Topic: Midland's Michael Lunsford going to OSU instead of Marshall for T&F

[whf]

That's sort of true.
However, does Marshall have the coach(es) maximize his talent?

Well, I think our most highly touted recent T&F athlete was in fact heralded for "throwing" events, a woman in fact.

[MicDrass1]

Herd normally had good throwers under past coach Jeff Small.  New coach hires and development remains to be seen. 

[Herdfan17]

If I had the option of T&F especially at the level he is competing, i am choosing T&F every time.  I am sure a big part of the decision was the ability to stay healthy which is much more difficult if he was playing football.

As good of a football player he is, he is ultimately an even better T&F athlete.  He didnt just break the WV record, he beat it by almost 2 feet and it was a 39 year old record.

[Johnnyherd]

If I had the option of T&F especially at the level he is competing, i am choosing T&F every time.  I am sure a big part of the decision was the ability to stay healthy which is much more difficult if he was playing football.

As good of a football player he is, he is ultimately an even better T&F athlete.  He didnt just break the WV record, he beat it by almost 2 feet and it was a 39 year old record.

He was only like 8 or so feet away from the mark that won the Olympics last time.  I just hope he realizes that there isn?t much money in Olympic sports, plenty of glory, but not necessarily money.

I think Randy Barnes realized that late and had his agent get him a tryout or 2 with NFL teams. 

[MicDrass1]

He was only like 8 or so feet away from the mark that won the Olympics last time.  I just hope he realizes that there isn?t much money in Olympic sports, plenty of glory, but not necessarily money.

I think Randy Barnes realized that late and had his agent get him a tryout or 2 with NFL teams.

Really about 20 feet away.  College & Pro shot put is 16lbs.  High school is 12lbs.   Some good ones in Hs struggle adjusting.  The heavier shot requires large hands and unbelievable strength, power and quickness.  The pros are Larry Allen type strong.  It?s about 8-10 feet distance differential between Hs and college shot.  Regardless Lunsford is a great college recruit.  If he can throw 60 feet as a freshman he?s on track to be a future pro one day. 

[Johnnyherd]

I definitely didn?t know the shot weight difference, that makes his decision even more interesting.  Also the fact that some of the top shot put pro?s are 6?5, 6?7 and 300 and he is 6?2 250.

I hope he chooses a degree path that benefits him later in life and doesn?t get funneled into a just stay eligible major.

[drewbox]

Be interesting to know how much OSU is paying him for T&F and how much we offered him to play football. 

[Herd72]

 His Dad was on a Jr. High team I helped coach back in the day. His Dad played at Marshall but had to leave football for health reasons. He was a heck of a player. Track has a much lower rate of injury than football. Who knows, his Dad's experience may have been part of his decision. He is one of the top ten guys in his event but would not have been a top 10 football recruit nationally. He chose what he was best at. More power to him.

[TomorrowHERD]

Lunsford is 9th ranked Hs shot putter in nation

He would be crazy to come to MU for football, and not at least try for the gold with good coaching at OSU...    Good luck to him...