I keep thinking that the Ags will be able to land a Marquis Goodwin type of player, given our recent success in both track and football. Does anybody know why this has not happened? Or maybe it has and I did not notice. A receiver or return man with track speed sure can change a game.

I understand they're in the mix for a top sprinter from Florida -as in best in the nation sprinter - who also plays football.
The thing you have to keep in mind is to run for the track team in the sprints, Henry only goes after world class sprinters. A running back who places second at state in the 100 might be real fast but Henry is going after folks who do well in the World Junior Championships. Very big difference.

[This message has been edited by SA68AG (edited 9/8/2011 3:32p).]

Good point. I understand his philosophy of focusing on the sprints because of the big relay points. That being said, don't you think he'd take a world-class long jumper like Goodwin, especially if the scholarship was one of the 85 football ones and not one he had to pay for out of the track budget?

Another practical question: To run sprints for Henry, is 10.2 100m speed the threshold to be WC at the junior level? I follow track a bit, and that seems about right to me. Curious what you think.

Yes, 10.2 100m speed is good enough to be on the Aggie Track team (assuming it's fair wind and all). That's extremely fast - it puts you in the semifinals at the Olympics. Is that how fast that kid is going?? If so, definitely could be used as a crossover.

I think one of the biggest advantages football has been trying to get from the improvements in the track program is to get more of those "fast, but not fast enough" track/football kids on campus in HS, and use it as an excuse to show them the rest of the facilities.

I think a long jumper-receiver type could be a more likely combination for us, because of the athleticism involved. Is interesting that most of the bigtime track schools seem to have exploited it more than we have (Florida State, Florida, LSU, Texas)

I think a long jumper combo is actually less likely. For one there are a lot fewer jumpers in the pool to choose from. Remember Henry's criterion is going to be - Can this person score points in the NCAAs? Because of this Henry relies heavily on international recruiting with his jumpers. In any year I doubt Henry tries to recruit any more than 1 or 2 US jumpers. In most years I doubt that he has any interst in even the best Texas jumper. Goodwin was the top guy in the US and was the exception rather than the rule.
Also Sprinters provide a lot more versatility. A sprinter can score points in the 100,200 and 4x100 or 200,400 and 4x400.
When your goal every year is to win the NCAAs and your pool of athletes is international, you're choosing from a very small pool of athletes most of whom are not dual sports athletes.