It’s Week 1 of the 2013 NFL season, and the New England Patriots have made their way west to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., to take on the Bills. The snow and cold have yet to fall on the Greater Buffalo metro area, but the September temperatures are a far cry from anything rookie receiver Marquise Goodwin is used to back in his hometown of Garland, Texas or what he played in during four years as a Longhorn. To return to a place of comfort before making his NFL debut, Buffalo’s third-round draft pick, No. 78 overall, will, as he has done for years, wear his track uniform under his football equipment.
"He would not go to football practice — he will not, I repeat — go to football practice if he don’t have his track tights underneath his football pads," says D.J. Monroe, his teammate on both the football and track squads at the University of Texas. "He has to have some kind of track something on when he’s playing in a game, and when he’s running track, he’s got to have some sort of football thing on."
The trick must work for Goodwin. Since setting out on what has developed into a 13-year career as a two-sport athlete that began when he was just nine years old, his athletic achievements have already propelled him to some of sport's brightest stages. After Rivals labeled him a three-star football recruit out of Rowlett High, the majority of Big 12 schools recruited him heavily before he accepted an offer to Austin. Of course, he's since spun that into a chance at football's highest level with the Bills, but not before becoming a four-time college All-American and two-time national champion, as well as a two-time U.S. champion, all in his blue-ribbon event on the track, the long jump. The accomplishments in his second sport even led him all the way to the Olympic Games in London last year, fulfilling one of his childhood dreams. He went on to finish a respectable 10th in the event last August.
At the NFL Combine, everyone, including himself, expected the 5'9, 180-pound speedster to dazzle in what is the most talked about drill of the event, the 40-yard dash. Asked before the test how fast he thought he could run it, Goodwin responded simply, "Really fast," adding that he hoped to produce one of the quickest times on record. He didn't disappoint.
Goodwin hit the finish line in a blazing 4.27 seconds, taking the bragging rights by a slim margin over, among others, a player to which he has often been compared, West Virginia wideout Tavon Austin (4.34). The time tied him for the third fastest on record, just three-tenths of a second behind the recognized leader, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who holds the title from 2008.
"I don't get why people question whether I'm a football player trying to run track or a track guy trying to play football." 
(USA Today Images)
Since then, Austin went No. 8 overall in the draft, the first receiver chosen, while Goodwin had to wait to hear his name called until the following day, as the ninth selected at the position. Of course, Austin accumulated back-to-back 100-catch, 1,000-yard seasons his final two years as a Mountaineer. Goodwin tallied 120 receptions and just over 1,300 yards in his four seasons at Texas. He had a breakout performance in his final game as a Longhorn, though, collecting 132 all-purpose yards and scoring two touchdowns, including the game clincher, in a 31-27 win over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl. By all accounts, Goodwin also showed well in the North-South Senior Bowl on his way to the second-most receptions of any player in the game.
Still, somewhat ironically, it is actually because of Goodwin's level of success in his other sport that he had trouble convincing pro teams he fit the mold of a legitimate receiving weapon. Despite forgoing his final college season of track to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft this past April, it was an issue he received many questions about and tried desperately to dispel. Judging by where he was selected, several teams may have had doubts about the 22-year-old's abilities away from the track. Is he a wideout with world-class speed, which lends itself to the long jump, they wondered, or merely a track star who catches pigskins part time?
"I don't get why people question whether I'm a football player trying to run track or a track guy trying to play football," he told Sports Illustrated in April leading up to the draft. "It's really embarrassing to me to even have to answer the question.
"Track guys just have linear speed. I have proved I have more than linear speed," Goodwin previously stated in February from the combine. "I have good hands, I run routes, I get out of my breaks. I'm tough, I have taken on hits, I've blocked. I have even got MVP for blocking in one game and I didn't even touch a ball that game. I don't think a track guy could go out there and get MVP for blocking."
The concern over Goodwin's football credentials is a practical one, however. It's far from the first time an Olympian has attempted to make the transition to football and teams have been burned before, investing in similar athletes with the same question unresolved. There are even two others trying to achieve the same goal just this season. And while there are certainly exceptions to the rule, Olympians' track records are inconsistent. Of the 35 men before Goodwin to appear on the highest level of international competition and follow that up by playing in at least one regular-season professional football game, nearly a third were in out and of the league within two years. Sure, the list includes 11 Pro Bowlers, nine All-Pros and four Hall of Famers, but the odds of Olympic success leading to similar returns from the line of scrimmage are dubious.
