Andy Bass remaining committed to football, eyes D-I future
OKLAHOMA CITY (BVM) — Andy Bass had the opportunity to explore plenty of athletic avenues growing up. It led him to find football, and now he’s molded himself into a three-star recruit who has scholarship offers from Power 5 college programs Oklahoma, Syracuse and Kansas State.
🤔 🤔 pic.twitter.com/VNfzCo67le
— Andy Bass (@theandybass) July 12, 2023
Bass’ first steps onto a football field came at a young age, and even though he hadn’t put on pads yet, he knew it was a sport he was going to enjoy.
“I’ve always played football since I was about 4 or 5 years old,” Bass said. “I started with flag football, which was a blast. I really had some good memories from that, just playing with all my buddies.”
With the skill and knowledge to succeed at football, he was still searching for the motivation to continue to play the sport. He received that from his father.
“My dad’s always been there, guided me and motivated me when I needed it,” Bass said. “He’s really just kind of kept me loving the sport.”
With encouragement from his family, Bass remained committed to football and began his prep career at Casady High School. Following his freshman year, he transferred to Heritage Hall, but due to transfer rules, he couldn’t participate in the football season. However, Bass began to run track to help improve his performance on the gridiron, and there he was, teammates with current Oklahoma Sooner Gavin Freeman, someone he’s compared to often.
“I think Gavin and I definitely have the same sort of speed,” Bass said. “We raced that sophomore year, and I think we really pushed each other and helped make each other better. He’s one of my really good friends, so it’s good to be compared to him.”
Participating in the track season brought forth plenty of benefits for Bass, and that was seen during his junior season when he recorded 4,764 all-purpose yards and 42 total TDs (28 passing and 14 rushing).
Excited to say I ran the fastest 100m time in the entire state of Oklahoma at the state meet regardless of class! pic.twitter.com/OpS0jxKQMH
— Andy Bass (@theandybass) May 15, 2023
State Champs! Proud of this team 🏆 pic.twitter.com/nBuLjHPsA3
— Andy Bass (@theandybass) May 7, 2023
His play on the field helped the Chargers reach the Class 3A state championship game, where they captured their first title since 2018, but despite his success on the gridiron, he received little to no interest from D-I football programs. That was until the track season when he ran a 10.56 100m dash, a 21.74 200m dash at the state meet and helped the Chargers win a state title.
“It would definitely be big,” Bass said. “Nothing short of that is a team goal. But as far as an individual goal, I am just really enjoying my senior year and making memories that will last a lifetime and enjoying it … but I would be pretty disappointed if that didn’t happen.”
Bass knows he will have high expectations on the field this upcoming season, and he’s ready for those. However, he also wants to have an impact off the field and show the younger generation of athletes that hard work pays off.
“There will be times where you’re going to just kind of be not very confident, or you might be kind of disappointed that you don’t have the results that you want,” Bass said. “But you just got to put your head down and keep pushing. Keep working hard, and in the long run, hard work will get you what you want.”
Bass’ future is still undecided, but once the 2023 season is in full swing, the picture will become more clear for the talented athlete. Whether he lands at a Power 5 school or another D-I program, he’s sure to bring success and continue to give it his all to the game that has helped him flourish into the person he is today.
“Every year, I think it [football] means a little more,” Bass said. “It’s still more valuable, definitely in my life, though. I plan all my days and my workouts around it. I can’t stop thinking about the season and what’s next. It’s definitely going to be a bigger part of my life moving forward.”
