NFLer Ted Ginn Jr tells media he smoked Usain Bolt in HS - Did he actually do this?

coach wrote:

Was Ginn fast enough to be state champ in the 100 meter dash?

That would depend on the year. Based on Ginns skill set as more of a 2/4 guy, and having a PR in the 21.1 range over 200, you gotta figure he would have been capable of at LEAST getting into the 10.6s as a HSer, plus or minus .10 seconds. So, the question of if he could have won a state title in the 100 depends on what year your talking, and if he's on the high end or low end of my plus/minus. Sometimes you can win DI in 10.6x in Ohio. Sometimes you can win in 10.8x. Sometimes you need 10.5x. And, of course, weather plays a huge role in what the state winning time is even really indicative of.

Brandon Saine ran a 10.50 to win one year, but he ran 10.38 previously for the overall state record. I ran one year where nobody in the final -except the winner- broke 11, but we ran into a -4 wind on a cold day. That guy who broke 11 ran a 10.79 for the win into that headwind, but with a +1 that day he might have run a 10.4x. So its hard to judge. But if you can get into the mid-to-low 10.7s, you give yourself a state title chance, and if you get into the low 10.6 and down to 10.5s, you start making it a lock regardless of what year it is.

On one hand, yes he could have won a 100m title in theory as you'd think he could touch around 10.8 or under while in HS, but he never even RAN the 100, really. I've seen NO FAT result for him. Which really says something. Such a situation typically means his start must have been god awful. Other guys with bad starts and late coming-out parties over 100 meters are people like Boling and -of course- Bolt. But where Boling goes low 46 in the 400 and sub 21 over 200 (and of course was running sub 20s before he even approached the 100), Ginn tops out at mid to high 46 in the 400 and low 21s in the 200 as junior/senior in HS. So, despite the shiny 110 time, you gotta figure his start must have made the 100 a really bad fit for him, and why they never bothered to throw him in it.

Ginns senior year, the winning 100 time was 10.81. He had teammates who actually took 3rd and 5th, respectively, at 10.87 and 10.88. So, its interesting, was able to beat those teammates over 100 in practice, or not? Because that might give you the answer.

Here's another interesting example. During Ginns junior year he ran 21.16 in the 200 state final and LOST to a kid who ran 21.12. That kid who ran 21.12 and beat Ginn LOST the 100m final by a wide margin (10.82 to 10.66) to a kid who was an INCREDIBLE starter but couldn't run a 200 worth a lick (at least on comparison to his 100).

So a bad start and acceleration phase in the 100 can doom you, even if you've got the talent of a Ginn.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no, he wouldn't have won a state title in the 100. And that says a lot about 40 times, too; particularly in a track and field sense.

He raced 4 events at the championship. I think you cannot sign up for more, so he probably chose the 400m over the 100m because of his relatively better chances, not whether he could outrun his teammates at 100m.

broscience_the_real_1 wrote:

He raced 4 events at the championship. I think you cannot sign up for more, so he probably chose the 400m over the 100m because of his relatively better chances, not whether he could outrun his teammates at 100m.

Well, his teammates were so close to the winner, themselves, that my point was if he was typically able to preform well against them over a distance more aligned with a 100, then maybe that would be indicative of his ability to have won the 100 that year if he were entered.

And, if he usually lost out to them over those shorter ditances, it shows he would have had little chance.

pants on fire4 wrote:

Ginn has probably told so many people that he beat Bolt over the years, that he thinks he actually did. He was an elite hurdler, but never in his life has he/or could he ever beat Bolt.

I don't see where he ever said he directly beat Bolt.

Based on what I have learned about human memory, he probably thinks he did race Bolt's relay team at Penn because he knows they were both there. It is very easy to fool ourselves into "remembering" things that never happened. A researcher once convinced 70% of college students that they had committed a crime they did not commit when they were younger. Another researcher convinced subjects that they had seen Bugs Bunny at Disneyland.

I bet you have memories of things that never happened or happened but without you.

Ohio state record holder for the 200, Chris Nelloms had a sad departure from a promising career. Serving a life sentence for rape of a 12 year old

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-osu-star-gets-life-for-rape/

The other part was Glenville was looking to put a ton of points up to win championships not just individual titles.

If Ginn was the superior hurdler and long sprint man, let him have at it in those events, rather than the 100m which is a crap shoot. Less margin of error in the 100m.

broscience_the_real_1 wrote:

He raced 4 events at the championship. I think you cannot sign up for more, so he probably chose the 400m over the 100m because of his relatively better chances, not whether he could outrun his teammates at 100m.

His dad was the coach (great guy...love the dude) and he absolutely was going for the team championship that year. They had won the previous year, too. Ginn won the 110h and 300h as a junior and absolutely blew the field away in both events. He destroyed the field and set the state record as a senior in 110h. Record still stands, too. Like I said, he is by far the best hurdler I have ever seen live. Sooooo smooth.

