In helping Lawrence Johnson rebuild the track program at Clemson University, Tim Hall isn't too proud to borrow tools.
With football teammates Jacoby Ford and C.J. Spiller running sprints, Clemson has a chance to make noise at the ACC Outdoor Championships this weekend at the University of Miami.
"It's every sprint coach's dream to have the talent we have here at Clemson,"
said Hall, in his first season after a successful run at Charlotte. "We're very blessed to have those guys."
Ford and Spiller are entered in the 100 and 200 along with sophomore Trenton Guy and freshman Justin Murdoch, giving the Tigers a quartet of blazers rivaled only by defending champion Florida State.
"It's really important to me,"
Ford said, national indoor champion at 60 meters. "I just want to keep being successful, to continue being a big contributor to the team during the outdoor season, try to win a championship and help the program."
Ford has run 10.21 seconds in the 100 this spring and Spiller 10.29, but Hall chose to ease his sprinters into the outdoor season and preserve their legs for the multiple races facing them at open meets.
"We've been very strategic in our races both indoor and outdoor this season as far as how many races these guys run in,"
Hall said. "The expectation is very high, the bar is raised. And when they go to the conference with the goals we have in place for them, we raise the bar again. The expectation is always to win."
Ford said believes it should begin to pay dividends this weekend.
"I feel a lot stronger in the blocks and my start, and transitioning down the runway,"
he said. "So, it will be a big transition, but I think I'll be able to go out and put some big numbers up and put some points on the board."
The residual benefit of having four runners of this caliber is the potential in the 4x100 relay. Hall said the high-risk, high-reward nature of relays excites him but also stirs some anxiety.
"It's always a stressful situation when you're dealing with the baton because there is such small room for error there,"
he said.
"I think we could be one of the top three in the country with the talent we have,"
he said. "We ran a 39.42 the first time with a few botched handoffs. We clean those things up and it'll ride."