One would think the segue would come naturally, but history shows that has just not been the case. Whether it's been these premier athletes' inability to grasp the game and its many nuances, properly applying those same skills that got them to the Olympics to the NFL, or even simply learning how to catch, something has been amiss.
Regardless, the Bills were apparently satisfied with Goodwin's football acumen, tabbing him based on the potential shown in some his final games, and inserting him as their deep threat for years to come. Or so that's the thought.
"I had watched a lot of tape and there was another receiver (Austin) that was taken first in the draft that has outstanding ability, and I felt Goodwin possesses a lot of those same traits with the same speed and toughness," said first-year Bills coach Doug Marrone following the draft. "When you get a player with that type of speed then it’s up to us as coaches to develop him and be able to get him the football."
"One of the things in the report about Marquise that jumps out at you, a guy his size, is he's a tenacious blocker," added Bills GM Buddy Nix. "He's a football player first even though he's had all that success in track. I think when you see him play you'll realize he's a football player."
Certainly talented, Goodwin, while contending with his contemporaries on the football field, will also be competing against history, to live up to the best of those Olympians who came before him, as well as eclipsing his own erstwhile results on the track.
***
Professional football's attraction to the Olympian dates back to perhaps the finest athlete of all time, and the sport has been trying to transform track stars to the gridiron ever since. Unrivaled multi-sport talent Jim Thorpe, who took gold in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Games — in addition to participating in the long and high jumps, placing fourth place in both — set quite an untouchable bar. Thorpe played professional baseball prior to his prolific performance at the Olympics, then returned to the game for several years before moving on to football, and finally playing pro basketball after that. In 1950, The Associated Press named him the Greatest Athlete of the first half of the 20th century, and in a poll conducted by ABC Sports in 2000, he was awarded the title of Greatest Athlete of the Century.
the marriage between football and Olympians has been one of mostly disappointment and fumbled ambitions.
After making his professional football debut in 1915 and guiding his teams to three league championships at fullback, Thorpe helped found the American Professional Football Conference (soon dubbed the American Professional Football Association) in 1920 and was the loosely affiliated league's first president. The APFA was renamed the National Football League two years later. Although Thorpe never played for an NFL title, he was awarded First-Team All-League honors in 1923 as a member of the Oorang Indians — one of six teams for which he played during his NFL career. After he died in 1953 at the age of 64, Thorpe was later named to the 1920s All-Decade Team and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Since Thorpe’s incredible precedent, the marriage between football and track and field Olympians has been one of mostly disappointment and fumbled ambitions. There have definitely been those who have far-and-away bested the ceilings placed upon them. For one, Ollie Matson, the bronze medalist in the 400 meters and part of the 4x400-meter U.S. relay team that took the silver at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, played halfback at the University of San Francisco before going on to pen one of the best two-sport efforts of all time when he joined the NFL. The No. 3 pick in the 1952 Draft, Matson was a six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro first-teamer, and finished his 14-year pro career in 1966 second to only Jim Brown in rushing yards. Capping it all off, he gained membership to the Hall of Fame, Class of 1972, enjoying the prestige that came with it for many years until his death in 2011.
After Matson came Bob Hayes, a wide receiver at Florida A&M. "Bullet Bob," as he was known for his tremendous speed, won gold in both the 100 meter and 4x100-meter relay at the Tokyo Games in 1964. The Dallas Cowboys selected him in the seventh round of the draft that year, the No. 88 selection overall, and he more than delivered on that investment. He averaged 20 yards per catch over his entire career and twice led the league in touchdown receptions. Five Super Bowl appearances later, including a victory in 1971, three Pro Bowls, two All-Pro first-teams over an 11-year career, concluding with a posthumous Hall of Fame invite in 2009, and Hayes is one of the greatest Cowboys ever and appropriately included in the their Ring of Honor.
