The Oklahoman's Super 30: How Heritage Hall's Andy Bass burst onto recruiting radar
Andy Bass didn’t have any Division-I football offers at the beginning of May.
Although Bass helped Heritage Hall claim the Class 3A state title in the fall while flashing potential in his first season as the Chargers’ starting quarterback, colleges weren’t clamoring after him.
But all of that changed following Bass’ performance at the Class 3A state track meet in Ardmore on May 6.
Bass put on a show, claiming titles in the 100-meter dash (10.56 seconds) and 200 (21.74) while helping Heritage Hall break the state meet record in the 4x100 (41.96). He also led the Chargers to the team championship.
The football offers started rolling in after that, and now, he’s a highly-touted prospect.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Bass comes in at No. 8 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings of the state’s top recruits in the 2024 class. A three-star prospect according to 247Sports, he holds full scholarship offers from Connecticut, Kansas, Oklahoma, Syracuse and UNLV, among others. He also has a preferred walk-on offer from Kansas State.
More: The Oklahoman’s Super 30: Why Edwards is Wagoner's next great football and wrestling star
Bass had to be patient, but he’s getting plenty of attention now and is being recruited as a receiver, running back and quarterback.
Bass is open to several positions and will give it everything he has at the next level, just as he’s done at Heritage Hall.
“I don’t think I’ve ever coached somebody that has as much discipline as him. … Rarely have I had a guy that is as disciplined in his eating, his sleeping, taking care of his body, the way he works out in the weight room, his leadership,” Heritage Hall coach Brett Bogert said. “It’s unbelievable. He’s more mature than I am most days.”
The story of Andy Bass began in San Diego.
Born at Balboa Naval Hospital, Bass spent the first couple years of his life in southern California before moving to Oklahoma, where some of his family resides.
His dad had been in the Marines on active duty and is now in the Reserves.
Athletics have always been intriguing to Bass, who's an only child.
“Golf was my first sport,” he said. “My grandpa played at OU, so he has always kind of gotten me into that. And then I started playing flag football … that was basically the core of my sports childhood. Had a lot of fun doing that. And then I played basketball. Played a little bit of AAU up until middle school. And then football kind of took over and it’s just been my favorite ever since by far.”
Bass began high school at Casady before heading to Heritage Hall in March during his freshman year.
Although Bass couldn’t play football as a sophomore due to transfer rules, he competed in track that year.
Everything paid off in the long run.
More: The Oklahoman's Super 30: How Choctaw's Will Smith overcame the odds, became top recruit
“My freshman year, my dad and I kind of started talking about athletic opportunities and just kind of the way I felt at school and stuff,” Bass said. “So we looked at here and McGuinness, and I ultimately just decided that this was kind of the place for me. I would definitely say I couldn’t have made a better decision.”
Bass will play quarterback this season, but a lot of colleges view him as a potential receiver or running back.
Bass is one of the fastest players in the state, but he’s also strong and physical, making him a unique prospect and someone who could flourish at multiple positions in college.
But first, Bass is focused on leading Heritage Hall to another title.
The Chargers are 101-7 under Bogert and have won eight state championships since 1998.
Bass thinks they have a great shot of adding to that.
“I think we’re going to be even better than we were last year,” he said.
More: The Oklahoman’s Super 30: How Bergin Kysar’s QB roots strengthen Edmond Santa Fe’s defense
The Oklahoman’s 2024 Super 30
Name: Andy Bass
School: Heritage Hall
Super 30 ranking: No. 8
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 200 pounds
Position: Quarterback, running back, wide receiver
Recruited by: Air Force, Army, Connecticut, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Kansas, Kansas State (preferred walk-on), Kent State, Navy, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Syracuse, UNLV, Yale
About the series
The Oklahoman’s Super 30 feature series will spotlight each high school football player on the Super 30 recruit rankings for the 2024 class. The series continued Tuesday with No. 8, Heritage Hall’s Andy Bass. See No. 7 on the list on Wednesday. Here are the last five players featured.
No. 13: Josh Ford, TE, Stillwater
No. 12: Rodney Fields Jr., RB, Del City
No. 11: Bergin Kysar, DL, Edmond Santa Fe
No. 10: Will Smith, DE/TE, Choctaw
No. 9: Witt Edwards, WR/TE/LB, Wagoner
No. 8: Andy Bass, QB/RB/WR, Heritage Hall
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS football: Andy Bass, Heritage Hall recruiting profile
