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’25 Haden Crick (OT/DT) example of a field event participant thriving in football

We cover football year round. Those of you new to this service may wonder what we do in the offseason. Well, any good football coach will tell you the offseason you have will determine your in season success. Enjoy this look at a pair of field events which bare a distinct relationship to football line of scrimmage play.

HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”

Morton’s Gap, KY: There is a singular connection between line of scrimmage play and field events like shot put and discus. We follow and report on Track & Field. Sprinters get tons of ink and really excite football fans about the type over the top speed their favorite teams may see in the backfield or out wide next Fall.

The track side of Track & Field isn’t the only side of that sport the football fans should fancy. What about the field events, like shot put and discus?

In 2017 the Associated Press recognized 15 lineman on its college All-American football team. Of those 15, 11 had thrown the shot put in high school. An astonishing number of elite football linemen competed in either shot put or discus in high school.

Linemen are big people. Most of them, save for a select few, won’t be competing in sprints on the track team. Events like shot put or discus are perfect fits for linemen.

Jonathan Ogden, was widely regarded as one of the greatest tackles in NFL history. He once dreamed of being an Olympic shot putter.

Ogden competed in both sports at UCLA where he was an unanimous selection for the All-American team in college and selected with the fourth overall selection in the NFL draft in 1996. He was the Baltimore Ravens very first selected player in franchise history.

Hayden Crick throws both the shot and the discus while starring at OT and DT

Friday Night Fletch

Ogen was an 11-time pro-bowler, made the all-pro team nine times, and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. This was a year later than his enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Here locally, Hayden Crick competed in both field events and is set to do likewise this upcoming spring. Crick has the 17th longest shot put (33’6″) in program history and is 9th in the discus (98’9″). He looks to best both marks in his final high school season.

In football, the 5’11,” 230-pounder saw action on both sides of the scrimmage line at OT and at DT. He was a stalwart on both scrimmage lines and a player who will be hard to replace.

Did competing in field events make him a better football player? Ask him!

We think so. Then again, what do we know?

This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!

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About Fletcher Long 1675 Articles
Two-time winner of Kentucky Press Association awards for excellence in writing and reporting news stories while Managing Editor of the Jackson (KY) Times-Voice

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