Bob Hayes, Jr. at his father's Hall of Fame induction. (Getty Images)
"I always called him 'Rapid Robert,'" says former NFL coach and player Marty Schottenheimer, with a chuckle, recalling playing with Hayes in a college All-Star game in 1965. "He could flat-ass run, there was no doubt about that. I mean, Bob could run like the wind obviously with all of the records that he set, but if they had to throw one pass to win the game, I'm not sure he was the primary target."
Schottenheimer, a linebacker for the AFL's Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots in the 1960s and a 30-year NFL coach including stops for the head job in Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego, says he greatly admires the skills and achievements of Olympians — from their unique physical abilities to dealing with the highest levels of pressure when the entire world is watching. But he believes none of the above, particularly pure speed, automatically translates over to triumph once between the hash marks.
"The old adage says speed kills," he explains. "If you've got it, you kill them, and if they've got it, they kill you. But in reality, speed in and of itself is not the be-all end-all of becoming successful as a player in the NFL, regardless of the position."
"Football is unique," adds Schottenheimer. "I don't think you can overestimate the value of being involved in a team sport. If you're a part of an Olympic team it's certainly a team environment, but the actual competition itself is individuals."
This may help explain why many of the rest of the former Olympians who gave the NFL a try are a mixed bag of primarily underperformers, long shots and never-shouldas. The list includes the father of famed writer Gore Vidal (Gene; seventh in decathlon, 1920), the actor who played Tarzan in a 1938 film (Glenn Morris; gold in decathlon, 1936), the first Australian to play in the league (Colin Ridgeway; seventh in high jump, 1956), and one of the symbolic leaders of the Black Panther movement of the 1960s and '70s (Tommie Smith, gold in 200 meter, 1968). All flopped in their efforts to catch on in football, unable to recapture the glory of the international spotlight.
Every Gridiron Olympian
A comprehensive list of every Olympic athlete who went on to make a professional football team.
1912 Games (Stockholm )
Jim Thorpe (1888-1953), died at 64yo
Two-time gold medalist (pentathlon, decathlon) at 1912 Games
Fullback, played eight pro seasons: 1920-26, 1928 for five teams
Founding member and first league president of what became the NFL
First-Team All-League in 1923; Hall of Fame Class of 1963
Won three league championships (1916, 1917, 1919)
1920s NFL All-Decade Team
Also played professional baseball and basketball
1916 Games Canceled – WWI
1920 Games (Antwerp)
Gene Vidal (1895-1969), died at 73yo
Placed seventh, decathlon
Fullback, played one game with Washington in 1921
Father of famed author Gore Vidal; love interest of Amelia Earhart
Harold Muller (1901-1962), died at 60yo
Played football and ran track at Cal
First player in the western U.S. to earn All-American honors (1921, 1922)
Won silver, high jump
Defensive end/coach for L.A. Buccaneers for one season (1926)
First-Team All-Pro in 1926
Became head team physician as an orthopedic surgeon for U.S. Olympic team in 1956
1924 Games (Paris)
John Spellman (1899-1966), died at 67yo
Played football and wrestled at Brown
Won gold, light heavyweight (192 lbs.) freestyle wrestling
Defensive end, Providence Steam Rollers (1925-31); Boston Braves (1932)
Second-Team All-League in 1929
Later became a professional wrestler
1928 Games (Amsterdam)
None
1932 Games (Los Angeles)
James Bausch (1906-1974), died at 68yo
Played football, track and basketball at Wichita State and Kansas
Won gold, decathlon
Fullback/halfback, Chicago Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds (1933); Played 7 total games
Pete Mehringer (1910-87), died at 77yo
Played football at Kansas
Won gold in light heavyweight (192 lb.) freestyle wrestling
Offensive tackle, Chicago Cardinals (1934-36)
