The countdown continues to get shorter as BYU Football is now only 85 days away.
Back when I was in high school, I was the fastest 800m runner in my school going into my Junior year. I was able to run a 2:04 time and felt that the next season was going to be a special year for me when I would run away (literally) from the competition.
But then John Doss came around.
John Doss was a junior going into his senior year and he had different plans than I did. His junior year, he had run maybe a 2:07 which in 800 terms, four seconds is an eternity. As the next track season came around we were both put in the 800 meter. I was shooting for a 2:01 in hopes of peaking later in the season and breaking 2:00 (again even one second is a big deal). The race started and we took off.
John started about 15 meters in front of me as we came around the first lap. I wasn’t worried about this however because I was a finisher not a first lapper. As we hit the 200 meter mark I picked up my speed, and to my surprise so did John. As the race finished I came across at a 2:02 and John ran a 1:57.
He came from nowhere.
The rest of the season went sort of similar to that. I got down to a 2:00 and got to a 1:56.
John is what I like to call a one year wonder. His senior season would have gotten him recognized to go to run for DII schools or even lower D1 schools if he was even on the board going into his senior year. But because of how late he emerged in the his senior year, and because all offers had already been made, John didn’t get any offers to run in college.
What does this have to do with BYU Football? Today’s player also is a one year wonder. He did so well in one season he got on the Top 100 list, and he was lucky enough to even make it in the NFL.