kepdawg
03-09-2006, 11:59 PM
UT football players looking for track glory
Texas football players Charles, Robison go for national title - in track
08:26 PM CST on Thursday, March 9, 2006
By CHIP BROWN / Staff Writer
AUSTIN – It wasn't enough for Texas running back Jamaal Charles and defensive end Brian Robison to sit back and bathe in the glow of winning a national title in football.
Three days after making a game-saving tackle of LenDale White on fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter of UT's 41-38 victory over USC in the Rose Bowl, Robison was reporting to track practice to throw the shot put.
Charles had worked all fall to earn a 3.0 grade point average so football coach Mack Brown would be convinced Charles could handle his class work as well as compete in a second sport.
"Coach [Brown] said if I kept my grades up, I could run track," said Charles, who led Texas last season in yards per carry (7.4), while rushing for 11 touchdowns and catching passes for two others. "I want to run in the Olympics one day."
Robison and Charles combined to contribute 19 points as Texas won the Big 12 Indoor title last month, snapping Nebraska's string of conference indoor titles at six.
Robison finished second in the shot put (8 points), and Charles finished third in the 200 meters (6 points) and fourth in the 60 meters (5 points).
The football stars will play key roles this weekend as Texas attempts to win an NCAA Indoor national title. The indoor nationals start Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
"We have a legitimate shot," said Texas track coach Bubba Thornton, whose team ended Nebraska's Big 12 Indoor title streak at six. "We have a shot because of the depth people like Brian and Jamaal give us."
Robison is the defending Big 12 outdoor champion in the shot put. He is the sixth seed at the indoor nationals after a personal-best throw of 63 feet, 8 ¼ inches.
Charles is one of three UT athletes to qualify for the 60 meters. Charles qualified with a time of 6.68.
He also will run on the team's 4x100-meter relay team.
"Anytime our student athletes can help win titles for the school in another sport, that's good for everybody," Brown said. "Jamaal and Brian have made all our spring practices and meetings. They know that football comes first. But it says a lot that they are driven enough to do both."
Said Robison, "I get bored if I'm just sitting around."
Charles was one of the nation's top 110- and 300-meter hurdlers in high school last year. But Charles is not running hurdles indoors because the hurdles are 3 inches taller (42 inches) in college than high school (39).
Thornton said he didn't think there would be time for Charles to adjust for the indoor season. Charles plans to run hurdles during the outdoor season.
E-mail chipbrown@dallasnews.com
NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Randall Tyson Center, Fayetteville, Ark., today and Saturday
Texas football players Charles, Robison go for national title - in track
08:26 PM CST on Thursday, March 9, 2006
By CHIP BROWN / Staff Writer
AUSTIN – It wasn't enough for Texas running back Jamaal Charles and defensive end Brian Robison to sit back and bathe in the glow of winning a national title in football.
Three days after making a game-saving tackle of LenDale White on fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter of UT's 41-38 victory over USC in the Rose Bowl, Robison was reporting to track practice to throw the shot put.
Charles had worked all fall to earn a 3.0 grade point average so football coach Mack Brown would be convinced Charles could handle his class work as well as compete in a second sport.
"Coach [Brown] said if I kept my grades up, I could run track," said Charles, who led Texas last season in yards per carry (7.4), while rushing for 11 touchdowns and catching passes for two others. "I want to run in the Olympics one day."
Robison and Charles combined to contribute 19 points as Texas won the Big 12 Indoor title last month, snapping Nebraska's string of conference indoor titles at six.
Robison finished second in the shot put (8 points), and Charles finished third in the 200 meters (6 points) and fourth in the 60 meters (5 points).
The football stars will play key roles this weekend as Texas attempts to win an NCAA Indoor national title. The indoor nationals start Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
"We have a legitimate shot," said Texas track coach Bubba Thornton, whose team ended Nebraska's Big 12 Indoor title streak at six. "We have a shot because of the depth people like Brian and Jamaal give us."
Robison is the defending Big 12 outdoor champion in the shot put. He is the sixth seed at the indoor nationals after a personal-best throw of 63 feet, 8 ¼ inches.
Charles is one of three UT athletes to qualify for the 60 meters. Charles qualified with a time of 6.68.
He also will run on the team's 4x100-meter relay team.
"Anytime our student athletes can help win titles for the school in another sport, that's good for everybody," Brown said. "Jamaal and Brian have made all our spring practices and meetings. They know that football comes first. But it says a lot that they are driven enough to do both."
Said Robison, "I get bored if I'm just sitting around."
Charles was one of the nation's top 110- and 300-meter hurdlers in high school last year. But Charles is not running hurdles indoors because the hurdles are 3 inches taller (42 inches) in college than high school (39).
Thornton said he didn't think there would be time for Charles to adjust for the indoor season. Charles plans to run hurdles during the outdoor season.
E-mail chipbrown@dallasnews.com
NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Randall Tyson Center, Fayetteville, Ark., today and Saturday