Jack Riley (1909-1933), died at 83yo
Wrestled and played football at Northwestern
Won silver in heavyweight (192-plus lbs.) freestyle wrestling
Offensive tackle, Boston Braves (1933)
Member of College Football HOF
Later became a professional wrestler
1936 Games (Berlin)
Glenn Morris (1912-1974), died at 61yo
Won gold, decathlon; held World Record
Defensive end, Detroit Lions (1940, 4 games)
Played Tarzan in a 1938 film during his brief acting career
Sam Francis (1913-2002), died at 88yo
Played football at Nebraska
Runner-up for the Heisman Trophy
Placed fourth in shot put
No. 1 overall pick of 1937 Draft
Halfback, Chicago Bears (1937-38), Pittsburgh Pirates (1938), Brooklyn Dodgers (1939-40)
Member of College Football HOF
Jack Torrance (1912-1969), died 57yo
Placed fifth in shot put
Offensive tackle, Chicago Bears, (1939-1940)
One-time Pro Bowler; Won championship in 1940
1940 & 1944 Games Canceled – WWII
1948 Games (London)
Clyde "Smackover" Scott (1924- ), 88yo
Halfback/defensive back at Arkansas and the Naval Academy
Won silver, 110m hurdles
No. 8 pick to Philadelphia in 1948
Running back, Philadelphia (1949-52), Detroit (1952)
Won two championships (1948, 1949)
1952 Games (Helsinki)
Ollie Matson (1930-2011), died at 80yo
Halfback at San Francisco
Two-time medalist (bronze in 400m, silver in 4x400m relay)
No. 3 pick in 1952
Running back, Cardinals (1952-58); Rams (1959-62); Lions (1963); Eagles (1964-66)
Six-time Pro Bowler, five-time First-Team All-Pro
NFL Hall of Fame, Class of 1972
Finished his career in 1966 second to Jim Brown in rushing yards
1950s NFL All-Decade Team
Milt Campbell (1933-2012), died at 78yo
Running back at Indiana
Two-time Olympic decathlete (silver at Helsinki, gold at 1956 Melbourne Games)
Narrowly missed World Record in Melbourne
Kick returner/running back, Cleveland (1957, 9 games)
Played in same backfield as Jim Brown during only season
Moved to CFL, where he played until retiring in 1964
1956 Games (Melbourne)
Milt Campbell
Gold, decathlon (see Helsinki 1952 for more info)
Colin Ridgeway (1937-1993), died at 56yo
Placed seventh, high jump
Punter, Dallas (1965, 3 games)
First Australian to play in the NFL
Glenn Davis (1934-2009), died at 75yo
Three-time gold medalist (400m hurdles in 1956 Helsinki & 1960 Rome; 4x400m relay Rome)
Wide receiver, Detroit (1960-61)
Ten catches for 132 yards in two seasons
1960 Games (Rome)
Glenn Davis
Gold, 400m hurdles; Gold, 4x400 relay (see Melbourne 1956 for more info)
Bo Roberson (1935-2001), died at 65yo
Played football and basketball at Cornell
Won silver, long jump
Wide receiver, AFL for San Diego (1961); Oakland (1962-65); Buffalo (1965); Miami (1966)
One-time Pro Bowler
Frank Budd (1973- ), 73yo
Placed fifth, 100m (once held World Record), On gold-winning 4x100m relay team disqualified for lane violation
Wide receiver, Philadelphia Eagles (1962); Washington Redskins (1963)
Ray Norton (1937- ), 75yo
Finishing sixth in 100m and 200m; got the gold-winning 4x100m relay team disqualified for lane violation
Halfback, San Francisco (1960-61)
Career total two rushes for 0 yards
Stone Johnson, (1940-1963), died at 23yo
Quarterback at Grambling
Placed fifth, 200m; On gold-winning 4x100m relay team disqualified for lane violation
Running back/kick returner, Chiefs (1963)
Fatally injured after fracturing vertebrae in preseason game
Never played in a regular-season game
No. 33 jersey retired by Chiefs; Ring of Honor
1964 Games (Tokyo)/h4>
"Bullet" Bob Hayes (1942-2002), died at 59yo
Played football at Florida A&M
Two-time gold medalist (100m and 4x100m relay)
Wide receiver, Dallas (1965-74); San Francisco (1975)
Three-time Pro Bowler, two-time First-Team All-Pro
NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2009, Super Bowl Champion (1971)
Cowboys Ring of Honor member
Henry Carr (1942- ), 70yo
Played football at Arizona State
Two-time gold medalist (200m, 4x400m relay), Both World Records
Defensive back, New York Giants (1965-67)
1968 Games (Mexico City)
Curley Culp (1946- ), 67yo
Played football and wrestled at Arizona St.
