California Speedster Kenny O'Neal

[Grok]

May 26, 2004
Football speedsters boost track team
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Ira Schoffel, The Osceola
   

When Florida State's football coaches celebrated their top-five recruiting class in February, they probably didn't spend much time thinking about Bob Braman.

But Braman, Florida State's track coach, spent plenty of time thinking about them - well, about one of their signees, anyway.

California receiver Kenny O'Neal, who signed with the Seminoles over Georgia, is not only one of the top high school receivers in the country. He also is an elite sprinter who is expected to be one of the FSU track team's top runners the day he steps on campus.

"He's big-time legit," Braman said.

Though he's never seen O'Neal run in person, Braman can make that evaluation based solely on the official track times O'Neal has posted during a stellar high school career. Though just a senior in high school, O'Neal has run some races that would make the nation's top college sprinters envious.

At an indoor meet earlier this year, O'Neal sprinted 60 meters in 6.68 seconds. That's easily the fastest high school time in the nation this year, and it actually would have given O'Neal a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. For more perspective, consider that Clemson's Tye Hill won the ACC indoor title with a time of 6.73.

And at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships last summer, O'Neal ran a 10.4 100 meters. While that time isn't at a world class standard, Braman said it is exceptional for a high school runner - particularly one who plays football for much of the year. It's also good enough to earn O'Neal a spot on the Pan Am Junior National squad.

The relationship between track and football is nothing new, but that doesn't take away any of the joy Braman feels when Bobby Bowden's staff lands another top sprinter.

"You look at the 1991 media guide, and there's (a relay team featuring) a guy named Arthur Blake - who made the U.S. Olympic team in the 100-meter hurdles - and three NFL stars: Deion Sanders, Sammie Smith and Terrell Buckley," Braman said. "And they were NCAA All-Americans, and they were at the national championships with three future NFL guys."

The Seminoles' track team received a huge boost from the football team last season when wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe emerged as the top sprinter in the Atlantic Coast Conference. After winning the 100 and 200 meters at the ACC outdoor meet, Thorpe was named the conference's Performer of the Year.

Unfortunately for Braman, Thorpe broke his leg in a football game late last fall and missed the entire track season.

"That hurt, because he was the ACC male track athlete of the year," Braman said. "That hurt - he won the 100, he won the 200, and he anchored the 4-by-100 (relay) to victory. We're ranked - I think we're sixth in the country in the 4-by-100 relay - without him."

Coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally, another football player has stepped in to fill some of the void left by Thorpe's injury. Antonio Cromartie, a freshman defensive back, is blossoming into one of the conference's top track newcomers.

At the ACC outdoor meet, Cromartie finished second in the 400 meters when FSU teammate Sean Campbell passed him in the final few strides. Cromartie posted a 46.62 to Campbell's 46.57.

Cromartie also ran on the 4-by-400-meter relay team that won the ACC title and the 4-by-100 team that finished second.

"That's a big guy," Braman said of Cromartie, who is listed in football at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. "That's a big man to be running 400 meters. He's as big a guy as I've ever seen run 400 meters that fast. You see guys his size in the 100, but they can't usually go 200. Here he is, he's qualified for (NCAA) regionals and has a 50-50 shot or better of making it to nationals in the 400."

Cromartie will be competing this weekend with several other Seminoles at the NCAA Regional in Gainesville.

While Braman wouldn't predict how far Cromartie could go this season, he said there's no limit to the Tallahassee native's ability. He said Cromartie could be a top scorer at the NCAA Championships by the time he's finished at FSU.

Braman recalls how impressed he was watching Cromartie run at the Florida A&M relays just over a year ago. At the time, Cromartie was a senior at Lincoln High School but couldn't participate with the Trojans' track team because of an eligibility issue.

"So he went to the Florida A&M relays on his own, trained himself and ran unattached - and ran the open 400 in 47.03," Braman said. "When we saw that he won the Florida A&M Relays open 400 ... we're thinking, 'This guy's pretty dog-gone good.'"

One of the few disappointments for Cromartie this season was missing the 200 finals at the ACC Championships. Braman said the freshman was placed in a difficult preliminary heat and missed qualifying for the finals by one one-hundredth of a second.

"If he had gotten to the final, he would have done some damage," Braman said.

Braman, of course, isn't the only collegiate track coach to benefit from his university's football program.

He's quick to point out that Clemson cornerback Tye Hill and wide receiver Airese Currie finished first and third, respectively, in the 100 at the ACC outdoor meet.

"Right now, the two fastest 100-meter sprinters in the conference are football guys from Clemson," Braman said. "That relationship is something that kids know. A lot of football guys are kids who did track when they were eight or 10 years old, summer track in youth leagues. Then all the smart football coaches in high school have their kids out for track, because they can get them strong and fast and keep them out there all year long. It's a real good relationship."

It's understandable, then, that Braman took it hard when Palm Bay receiver Xavier Carter selected Louisiana State over FSU, Florida and others. While the Seminoles' football team lost out on a talented receiver, Braman missed the chance to coach a runner with realistic Olympic aspirations.

"The best runner in all of America is Xavier Carter, and he signed with LSU," Braman said. "We're thinking, 'Gosh, the rich get richer.' All the great track schools are tied in with football athletes - Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU."

Braman is quick to point out that football teams benefit from the relationship as well. Top track coaches, like FSU sprint coach Ken Harnden, have the expertise to help athletes with their takeoff times and other techniques.

"I think we also can help them mentally," Braman said. "Guys begin to believe that they're fast. If you run good in track, you walk onto the football field thinking, 'Hey, these guys can't stay in my wake' - particularly if they are a wide receiver. That label of Craphonso Thorpe as the ACC track athlete of the year, you've got to know the DBs are scared to death of him."

The track coaches also keep up their part of the bargain by working with football players who are from world-class caliber.

"A lot of guys are going to come out for the team that are never going to score a single point in the ACC," Braman said. "But if we can help make some of those guys faster, then that's kind of a payback a little bit for football.

"But it's amazing the number of kids that ignore track. All of a sudden, you get a call from them in the senior year when they're starting to think about combines and stuff. It's like, 'Hey coach, make me faster.' But it's like cramming for a final exam. 'Well, we could have helped you but we need some more time.'"