By Richard Skinner

Cincinnati Enquirer

Just six months ago it had appeared as if his life would never be the same again. It was Sept. 17 when Bradford, a 2009 Ryle High School graduate who was last year's Enquirer Northern Kentucky Wrestler of the Year, suffered first- to third-degree burns over his legs and lower back in a bonfire accident during a team gathering off campus.

Bradford spent a month in an induced coma while he underwent skin grafts over 35 percent of his body. He was forced to withdraw from college and had to undergo intense rehabilitation, learning not only to walk again, but also to talk again.

The hope was he could just get well enough to return to school, but Bradford was driven to return to participating in the sport he loved - wrestling.

The accident

Bradford was a little over a month into his freshman year in college and full of hope, especially for the first-year wrestling program that he chose to help get off the ground, when he and his teammates gathered for some bonding.

He had been a standout for three years at Ryle, qualifying for state all three years and finishing his career last season as a state champion at 189 pounds.

He had chosen Lindsey Wilson, an NAIA program, because he liked coach Corey Ruff, who had been hired to start the program.

"We just really seemed to click and he had some great ideas about how he wanted to run his program," Bradford said.

Ruff said he was surprised he landed Bradford, who he felt could be the cornerstone for his program.

"It was a battle to get him," said Ruff. "I really got close to Jake in the recruiting process and he was someone I really regarded as a leader."

Everything pointed to the start of a great career - until the night of Sept. 17.

It was a cool night and a bonfire was built . Bradford said the wood was wet from rain, so gasoline was used to help start the fire.

He said the gasoline was being poured out of an old paint can and suddenly, as someone poured the gas on the wood and the fire, a flame came back toward the paint can, scaring the person holding it enough to toss it, spilling gas on Bradford.

"All of a sudden my clothes were on fire and I got up and immediately started peeling my clothes off. I stopped, dropped and rolled, and my friends had to beat the fire off of me," said Bradford.

Bradford was taken inside the house and an ambulance was called.

"I was in horrendous pain, but when I looked at myself I didn't think I was that badly burned," he said.

Ruff arrived just ahead of the ambulance and he tried to reassure Bradford that he would be OK.

"It was really emotional for me to see him like that," said Ruff.

Bradford was taken to the University of Kentucky Medical Center, about a two-hour drive from Columbia.

He doesn't remember much of what happened next. Doctors induced a coma that would last almost four weeks. Bradford had four graft surgeries during that time.

On Oct. 16, he awoke from the coma, had a tube down his throat and was admittedly "in shock." Bradford's parents, Brian and Melissa, were in the room, he said.

"I remember seeing them and all the bandages, and it scared me," Bradford said. "I had no idea what was going on."

The recovery

It would still be a couple more weeks and a couple more surgeries before Bradford was released from the hospital on Oct. 27. He returned home to Northern Kentucky to recuperate.

At first, Bradford needed a walker to get around. His weight had dropped from almost 200 pounds to 170, and the tube that had been in his throat for so long forced him to have to learn to talk again.

But what worried Bradford most was when he could start working out so he could get back to wrestling.

After a few weeks at home, he was able to walk without help. He drew inspiration from his teammates, who came to visit.

"It wasn't a sad visit with a lot of tears or anything. Our guys just genuinely wanted to see their friend and try to put a smile on his face and brighten his day," said Ruff. "It was all about lifting a brother up."

Ryle coach Tim Ruschell invited Bradford to the school to lift weights in hopes of lifting his spirits.

When the school closed for Christmas break, Bradford joined the R.C. Durr YMCA in Burlington.

"I could run, I could swim and I could lift weights there," Bradford said.

"Coach Ruff told me to take it slow, but I tried to do something every day. I came up with my own workout plan and just went at it. At first I could barely jog around the gym, but the more I kept pushing myself, the better I started to feel."

The return

Over Christmas break, Bradford felt good enough that he decided to return to school this semester.

He had been granted a medical redshirt for this season, but he wanted to get back to the mat in time to practice with the team before the season ended.

"The doctors told him he would be lucky if he was on the mat by June or July," said Ruff. "I didn't want to rush that. When he came back, we just worked him slowly."

But Bradford kept pushing to get back into shape.

"I've always known lifting, wrestling and running, and I was broken-hearted when I first thought that was going to be taken away from me," Bradford said. "It hurt me a little because of the scabbing, but I knew I could come back and wanted to make sure I gave it everything I could to do that."

Although Ruff said he was originally uncomfortable with Bradford getting back on the mat Feb. 2, he decided to let him try.

"My concern was him damaging the skin grafts," said Ruff. "The problem was going to be if he returned and was hurting, he wouldn't let anybody know it."

To protect the scabs on his legs and lower back - which Bradford says eventually will go away - he wore Under Armour under his wrestling singlet and jumped on the mat.

"I was a little nervous," he said. "I had drilled on my own and done some shadow drilling, but it was time to roll with the guys."

Teammates went easy on him at first, but Bradford told them to stop that.

"I had to tell one of my partners when he grabbed the back of my legs not to worry about it," said Bradford. "I told them to treat me like anyone else, and when they saw it doesn't hurt me, everything felt normal. It was like riding a bike."

Ruff said Bradford was originally slated to wrestle at 184 pounds, but because his weight ballooned to 210 pounds between November and January, he will wrestle at 197 next season.

"The first day he was back at practice he was pushing our guys - a couple of starters - pretty hard," Ruff said. "It didn't surprise me."

Things were back to normal.

Click here to view article on Cincinnati.com