Inside The Huskies

UW Offers Linebacker from Alabama with Fearsome Image

Bradley Shaw plays for vaunted Hoover High School near Birmingham.

Dan Raley

In this story:

Bradley Shaw is a middle linebacker from Alabama, a scary player when running sideline to sideline often with a crazed look.

Noting this, Vanderbilt had him sit for a photo shoot on an unofficial recruiting visit at the SEC school clutching "a Chucky" doll that comes from the series of horror films featuring that little monster and its name.

Not only does the thickly built 6-foot, 200-pound Shaw have his own trademark persona, he plays for a high school, Hoover, that carries a significant football reputation, as well.

Hoover is a 13-time Alabama state champion that once used its quirkiness and success to serve as the subject of a reality TV show, "Two-A-Days."

Mixing his physicality with his school's celebrity, Shaw from the Class of 2024 recently received a scholarship offer from the University of Washington, his eighth overall, as Kalen DeBoer's recruiters look for talent in all corners of the country. 

Entering the upcoming football season, he also holds offers from Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Jackson State, UAB and Central Florida, with more sure to come.

Shaw comes off a sophomore season for a 12-1 Hoover team in which he came up with 17 tackles, including 3 for loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown. 

Bradley Shaw from Alabama has a UW offer.
Bradley Shaw and friend sits for a photo at Vanderbilt.  / Vanderbilt

He also is a track man who won an Alabama state championship in the discus and finished second in the shot put.

So Shaw has strength, speed and attitude that makes him an attractive football recruit. 

Hoover High is located in the Birmingham suburbs and 50 miles from Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama, which has had him in to watch a game but hasn't offered him yet. It's early.

The Crimson Tide probably are scrambling to find a Chucky doll before doing some serious hosting.

Bradley Shaw, who has a UW offer, tours Mississippi State.
Bradley Shaw attended football camp at Mississippi State / MSU

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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