The University of Akron Athletics
February 05 | Track & Field
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Today's college student-athletes are usually focused on one sport. At The University of Akron, four young men– senior Bryce Jones (University Heights, Ohio), senior Hakeem Lawrence (Miami, Fla.), sophomore Kwadarrius Smith (Orlando, Fla.), and junior Anthony Young (Medina, Ohio)– are sharing their athletic talents with two successful teams. And the results have been amazing.
The quartet plays football in the fall for coach Terry Bowden and runs track in the spring for coach Dennis Mitchell. In the past year, track captured the 2015 Mid-American Conference indoor championship, while football won its first bowl game in the FBS era with a 23-21 victory over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
While not many schools allow student-athletes to participate in more than one sport, the Zips' coaches hope to give dual-sport athletes a welcoming destination to pursue their careers in both sports.
"We see (allowing dual-sport athletes) as a recruiting tool that not many teams in the Midwest have," Bowden said. "We have one of the Top 20 track programs in the country. Sprinters are sometime hard to get. Dennis Mitchell and I sat down and said, 'We want to be the premier program in this part of the country for dual athletes that want to run track and play football'."
"Not many people applaud people who do two sports, especially at a Division I level in college," Young shared. "You have to be elite in order to do that. I showed that last year in being able to compete in both. We won MAC Championships, ending up going to nationals in the 4x100, breaking the school record, and getting All-American in my first season of track here. Coming out and winning the first bowl game in school history; 2015 was a good year—two rings, two sports. Now it's time to make something out of 2016."
"Football and track are very complementary," Mitchell said. "For both sports there is nothing like speed, power, and agility. I see where track allows these athletes to be super developed in these skills. There are great athletes that want to do both sports. I am so glad Terry and I are able to work together to attract those athletes. If you want the whole athletic dream fulfilled, you come to Akron. It has been a pleasure working with these athletes that do not see themselves as a being limited."
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These four Zips' student-athletes are happy to play football and work on their running skills.
"I knew about the Bowden family; they love speed," Young said. "Akron was a good place for me to come. Football was on the rise. I knew all of the kids in track from high school, because we were a national powerhouse in track. Everything has worked out very well."
A slot receiver, Smith runs the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He transferred to Akron, because he was only allowed to participate in track at Missouri.
"Coach Bowden knew I was one of the top sprinters in the country my junior and senior years (of high school)," Smith said. "If I have the opportunity to keep both sports in my life, I'm going to keep both sports."
A wide receiver/athlete, Young is a walk-on for both teams. He runs the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4x100 relay. After transferring to Akron from Indiana in 2014, Young had to sit out the football season. He made the most of his first year with track, earning Honorable Mention All-America honors as a member of the 4 x 100 relay team.
"That was my goal coming out of high school," Young said of doing both sports in college. "The coaches were fine with it, because they knew I could be a leader in both. I've had two successful years in both (sports) so far."
Running back Lawrence runs the 60-meter dash. Defensive back Jones runs the 60-meter hurdles and participates in the long jump.
All four credit Bowden with encouraging them to pursue both sports.
"I've known the Bowden family for a long time," Smith said. "He knew I could do it, so he wanted me to do both (sports) to keep my speed and my explosiveness."
"Coach Bowden really wanted me to run track," Lawrence said. "It's fun! It's a competitive sport, and it brings the competitiveness out of me."
While Bowden and Mitchell have worked hard to make dual-sport athletes a reality at Akron, they hope to expand their programs to student-athletes.
"I think you're going to see in the next year or two, Akron is going to further develop into the premier program, if not in the country, in the Midwest for dual-sport football-track athletes where the football coach and the track coach both commit 100 percent to both sports being played," Bowden said. "Dennis has done a great job, and we've worked together. I think the sprinter events are going to make us both better national contenders."
The stress of practice, competition, travel, class, and schoolwork can weigh heavily upon any Division I student-athlete. But these four sprinters rely on their time management skills and on-field talents to help through their demanding schedules. Right now, they work out in off-season conditioning with football in the mornings, practice with track in the afternoons, and compete with track on weekends. But they feel all of the hard work is well worth the effort.
"I love football, but I've always had that passion for track," Jones said. "When it comes to running, it's my chance to see what I can do, see if I can compete, and to the things I want to do in track. It helps with football with speed and hips and endurance and will help me translate everything to the football field."
"It's helped me to be disciplined and to be active and keep me out of trouble," Smith added. "Basically, letting me know my talent, so I won't have anything to waste. I feel God gave me an ability, so why not use it. It's definitely helped. The two sports go hand-in-hand."
"Football helps track in the sense of strength and mindset," Young said. "Track helps football in the sense of speed. Speed kills on the field. It's really helped a lot."
This year—2016—is an Olympic year, and these sprinters have their eyes on a bigger prize.
"I qualified in high school for the Olympic Trials," Smith shared. "I qualified again last year, and I hope to qualify again this year. Like my mom told me, I have too much talent to waste it."
"It's an Olympic year, and 2020 is an Olympic year. You just never know," Young said. "You always have high aspirations to pursue that and pursue the NFL and all those dreams you dream as a kid. Since I'm talented to do both, why not give it a shot and have fun with it."
In the meantime, you'll find these four speedsters hanging out in the Stile Athletics Field House every day. The only thing that changes is their team uniform.
