Jordan Anthony runs for the University of Kentucky and is one of the best sprinters on their nationally competitive team. Yet that’s only telling half of the story. Jordan was also the fastest 200 meter sprinter in all of high school in 2022 so it’s safe to say that expectations are high for him at the college level. He just finished his freshman season, and ran really fast while doing it. But what is surprising is that he didn’t even qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships as a freshman in any event, which is not only a disappointment, but a cause for concern. The truth is that Jordan Anthony has the talent to become one of the best sprinters, not only in the NCAA but perhaps in the World. But only if he makes one major change in his career.

Jordan Anthony is not close to his full potential 

What I neglected to mention is that Jordan Anthony is a two sport athlete. He was a 4 star football recruit for the University of Kentucky who essentially redshirted his first football season. Playing two sports at the D1 level suggests that track and field is only receiving a fraction of Jordan’s attention at this time. That said, two sport athletes are nothing new to track and field, but when insanely talented freshmen who play another sport, begin to focus on track alone, the results are often exceptional.

On the women’s side Abby Steiner began her Kentucky career as a soccer player, but we all know her from track and field. Years later she became a collegiate record holder in the 200 meter. But football players have done this too where Devon Allen, a football player originally at the University of Oregon crossed over as a 110 hurdler, and later broke the NCAA championship meet record. Even Marvin Bracy began his college career as a football player at Florida State, and today focuses on track and field, and is now an Olympian and the 100 meter world championship silver medalist in 2022.

Jordan Anthony is still really good at track and field, so good in fact that he finished second overall at the NCAA indoor meet in the 60 meter dash. That is even more surprising when you realize he didn’t even make the finals in what we all though was his best event. To clarify, he didn’t make the 200 meter dash final at the SEC conference meet, much less the NCAAs. That indoor season proved what he is capable of. He ran 6.55 seconds in the 60 meter dash, earning the respect of anyone who doubted his abilities. The NCAA has seen fast freshmen through the past decade, and none of them have been as fast as Jordan Anthony through 60 meters. The coach in me knows that any sprinter who can dominate a 60 is capable of dominating the 100 and 200. Their issue is being trained well enough to maintain their top speed, and endure to the line. So long as Jordan splits his energy between the track and the football field, it is unlikely we will ever see what he can actually do. Which is too bad because history is telling us he could do a lot more than this. But don’t take my word for it, take a look at the numbers.

Jordan Anthony is already faster than other great freshmen sprinters 

To declare a young athlete as a potential great is a very big deal, and Jordan Anthony has already done some very big things. In his first collegiate meet he ran several rounds of the 60 meter dash. He got progressively faster through that meet eventually running 6.59 and 6.57 6.57 seconds. Not only did he run an insanely fast time but he won the meet while doing it. And in his second meet he would win another 60 meter dash final, running 6.55 seconds at altitude. Virtually none of the recently great sprinters in the NCAA have run this fast this early. Outdoors Jordan ran 10.16 in the 100 and 20.98 in the 200 meter dash. Those are fast times, but we know he is capable of much more. Especially in the 200, because he ran 20.35 wind legal at the high school level. The standard for Jordan is not what other freshman are doing, it is actually what he is capable of, and that is much more than this.

Consider that Trayvon Bromell famously won the 100 meter national championship as a freshman. When he ran indoors that year, he never broke 6.65 seconds, and that was at the indoor national meet. Before Trayvon there was another elite sprinter named Jeff Demps who was the national high school record holder in the 100 meter. He ran 6.57 as his freshman year personal best, and that was also at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Even the greatest starter of them all, the current world record holder Christian Coleman only ran 6.58 seconds during his freshman year, only breaking the 6.6 barrier one time. Jordan is already faster than all of them at this point in his career, the starting point. Which begs the question “how fast can he go?” once his career truly takes off.

Jeff Demps is the cautionary tale, an insanely talented sprinter who never realized his full potential one might say. He played his entire career for the Florida Gators football team, and even attempted NFL success. Which makes me wonder if he ever had his heart fully invested in either sport. He won NCAA championships in the 100 and the 60 meter dash, but ran slower than Jordan did in the 60 when he did it. In addition, his 100 meter dash PR is wind aided. In fact, his high school 100 meter PR was never broken in his college career. Jeff ran a bit on the international scene for America but never won anything of note individually. Perhaps that is a success for most track athletes, but when you come to college as the national high school record holder in the 100 meter, and never win anything as an individual in the pros, there’s more than one way to look at it.

The Bottom Line

There is no way to know for certain what the future has in store for Jordan Anthony. But conventional wisdom suggests that how you start is often how you finish. Considering that Jordan is already starting off better than any of the greats in recent memory. He should have a long list of great track and field finishes, and the medals around his neck to match if he chooses to make track and field his main event.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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