On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, cousins Kam Mikell and Amontrae Bradford signed college athletic scholarships at Statesboro High School in the school auditorium. Mikell signed to the University of Colorado, and Bradford signed to the Georgia Institute of Technology.
One thing that both boys had in common was the fact that they both chose their schools based on the connections they had with their coaches.
For Bradford, he said Georgia Tech head football coach, Brent Key, never stopped recruiting him. He stayed constant with him and that is what made the difference for him. For Mikell, talking to Colorado head football coach, Deion “Primetime” Sanders, isn’t a “starstruck type of thing,” according to him. Sanders is a really laid back and down to earth coach to him and that made a huge difference in his school choosing.
Many different coaches and teachers had great things to say about both young men and their time knowing them.
Athletic Director and Assistant Principal, Liz Driggers, opened up the ceremony by saying that signing day was the day that both Mikell and Bradford worked hard for. They’ve possessed the athletics ability, the academic capacity and the eternal fortitude it takes to compete at the next level.
Statesboro head football coach, Matt Dobson, had a lot to say about two of his top players this past season.
For Bradford:
“I got here in February and had our first team meeting right here in this room, and as Amontrae walks in the room, quickly I can identify that he’s going to be a special football player,” Dobson said. “Over the next few months as I got to know Amontrae, I learned that more so than being a special football player, he’s a special human being. He loves his teammates, he loves his family and he loves his school and he really commits himself to those people.”
For Mikell:
“When I was looking into this job and thinking about coming to Statesboro, I googled Statesboro high school football and this is the main guy that would come up,” said Dobson. “Talking to previous coaches of Kam’s and then getting to know Kam myself, I could not ask for a better person to coach. You never had to question was he more important than the team. He was all about the team and wanted to do what was best for the football team.”
When asked, both boys had a lot to say about what they are most excited about, what their best game was and some of their stats over the season.
“I’m really just excited to play,” said Bradford. “My best game was probably against Glenn Academy or Tucker and some of my best stats were some forced fumbles and a few sacks.”
“My most memorable game was when we won our first playoff game this year because I felt like that kind of changed Statesboro High,” said Mikell. “Next year, now everybody is going to be waiting to see how things are going to be instead of trying to expect what’s going to happen because there’s a new excitement.”
The families would like to thank coaches, family, friends and the Statesboro community for supporting both Amontrae and Kam in their journeys and experiences throughout the entire recruiting process. We are so proud of them and know they will do great things.
The boys were encouraged to be coachable, humble and never stop improving as they continue on their journeys into college in the fall. They were told to trust and keep God first and know that if they do that, they would always be successful in anything that they do or put their minds to.
Remember, once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil!