Named to the U.S. wrestling team, but did not participate in Olympics
Defensive tackle, Kansas City (1968-74); Houston (1974-80), Detroit, 1980-81)
Six-time Pro Bowler, one-time First-Team All-Pro
NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2013, Super Bowl Champion (1969)
1975 NFL Defensive Player of the Year
Named to all-time NFL 3-4 defense team in 2008
Chiefs Hall of Fame member (2008)
Jim Hines (1946- ), 66yo
Two-time gold medalist (100m and 4x100m relay)
Ran then-World Record 9.95, also breaking World Record in 4x100 with 38.24
Wide receiver, Miami (1969, 9 games); Kansas City (1970, 1 game)
Nicknamed "Oops" because of lack of football skills
Caught two passes for Miami; Then played one game for KC
Tommie Smith (1944- ), 69yo
Won gold, 200m; famously struck Black Power salute
Held then-World Record with first sub-20-second time (19.83)
Wide receiver, Cincinnati (1969, 2 games)
1972 Games (Munich)
Gerald Tinker (1951- ), 62yo
Played football at Memphis and Kent State
Won gold, 4x100m relay
Wide receiver, Atlanta (1974-75); Green Bay (1975)
Larry Burton (1951- ), 61yo
Played football at Purdue
Placed fourth, 200m
Wide receiver, New Orleans (1976-77); San Diego (1978-79)
1976 Games (Montreal)
Johnny "Lam" Jones (1958- ), 55yo
Played football at Texas
Won gold, 4x100m relay; placed sixth, 100m
No. 2 pick overall in 1980
Wide receiver, New York Jets (1980-84)
Considered a Jets top-10 draft bust of all time
Signed first $1 million NFL contract
James Owens (1955- ), 57yo
Played football at UCLA
Placed sixth, 110m hurdles
No. 29 pick in 1979 (Selected by Niners one round ahead of Joe Montana)
Running back, San Francisco (1979-80); Tampa Bay (1981-84)
1980 Games (Moscow) – U.S. Boycott
Renaldo Nehemiah (1959- ), 54yo
Hurdler at Maryland (no football in college)
Favorite in 110m hurdles for 1980 Games, but U.S. boycotted
Won gold in 110m hurdles at 1980 Philadelphia Boycott Games with faster time than 1980 Olympic champion
First ever to run sub-13-second (12.93) in hurdles
Wide receiver, San Francisco (1982-85)
1984 Super Bowl Champion
Willie Gault (1960- ), 52yo
Played football at Tennessee
Won gold, 4x100m and bronze in 100m at 1980 Philadelphia Boycott Games
No. 18 pick in 1983
Wide receiver, Chicago (1983-87); L.A. Raiders (1988-93)
1986 Super Bowl Champion
1984 Games (Los Angeles)
Sam Graddy (1964- ), 49yo
Two-time medalist (gold in 4x100m relay, silver in 100m)
Wide receiver, Denver (1987-88); L.A. Raiders (1990-92)
Ron "Speedball" Brown (1961- ), 52yo
Played football at Arizona St.
