Crawford-Tufts Not Ruling Out Competing in Track

graduate —now a rising star on the University of Minnesota's football team—said watching the Olympics is rekindling his interest in running track once again, according to an interview in the Pioneer Press.

The sophomore wide receiver told the Pi Press he would still be interested in running track at the collegiate level, so long as Coach Jerry Kill was OK with it.

"I was watching Usain (Bolt) last night; he was jogging and still got a 9.63, which is ridiculous," Crawford-Tufts said about Jamaica’s two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 100 meter dash. "Right now my main focus is football. That’s everything for me right now. But you never know what’s going to happen — what coach (Jerry) Kill wants or says I can do. Football is definitely No. 1 though."

Crawford-Tufts has managed to add 17 pounds of muscle during his time at the U, giving him the added bulk needed to take hits while making catches in traffic rather than relying on his speed to outrun defenders.

He played in nine games during his freshman year at Minnesota, hauling in eight receptions for 156 yards.

Crawford-Tufts was also a two-sport athlete during his time at EHS, winning the Minnesota Class AA state title in the 100- and 200-meter dash his junior year. He ran the fastest 100-meter in state history—10.4 seconds—but wasn't able to compete his senior year after at sectional prelims in 2010.

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