When he is not busy being one of the most attractive athletes oncampus, sprinter Willie Green is occupied with rehabbing from ahamstring injury that has sidelined him for the outdoor trackseason.
After an indoor track season that saw the freshman finish in thetop three in several 60m dashes, the future became uncertain asGreen finished his last 60m race for the 2003 season at theConference USA Indoor Championships in Houston.
"The injury occurred right when I crossed the finish line,"Green said. "I felt a pull. I pulled my hamstring."
Green said he felt he would still be ready for the outdoorseason but his leg wouldn't hold up to his normal pace on thetrack.
"After I thought it healed, I came in and tried to practice,"Green said. "I guess I ran on it too fast and too early. I had tostart all over and try to let it heal again. At the Ole Miss Relay,I tried to run the 200m and I pulled it again."
Tiger head track coach Glenn Hays decided to set his newcomerout for the outdoor season once Green damaged his hamstringagain.
Hays said he watched his sprinter's progress before he made thedecision to redshirt him for the season.
"Willie had a set back when he tried to run fast," Green said."He reinjuried his hamstring and he just has to set out the rest ofthe season. We gave it a long time -- it just wouldn't response. Wehave to just try again next year."
Hays said without the Augusta, Ga., native the relay teams hassuffered along with Tigers not finishing with quicker times in the100m and 200m competition in the outdoor season.
"He was our best sprinter -- our best 60m runner. I would haveassumed he would have been our best 100 man and probably our secondbest 200 man. He could have probably been the best in that," Hayssaid.
"It hurt our 4x100 relay team. It would be my estimate that hewould have ran a 10.3. Our best beyond that is 10.52 or 10.57. Hewould have replaced somebody who has ran a 10.8. We would have beena half of a second faster with Willie on that team."
Green's coach said the track world has to wait and see if thesprinter can live up to the standards he set in his breakout indoorseason.
"Judging from what he ran indoors and who he ran against -- Ithink he is a national class sprinter," Hays said. "Someday he willrun a 10.1 in the 100m. Time will tell though because it is easy topredict. He has to go out there and do it on the track."
Green said once he returns to the track, opponents have to watchtheir backs and his as he passes them.
"It's on next year -- I plan on winning conference in the 200and 100," Green said. "Next year will pretty much be my year. Iknow what to expect and how hard I have to work in the summer toimprove for next year to win it."