Won gold, 4x100m relay, placed fourth in 100m
Kick returner, L.A. Rams (1984-90); L.A. Raiders, (1990); L.A. Rams (1991)
One-time Pro Bowler, First-Team All-Pro
Michael Carter (1960- ), 52yo
Played football at Southern Methodist
Won silver, shot put
Nose tackle, San Francisco (1984-92)
Three-time Pro Bowler, one-time First-Team All-Pro,
Three-time Super Bowl Champion (1985, 1989, 1990)
Only athlete to win an Olympic medal and Super Bowl ring in same year
1988 Games (Seoul)
None
1992 Games (Barcelona)
Michael Bates (1969- ), 43yo
Played football at Arizona
Won bronze, 200m
Kick returner, Seattle (1993-94); Cleveland (1995); Carolina (1996-2000); Washington (2001); Dallas (2003); New York Jets, (2003)
Five-time Pro Bowler, one-time First-Team All-Pro
1990s NFL All-Decade Team
James Trapp (1969- ), 43yo
Played football at Clemson
Alternate for the 4x100m relay team
Defensive back, L.A./Oakland Raiders (1993-98); Baltimore (1999-2002); Jacksonville (2003)
Super Bowl Champion (2000)
James Jett (1970- ), 42yo
Played football at West Virginia
Won gold, 4x100m relay
Wide receiver, Oakland/L.A. (1993-2000)
1992 Games (Lillehammer, Winter Olympics)
Herschel Walker, (1962- ), 51 yo
Played football at Georgia
Won 1982 Heisman Trophy
Member of College Football HOF
Placed seventh, two-man bobsled
Running back, Dallas (1986-89); Minnesota (1989-91); Philadelphia, (1992-94); New York Giants (1995)
1996 Games (Atlanta)
None
2000 Games (Sydney)
John Capel Jr. (1978- ), 34 yo
Played football at Florida
Favorite in 200m, finished eighth
Tested positive for marijuana at 2000 Combine
Released by Chicago before training camp (2001); Cut by Kansas City before 2002 season
Never played a regular-season game
2004 Games (Athens)
None
2008 Games (Beijing)
None
2012 Games (London)
Jeff Demps (1990- ), 23 yo
Played football at Florida
Won silver, 4x100m relay
Running back, New England (2012); Tampa Bay (2013- )
Marquise Goodwin (1990- ), 22 yo
Played football at Texas
Placed 10th, long jump
Wide receiver/kick returner, Buffalo (2013- )
They joined failed attempts by the likes of Jim Hines (gold in 100 meter/4x100-meter relay, 1968), nicknamed "Oops" because he couldn't catch the ball, Johnny "Lam" Jones (gold, 4x100-meter relay, 1976), the No. 2 pick and first player to sign a $1 million contract, but who is considered a Jets top-10 all-time draft bust (link), and Sam Graddy (silver, 100 meter; gold, 4x100-meter relay, 1984), one of five sprinters who played for the Raiders over an 11-year period to fulfill Al Davis' insatiable desire for speed. Graddy was the worst of them with just 18 receptions and three touchdowns in five NFL seasons.
Then there are those who materialized out of nowhere and found at least measured results, most notable of them Renaldo Nehemiah. The three-time college national champion hurdler at the University of Maryland and the world record holder was the clear-cut favorite to win gold in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Despite winning the U.S. Olympic Trials, he was ultimately unable to compete due to the 64-nation boycott of the Games led by the United States. He did take gold in the alternate international competition that year, the Liberty Bell Classic held in Philadelphia with 29 countries participating — by a time faster than the Olympic champion — and a year later was the first ever to break the 13-second barrier, but he never had the chance at the Olympic crown.
From such disappointment came new opportunities. Nehemiah still amusedly remembers when the surprising offer came to try out for the Super Bowl favorite San Francisco 49ers. He was a quarterback and wide receiver in high school, but had not played in years and football was not even an afterthought. It was 1982 and Nehemiah had just won his second consecutive "Superstars" competition, a made-for-TV contest that pit some of the world's best athletes against each other and was televised in the U.S. annually most years from 1973-2003. Niners receiver Dwight Clark inquired if he'd ever played football. Before Nehemiah knew it, he was on the receiving end of a practical joke when someone claiming to be a future Hall of Fame coach called his hotel room — only it wasn't a gag.
"When Bill Walsh called me the following morning," recalls Nehemiah, "I hung up on him because I thought it was a prank. He called me back and I said, 'If this is really you, here's my agent's name and number and call him.' A couple hours later my agent called me and said, 'Did you just hang up on Bill Walsh?' And I go, 'That was him? Wow.' Within, I don't know, 48, 72 hours, I was in … San Francisco running routes in secret with the Niners."
After picking the 49ers over a handful of other teams that also showed interest, Nehemiah tallied approximately 750 receiving yards on 43 catches and added four touchdowns during four seasons in the NFL, his final one spent on the injured reserve. He was also on the 1984 squad that won the Super Bowl. Many say he never lived up to expectations, but Nehemiah, now president of his own sports agency, takes it in stride.
