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The 2015 Football Roster Countdown rolls on, with BracketCat bringing us a profile of #87, walk-on wideout Dawson Elliott.
At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, a K-State athlete broke a 30-year old record. Akela Jones, competing in only her second outdoor collegiate heptathlon, set a new first day record by earning 4,023 points in the first four events and building a 219-point lead over her nearest opponent, defending champion Kendell Williams (Georgia). The previous record belonged to three-time Olympics gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
In the process, Jones finished first in the 100m hurdles, speeding to a school record and personal best mark of 13.10s. She also finished first in the high jump and shot put events, good for second best in school heptathlon history in both events. Finally, running in the 200m, Jones finished second with a wind-assisted time of 23.45s. Jones will open the second day with the long jump event, in which she is currently ranked ninth in the country.
Meanwhile, on the men's side, Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye, competing in the long jump for the first time in a national event, earned second-team All-American honors with a wind-assisted jump of 7.69m and an 11th place finish. Teammate Terrell Smith, competing in one of the deepest fields in Eugene, finished 21st in the 200m semifinal to earn second-team honors. Although Smith was disappointed by the outcome, head coach Cliff Rovelto noted it was an excellent performance for a freshman at his first national meet.
Bill Snyder thinks Jonathan Banks is the next Daniel Sams, at least with respect to helping the offense out with his legs (Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle). So we now have the next Roberson in Alex Delton and the next Daniel Sams, but we could really use the next Chad May too.
Mississippi State will require student-athletes to take financial education classes (SI Wire) to qualify for the miscellaneous expenses portion of the cost-of-attendance scholarship. According to the school's athletic director, Scott Stricklin, who took to Twitter to explain the program, students will learn about banking, budgeting, savings and the like, via online modules available monthly. Stricklin was careful to point out that the program is designed to help student-athletes make sound financial decisions, not to tell them how to spend their money.