletes and students in the school.”

At 5 feet 11 and 205 pounds, Bradford is being recruited by many Division I teams, including Stanford, Army and several Ivy League schools.

“(Bradford) has a natural football mind where he can anticipate and then react,” Wells said. “With his frame he’ll be even better in college when he puts on a little weight and gets quicker. I see him as a taller (USC tailback) Ricky Ervins-type of player.”

Bradford did not play organized football until his freshman year at Compton. “I was pretty much a ‘porker’ when I was younger,” he said. “Everyone said I’d be a lineman until I took to running with the ball. I had pretty much a kamikaze attitude.”

In recent years, many Compton athletes have gained notice while playing for neighboring schools, such as Carson and Dominguez. Bradford, born and raised in Compton, said he felt an obligation to play for Compton.

“I can understand why some of them made the decision to play elsewhere, but my entire family went to Compton High School, from my mother and father to all of my aunts and uncles,” Bradford said. “Before my sophomore year, my family moved to Carson, and I considered playing there very briefly. But there is a Compton tradition in my house.”

Bradford is sensitive to some of the negative images of Compton.

“People always think that nothing gets done at Compton because there is so much gang violence,” Bradford said. “That is not right. They do an excellent job at school of keeping gangbangers out or under control.

“A lot of Compton’s negative image was boosted by some rap groups like N.W.A. Some of the stuff in their music is true, but there is a lot of productivity going on in the community and the school. People just always want to focus in on the negative instead of the positive.”

Although Bradford speaks strongly against Compton’s violent image, his family has had its own experience with it recently.

“We are a victim of a violent crime here in Compton,” said Bradford’s mother, Wanda Bradford Huntley. “My husband (Willie Huntley) was shot and left paralyzed from the waist down when someone attempted to rob him in January.

“I’ve seen the city change over the years, and there are some bad things that do happen, but Brian has not succumbed to peer pressure. He’s never been in any gangs because he’s not that type of person.”

Bradford grew up in an area ruled by a notorious gang. He said that he never thought of being a part of the gang.

“I never saw the point,” Bradford said. “There are some people I grew up with who have turned to gangbanging, but I’ve never been associated with a gang. There are some gangbangers on campus, and I do associate with some of them, but being in a gang is not for me.”

Bradford is a member of Compton’s Academic Decathlon team, and two summers ago he traveled to Detroit to take part in the national African-American Cultural Scholarship Scientology Olympics, which is sponsored by the NAACP.

“Every football player has a far-out dream to play professionally, but that is something you cannot count on because the odds are too slim,” said Bradford, who plans to major in economics and then attend law school.

In his four years playing for Compton, Bradford has seen four coaches run the varsity football program. The Tarbabes, once one of the Southland’s most dominant teams, have had their troubles. They were 1-8 last season.

“They haven’t really won in seven years,” said Wells, who took over the program last June after a brief NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. “It is going to take some time to get things going here.”

Bradford said while the Tarbabes are improving, gaining confidence remains a problem.

“If we could get one coach who was dedicated to work with the players, Compton would be in the playoffs every year,” Bradford said. “There are so many strikes against (Compton players) before we even step on the field. It takes a lot of commitment just to stay poised and play four quarters because of so many outside factors.”

Still, Bradford is confident that the Tarbabes will rebound for the second half of the season. Whether they do or not, he will always be proud of his birthplace.

“Compton is not all bad,” Bradford said. “There are people out there who are just as talented and intelligent as I am. It is just a matter of getting out there. When I make it big in life, I’m going to want everyone to know that I’m from Compton.”