"those kind of skills are great regardless of what sport that you do." Curley Culp at his Hall of Fame induction. (Getty Images)
"I never went into it thinking that I would sort of be the best," he says. "I checked my ego at the door. I think I proved that it could be done and you can make the transition. To my point, there have been many first-rounders who hadn't lasted four years or in four years hadn't done much. There's so many people who never even had the chance, and many guys who played in college who never even got drafted, so from that standpoint I'm very pleased."
Nehemiah believes it's the overall intangibles coaches are after that particularly draws them to Olympians, with the mental side as a large factor.
"I think a lot of it is just because we can do a lot of things well that they feel that adaptation would probably come about quicker," he says. "We don't lack for confidence because our motivation is very high in an individual sport — day in, day out, having to go through that grind of preparedness by yourself."
Curley Culp, who had a 14-year career at defensive tackle capped off with a Super Bowl in 1969 and induction into the Hall of Fame earlier this month, was the No. 2-ranked American freestyle heavyweight wrestler and named to the Olympic team in 1968, but opted not to attend the Games in Mexico City. Though he notes there are no guarantees, Culp emphasizes the importance of the physical skills Olympians possess, which lend themselves to the more abstract attributes that also make solid football players.
"Wrestling is a very physical, demanding sport, and you have to have a good, strong will, you have to have good work ethic, in order to be successful there," he says. "And I think those kind of skills are great regardless of what sport that you do. Just to say someone is great in one sport doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be great in another sport, but I think some of the skills that were necessary to be successful in competing Olympically, or as a college athlete, transfer to football."
Meanwhile, Marty Schottenheimer says he never once scouted a player strictly because he was an Olympian.
"I certainly recognize the potential benefit that can be derived in taking a player with that type of skill set because he knows how to compete," he says. "But if that was a characteristic, in my opinion, that would ensure that the guy would give you some reasonable assurance he's going to provide you an edge in the competition in the NFL, more people would be going after them and more people would have been successful doing it. We're talking about totally different competition and environment.
"Go back to the number of Olympians that have been signed to contracts," Schottenheimer continues, "not many of them have made it. And those that were taken later on (in the draft), I mean, it was a flyer. I've always said, your top three picks need to make your team, and you'd better do pretty well in the fourth and fifth round."
As a third-round pick to the Bills, Marquise Goodwin will have high hopes immediately thrust upon him by his new team. Whether he will meet them by besting the results of some of his predecessors, in turn becoming the exception not the rule, is at this point anyone's guess.
***
(Getty Images)
Reminiscing about Goodwin's freshman year, when he and pal D.J. Monroe first met as members of the football team in 2009, his former teammate smiles about having had to explain to his new friend — a soon-to-be collegiate track star, future Olympian and now an NFL wide receiver — how to run.
"It was just crazy," says Monroe, "because he came out there running full speed. I said, 'Bro, this football, this not track. You can gauge your speed. When you break, you use your speed.' I told him, 'You've got to run with your pads low, not high. Low. Because if they catch you up here, you're going to fumble the ball and your helmet might be over there.'"
For survival's sake alone, Goodwin made the adjustments and his career evolved quickly, recalls Texas head coach Mack Brown.
"Before the 2011 season," he writes by email, "Marquise had decided to redshirt and focus on track and field with an Olympic year coming up. But while he was coming back from an overseas trip and thinking about how much he missed his teammates and the game, he asked us if he could change his mind and come back for that season. You could just see how much he wanted to play. He's had great success in both sports, but at the end of the day, what I heard from him was that he really missed football.
"he brings versatility, which all NFL teams are looking for. He'll just keep getting better." (USA Today Images)
"He has tremendous skills — leaping ability, speed, and hand-eye coordination," Brown adds. "He's tough and can be a kick returner as well, so he brings versatility, which all NFL teams are looking for. He'll just keep getting better and better. Marquise, in my opinion, has his best football ahead of him."
In his first preseason game, against Indianapolis this past Sunday, Goodwin immediately showcased his speed, going for two lengthy kickoff returns — the second of which was a 107-yard dash into the end zone.
