Bing Now Chasing Olympic Dream
Mar 16 | Football
By Tom Luicci
ScarletKnights.com
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - It wasn't until his senior year in high school, when he was literally running away from people, that Brandon Bing says he knew he possessed elite speed.
That speed carried him to a four-year career as a cornerback at Rutgers from 2007-10, and then to two years as a practice squad player in the NFL - with one of those seasons earning him a Super Bowl ring with the Giants.
Now the 5-10, 175-pounder from Wyncote, Pa. (Cheltenham High School) is in a dead-sprint toward another rare athletic goal: The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with his sights set for now on the 200 meters and 400 meters.
"My mom was the one who kind of put the idea in my head," said Bing. "After I got hurt with the Giants (a lingering hamstring injury) she said to me, `football challenges you but track and field is your calling.'
"My interest in track and field had never really matched my interest in football. I played football since I was seven years old. But she has always said that track is something that was always natural for me and now that football is fading for me she said `why don't you try track again?' "
That led to a call to his former high school track coach Bob Beale - and some eye-opening reality.
"He told me `It will take about a year for you to get back in track shape.' I looked at him and said `A year? Really?' " Bing said. "So I started training again the end of 2013. I was 186 pounds when I stopped playing football. I dropped some weight. I'm at 175 now.
"I've changed my diet, my workout routine, my weight room route. Eventually, the goal is the 2016 Olympics. First I have to get my times out there and sign up with a team and then make the U.S. team and hopefully run in the World Championships in Beijing, China (Aug. 22-30). There are steps to getting there. I know that."
Despite the daunting odds, Bing remains undeterred. Beale says there's no reason his former star can't make a serious run at this, too.
"Brandon is an extremely talented individual," Beale said. "He didn't get a chance to realize that potential in college as a track athlete, but he has a gift.
"He needs to get his body ready for the highly intense competition he's going to face. But he has shown the willingness to work. I think it's worth a shot."
A three-time Pennsylvania state champion in the 200 and 400 meters, Bing once ran a 4.28 in the 40 during his Rutgers football days, playing in a secondary as a senior in 2010 that included Joe Lefeged, David Rowe, Duron Harmon, Marcus Cooper, Brandon Jones and Logan Ryan. Bing had 65 tackles, an interception and a sack that season.
But, as he acknowledged, "track and field shape and football shape are two totally different things."
Then there's the age factor. At 25, he's getting a late start on an Olympic track and field dream.
"I don't believe I'm too old for this," he said. "The peak in track and field is typically between 23 and 26. That's what I've been told. Actually, because I've been active for six years - four at Rutgers and two in the NFL - it's not like I was home for six years doing nothing. I was running the whole time. That year that my high school coach told me it would take to get back was more about form and technique. You lose that if you're not doing it every day.
"So, no, I'm not too old for this. I believe I'm the fastest I've ever been. I recently clocked 4.23 in the 40. I'm in the low 10s in the 100, I'm in the 45-(second) range in the 400 and in the 20-range in the 200. As of now I'm on pace to not only make a track team but also being in the conversation of being in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (site of the 2016 Olympics)."
Though there are plenty of instances of NFL players competing in the Olympics, there are only two who own a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic medal: Former Dallas Cowboys great Bob Hayes and ex-San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Michael Carter.
Bing is aware of the rare company he's trying to keep.
"I have an opportunity to be one of the select few to be part of a team that won the Super Bowl and compete in the Olympics," he said. "It's the highest level of each sport. That's what I'm shooting for now."
Though he has been fast for as long as he can remember, Bing said it wasn't until he was a senior in high school, distancing himself from sprint competition, that he fully understood he had a gift.
"Anyone I run into now that knew me when I was young, and I'll go back as far as when I was six years old, they say I've always been fast," Bing said. "And I've always known I was fast. But the separation, when I knew I was at a different level, an elite level, was going into my senior year in high school. I had put in the work then to be as good as I could be and it paid off.
"I came back that outdoor season and no one was close to me in the 200 or the 400. Then all of sudden I started hearing from track programs at Florida and Florida State. That's when I really knew I was fast."
Bing is keeping his options open for this track comeback, saying he is working on the 100, 200 and 400 meters, as well as the triple jump, although he acknowledged his strength is the 200 and 400.
"The big thing for me now is to remain healthy. I'm at the stage where I'm back outside getting acclimated to running there," he said. "I'll run the times I'm capable of, get with a team and run the way I'm capable of and hopefully qualify for different meets and different levels. I understand it's a process.
"But now that I'm back running seriously I'm shooting for the highest level and for running for the best team possible. That's my mindset."
