On Saturday he stunned the sprinting world, easily winning the 100 meter dash in world record fashion.
Every commentator and expert kept talking about how Usain Bolt was too big to be a sprinter, too tall and bulky. And I happened to agree.
Sure, he won the 100 meters—and he'll probably easily win the 200m—but how is he using the fact that he is 6'5" as an advantage? How much money is he going to make as a sprinter, in what will be a short career?
Just think about it, 100 meters is slightly over 100 yards, so we're looking at a guy who could run the length of a football field in under 10 seconds.
Remember that after the Athens Olympics, the Tampa Bay Bucs, Houston Texans, and the Tennessee Titans worked out Justin Gatlin in the hope that he could become a wide receiver.
Justin Gatlin was only 6'1". Usain Bolt has a solid 4 inches on him—and ran the 100 meters 2 tenths of a second faster.
Usain Bolt is only 21, giving any NFL team plenty of time to teach him the details of the game. If he is able to grasp them, he would join an elite company of receivers who are that tall and fast. Think Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
So I guess the only question left is: How are your hands Usain?
4 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Alex Dimond 10 months ago
An interesting suggestion, but I wonder if Bolt would not get injured rather easily, considering his slim frame? Equally, sprinters are notoriously bad at quick changes of direction (they just don't train the required muscles), so he might struggle with some routes. And as for the money, I have a sneaking suspicion he will be making quite a lot of the stuff in the next few years!
Having said all that, Bolt seems just crazy enough to try his hand at American Football, given the opportunity - he certainly is a better fit to the position than Gatlin. And who would bet against him being a great success?! Once he caught the ball few people would even touch him!
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Cornnell Enekwechi 10 months ago
Bolt is very stury and muscular. I think he could handle it. I'm sure alot of people think this about other runners. 6'5 could be an average Basketballer as well. I agree that he has more open windows than track but as for saying it's the wrong sport, I'd have to disagree.
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gem asdani 10 months ago
I doubt this Jamaican thinks much higher about american football than the standard "rugby for sissies" line. If he was to go into another sport, basketball or the type of football popular in Jamaica would be more likely.
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nathan worrell 7 months ago
i think he stick to what he does best and make the carribbean proud.
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