Once more looking ahead to Week 1 in Orchard Park, with the five interlocking rings permanently etched into his left forearm acting as a common symbol of having competed at the Games, and following a traditional haircut the day before — another of his pre-game customs — Goodwin will be in a place of calm as he officially takes the artificial turf for the first time. With a home crowd of more than 73,000 boisterous fans decked out in royal, red and white excited for the initial chance to cheer their beloved Bills this year, the nerves may be running higher than usual for Goodwin, but he will remain composed because he is used to the limelight.
"I really don't feel like anything will be difficult to handle," he told SB Nation in May. "I feel like I've been carrying myself as a professional even before I became a professional. The biggest challenge really is just staying healthy and available."
For as much pressure as Goodwin may be under, he won't be the only Olympian attempting to navigate a career in the NFL this season. Jeff Demps, a sprinter on the U.S. 4x100-meter relay team that took silver in London, is on the roster for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following four years as a running back at the University of Florida. He signed a free-agent contract with the New England Patriots last season, but only suited up for two preseason games before being shut down and returning to the track. The Bucs then acquired him in a trade during the offseason. Should he make the team if he chooses to continue his football career following the professional track season (link), and plays in Week 1, Demps and Goodwin would simultaneously join the exclusive club as co-36th members.
On the other side of the country, Lawrence Okoye, a 21-year-old British discus thrower who placed 12th in London, signed with the 49ers this past May after impressing at an NFL regional scouting combine in the spring. He is viewed as a serious dark horse candidate. Before camp, Okoye had never played a snap of football, but is a towering 6'6, 300-pound specimen who previously played rugby, and his father, Lawrence Sr., was a defensive end at Nebraska in the '80s. The Niners plan to develop him as a defensive lineman.
San Francisco's unconventional move — one for which they now have a record — once again highlights the league's prolonged history of Olympic interest and courtship. It is this infatuation with the world's best athletes that maintains an underlying curiosity within the NFL over whether someone like Usain Bolt — undeniably the fastest human on earth, but more importantly, someone who was never introduced to the game — could be an X factor in football, if only he could be taught the game. It's the same reason disgraced world-class sprinters, American Justin Gatlin and Briton Dwain Chambers — both with failed tests for performance-enhancing drugs during their track careers — had opportunities to prove their football prowess. Neither would sign contracts. It's also why the Dallas Cowboys drafted former world's fastest man, Carl Lewis, in the 12th round of the 1984 Draft, though he had never played. Notably, the Chicago Bulls did the same, making Lewis the 208th overall selection to the NBA that same year despite him having no history with the sport. Just out of sheer intrigue.
While repeated chances are granted to Olympians, their relative inadequacy underscores why teams had reservations over Goodwin's prospects.
"If I had 1,000 yards or even three extra touchdowns nobody would even question if I was a football player," Goodwin rebutted to Sports Illustrated in April. "If I got as many balls as Tavon Austin no one would even question if Marquise Goodwin is a top pick in the draft."
Curley Culp, the fourth and only living Olympian Hall of Famer, believes Goodwin will be just fine and the skills with carry over. They did for him.
"I am a football player. I don't need track."
"I mean, if you have the skills you have the skills, right? Absolutely," he says. "If you're a great athlete, you're a great athlete. If you acquire certain skills, and those skills are dominant, then you should do well in both sports, I would think."
Regardless, for Goodwin, making it to the NFL fulfills a lifelong dream, just shortly after accomplishing another — representing the United States at the Olympics. And as he flips open the cover on one career, he may have turned the page for good on the other.
"I am a football player," he told Sports Illustrated. "I don't need track. If everything works out as I planned I won't ever need to run track again."
Of course, it won't keep him from sticking to convention and donning his track attire beneath his pads. The Buffalo Bills, the team's many fans and future Olympians looking to make the eventual transition to the gridiron are just hoping that for the long-jumping Longhorn, even if the running tights precede the protective gear when he suits up, that football stays on top, for good.
With Goodwin, the seasons to come will be telling, but as his enduring pre-game routine showcases, old habits die hard, especially when they come from positions of comfort and prior success.
"That guy, he's got ultimate dreams," says Monroe. "He's lived one dream, and I think he's going for his next one. And he'll play as long as he can, as long his body lets him.
"But I feel like he's going to take one more shot at the Olympics."
Producer: Chris Mottram | Design: Josh Laincz