Jalen Ramsey is one of the best athletes in the NFL. He’s big enough to cover guys like Mike Evans, while also fast enough to keep up with Julio Jones and DK Metcalf all the way down the field. And when asked to cover the slot, he’s plenty quick to match up with smaller, shiftier wideouts.
Put simply, his combination of size, speed, strength and explosiveness is rare. It’s no surprise he was a track star at Florida State in addition to being an All-American on the football field.
With the Olympics coming up, Ramsey can’t help but miss running track. Late Sunday night, Ramsey shared a tweet wondering what could have been had he chosen track and field over football and focused all of his attention on it.
I miss track. I used to be able to do a lil sum sum 😂..I really wonder if I would have dedicated my all to track, what if? Track athletes some of the best in the world FR❕Congrats to all the athletes who made the Olympics, especially my dawg @MCJR__ https://t.co/MLicyHxCpp
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) June 28, 2021
While Ramsey was still in college, he dreamed of going to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
“I love track, without a doubt,” Ramsey said in 2015, via NFL.com. “Just like I have football dreams, I have track dreams. Rio’s up next year. The Olympics — that’s something that’s always on my mind. It’s definitely a real possibility.”
In college, Ramsey had a long jump of 26 feet, 1 3/4 inches, which was the third-best in Florida State history at the time. So his performance in college was nothing short of impressive.
But Ramsey has completely turned his focus to football, of course, and it’s worked out great for him. He’s the best cornerback in the NFL, just signed a $100 million deal with the Rams and is coming off an All-Pro season.
And he’s still only 26 years old.
There’s no doubt Ramsey could’ve succeeded in track and field, given his athleticism, but he’s done exceedingly well on the gridiron, too.
