LSU track and field assistant coach Bennie Brazell always wanted to pass along his experiences to younger athletes.
Brazell, one of the most decorated LSU athletes of the 21st century, got his opportunity when he was hired as the men’s sprints and hurdles coach in 2012.
At the conclusion of the 2014 outdoor season, Brazell coached LSU athletes to 40 All-American honors, two national event titles and two Olympic berths in just three years. This season, his runners accounted for all six NCAA Indoor Championship qualifiers on the men’s team, and senior sprinter Vernon Norwood won the NCAA title in the 400-meter dash.
His success as a coach stems from the experiences he had as an athlete.
“He is extra hard on us because he did it before,” said junior sprinter Cyril Grayson. “He is not going to let us complain or be soft about the work outs. He pushes us because he wants us to be better than he was.”
Brazell’s LSU career was nothing short of record-breaking. He enjoyed success on the track and football field, and he was the first athlete in LSU history to win a national title on two different sports teams.
His first national title came during his redshirt freshman season on the outdoor track and field team. He anchored the national title-winning 4×100-meter relay team just minutes before returning to the track for silver-medal finish in the 400-meter hurdles. He also anchored the 4×400-meter relay team to a bronze-medal finish in the last event of the day, clinching the national championship for the Tigers.
As a junior, he helped the Tigers win the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, and he was a part of the 4×400-meter relay team that broke the collegiate record at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
But his athletic prowess wasn’t limited to the track. Brazell also played wide receiver for the 2003 national championship football team.
“His experience of being a dual-sport athlete is something that most athletes now don’t experience,” said LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver. “For him to have competed on a national championship football team for LSU and also a national track and field championship team here is quite unique and a tremendous experience.”
Brazell wasn’t done racking up accolades — he won five NCAA Championships and was a 14-time All-American.
But his most impressive feats came in his professional career. Still a junior at LSU, Brazell qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, in the 400-meter hurdles and finished in eighth place after making the event finals.
“You have to realize I’m running against guys I always looked up to,” Brazell said. “It’s kind of a mind blowing thing … But with the Olympics, I was too young to enjoy it. I was just a junior in college — I was too young and dumb to appreciate it.”
Brazell solidified his dual-sport career in 2006 when the Cincinnati Bengals drafted him in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. He was in the NFL for two years before he was selected for the USA Rugby Sevens Squad in 2010.
Ten years after his career at LSU, Brazell still owns the school record in the 400-meter hurdles and is part of the NCAA record in the 4×400-meter relay. But he said the things he did are in the past and hopes this group of runners beats his records.
At 32 years old, Brazell relates to his runners on a personal level since he was in their place only a decade ago. He still has the drive and work ethic that he had as an athlete, but now he uses it to become a better coach every day.
“At the end of the day, just because you’re a great runner when you’re at the school doesn’t mean you can come back and be a good coach,” Brazell said. “You have to work on your craft and get better every day. That’s one thing I have tried to do.”
Brazell is a role model for the runners on the team, and he uses it to promote the importance of being a student-athlete, Shaver said.
“He does in many ways inspire them and challenge them on a regular basis to improve, but more importantly, he preaches the importance of getting an education because track and field isn’t going to last forever,” Shaver said. “I know they hear that a lot from me, but it sure is good to also have an assistant coach that is preaching the same thing.”
You can reach Jacob Hamilton on Twitter @jhamilton_TDR.