Ted Ginn says he was super-fast, beat Bolt, etc, and would have been a gold medalist? Fine. But aren't there about 20 guys in the NFL that people say would have been gold medalists if they'd concentrated on sprinting over football? And various other could-have-been-greats and can't-miss prospects who chose various and sundry other paths?

That's one of the problems with making outlandish claims about what you could have done: it presumes this alternate world where everything goes right for you, and everyone else is basically a bystander. You are the only one who can ever rise to the occasion, get really pumped up to take down the big rival, etc. Whereas in reality, first of all, you probably fizzle out or get injured before you ever get anywhere. And if you do sort of "make it", your top rivals are also highly motivated to take you down. Ted Ginn was good, but lost races in high school, so he's basically just another in the long line of really fast guys who never won a major title at anything.

ohiaa wrote:

The other part was Glenville was looking to put a ton of points up to win championships not just individual titles.

If Ginn was the superior hurdler and long sprint man, let him have at it in those events, rather than the 100m which is a crap shoot. Less margin of error in the 100m.

Agreed.

RD#1 wrote:

Ohio state record holder for the 200, Chris Nelloms had a sad departure from a promising career. Serving a life sentence for rape of a 12 year old

Wow. That has nothing to do with this thread but man on man. I can't believe I hadn't heard of that. Former world junior champ, NCAA champ and USATF champ. What you didn't mention was the 12 year old was his own daughter according to wikipedia.

I seriously was going to delete the post as I hate off topic posts but it's so shocking, I guess I'll let it stay.

ohiaa wrote:

The other part was Glenville was looking to put a ton of points up to win championships not just individual titles.

If Ginn was the superior hurdler and long sprint man, let him have at it in those events, rather than the 100m which is a crap shoot. Less margin of error in the 100m.

Yeah that was my first thought. It doesn't matter who is the better 100m runner. It is who is the better 400m guy. Runnng 3 guys in the same event is stupid. And event scheduling can also matter a bit.

As far as beating Bolt, thats is a whole different ballgame. I am sure on his best day and Bolts worst, he wins. But normally? He didn't show that level of talent. The difference between one of the best guys in a class and the best guy in like 2 decades is pretty big.

I bet Usain Bolt is counting his blessings and feeling incredibly grateful that Ginn chose football. After all, being the first man to win double individual silver medals in 3 successive Olympic Games would have still been impressive, but he'd be nowhere near as rich and famous based on that resume.

dadsfadsfdasfdsafdas wrote:

The difference between one of the best guys in a class and the best guy in like 2 decades is pretty big.

The difference between Uncle Rico whose life peaked on the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS title game and the best sprinter of all time is even greater.

Ted Ginn’s future in track was in the hurdles if he pursued it. He could’ve been as good as Devon Allen, or he could’ve been worse. He was a very good, but not great HS sprinter. Meanwhile Bolt was a generational sprinter by all measures AND he didn’t try particularly hard or take the sport seriously.

As a junior in 2003, Ginn ran away with the Adidas outdoor nationals 110 title over future NCAA champ and WR holder Aries Merritt and future NCAA and World champ Jason Richardson. Wasn't even close.

If Usain Bolt is a strain of weed, then I could totally see Ted Ginn Jr smoking him some Usain Bolt in high school.

I saw Ginn race in HS throughout his career.

He was FAST. His start was ridiculous.

There is no doubt that he would win the 100 in HS if that is what he concentrated on. My guess is low 10.4 range

I ran in the same 4x4 as him and overlapped at football camps (he was older and obviously infinitely more talented).

-He would have been an olympian in the hurdles, and given US dominance in the hurdles he likely would have been an Olympic finalist.

-He would have been a D-1 all american in the 200 and potentially the 400. I don't think that would be the case with the 100.

The claims re Usian Bolt are obviously nonsense. I don't think he believes them either - its for media attention. He said he would race Matt Boling a year ago... Ginn would almost certainly lose to him right now.

Ginn was blessed with great field vision and the ability to make people miss in space. Its made him $40mm over 12 years in the NFL. I don't think there are any active sprinters other than Bolt who have made more than that.

What he was able to do college players on punt returns was just laughable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mmbbPKL3uc

Wasn't even close = winning by .02 over Richardson?

Both were juniors FYI, though Ginn was a year older than Richardson. Merritt blossomed a year later and despite being a grade ahead of Ginn is actually younger than him and was a better hurdler at age 19 (world junior gold, 13.47 at pro heights). The next year, Richardson DNF'ed which is a shame. Ginn was definitely one of the best HS hurdlers ever, and a very good sprinter. No guarantee he would've done as much as Richardson/Merritt, but I'd like his chances to get close. Do not think he would break 10 in the 100, though.