One of Marshall’s most recent offers in the 2022 went out to a talented prospect with a familiar namesake.

Bluefield (Virginia) Graham’s Xayvion Bradshaw, son of Ahmad Bradshaw, broke down how things happened during a conversation with HerdNation.com.

“Actually, I was working out one morning and my dad texting me asking when I was going to be home,” Bradshawn recalled. “He said to hurry home, that I had to talk to Marshall’s coach. I liked it and it feels great to know that my dad went there and that it’s one of my options.”

The family ties for the 6-foot, 185-pounder do not stop at his father, with a couple of other connections to Huntington as well. He’s been on campus before and enjoyed his time.

Said Bradshaw: “I had two cousins play at Marshall, and of course, my dad. I remember going down there a few years ago when he was getting inducted into the Hall of Fame and I got to meet a few coaches and stand on the field and watch the game. Personally, I like the atmosphere there and the way they do things there.”

Aside from Marshall, Bradshaw also carries offers from Arizona State, Kansas, Purdue, Toledo, and Virginia.

“Now that I can get contacted, I’ve just been letting things come at me, just been ready for whatever,” Bradshaw said of the process.

With no in-person visits allowed right now, no face-to-face communication with college coaches, Bradshaw is working on building relationships with coaches and doing his own research.

“I’m just looking at schools online and through links they send me to learn more about those schools,” he explained. “I just try to keep my grades up so that schools can see that. Other than that, I just read about them and learn more and more every day.”

While Marshall does have the family aspect in its favor, there are actually a few others that have done some early legwork that have captured Bradshaw’s attention.

“People come up and ask me all the time where I would go as of right now,” he said. “As of right now, I have Purdue, Arizona State and Kansas as my top three. Those are really the schools that, when coach told me they were looking at me and stuff like that that, I automatically hopped on and starting learning more about those schools. When they offered me, I was so excited because I was already looking at the schools and had learned so much.”

Bradshaw noted that programs believe he could play a variety of positions at the next level. His early high school tape consisted of special teams and offense almost exclusively.

“This year is going to be my first year at safety,” he said. “Right now, I’d say offense based on what I’ve played so far. They pretty much told me I could play what I want based on what I do the next few years.”