Bennie Brazell owns championship rings in both track and football, but the LSU sophomore said it is time to forget last year’s achievements and focus on future goals.
“That was last year,” Brazell said. “I really enjoyed coming in my freshman year and spending time to help my team out to become [track and field] national champs, but now it’s this year, and it’s on to bigger and better things.”
Brazell helped the track team to the 2002 outdoor national championship by anchoring the 4×100-meter relay team to a first-place finish. He also ran the third leg on LSU’s third-place 4×400-meter relay and earned second place in the 400-meter hurdles at the national meet.
Brazell wants to help LSU win another track and field national title this season, and he also hopes to win his first individual title in the 400-meter hurdles.
LSU track coach Pat Henry said Brazell competes with a high intensity level and has contributed a lot to the team. He said Brazell was injured earlier this season but thinks Brazell is healthy enough to do well going into the Southeastern Conference meet and then into regional and national competition.
“Bennie’s a great competitor,” Henry said. “He’s been hurt a little bit this year, and it’s kept him from doing some things he’s wanted to do. I think he’s pretty healthy right now, and I think the opportunity’s there for him to have a pretty good end of the year.”
Brazell also looks forward to a better year for the LSU football team. He watched the Tigers win the 2001 Southeastern Conference Championship from the bench as a redshirt freshman and played sparingly last season as a wide receiver with three receptions for 28 yards. The Houston native hopes to take a more active role on the team in 2003.
“I can’t tell you how ready I am for it,” Brazell said “I wasn’t satisfied with last year’s season. This year I want to come out and work five times harder and become way more successful than I was last year.”
LSU football coach Nick Saban said Brazell lost confidence in his ability to catch the football last season, and he has tried to use the negative experience as a learning tool.
“What I tell guys is that a mistake is an opportunity to learn and do better,” Saban said. “Bennie’s problems usually come when he loses confidence from dropping a pass, and then he continues to lose confidence with each play. We’re trying to teach him how to catch touchdown passes, and that’s hard to do if he’s worried about the pass he just dropped.”
Both Saban and Henry agree Brazell is a great student-athlete.
“Bennie does a really good job to focus on both track and football,” Saban said. “The contributions he’s made on the track team have been real positive. It takes a special guy to balance both sports along with school work.”
Saban said he and Henry work with Brazell to make sure he excels in both athletics and school.
“Pat’s real easy to work with, and the key is that he’s flexible,” Saban said. “We’ve both had to be flexible and make special travel arrangements so [Brazell] doesn’t miss school work.”
Brazell said both Henry and Saban have made him a better person by accepting nothing but his best effort.
“They know you’re capable of giving 110 percent,” Brazell said “They want you to do that all the time. They won’t let you just sit there and cheat yourself and give yourself 80 percent this time and this time. They don’t play that.”