Jehu Chesson dominates in Track & Field State Championships

Submitted by Leaders And Best on

Jehu Chesson took 1st in the 100m dash (10.70s), 2nd in the 110m hurdles (14.15s), and 1st in the 300m hurdles (37.77s) at the Missouri Class 4 Track & Field State Championships.  He lost the 110m hurdles by 0.01s which kept him from the clean sweep.  He could be the sleeper of the 2012 class.

Nice blurb on his performance: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/boys-track/hazelwood-central-earns-third-straight-class-title/article_f43c79a2-a78c-11e1-b7d2-0019bb30f31a.html

David Kvidahl @stlprepscribe

that there is ladue's jehu chesson. won the 100 and 300 hurdles. runner up in 110 hurdles. http://pic.twitter.com/vIaTuhkN

kaykaybroke

May 27th, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^

For someone who's main knock coming out of high school was his speed...this makes me feel better about our WR's next year. Dude is 6'3 with legit hops, and has the speed to stretch the field vertically. I think he'll have a big impact this season.

Baldbill

May 27th, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^

wow, clearly he has some speed, if I remember right, didn't the ESPN eval of him question his speed? That seems pretty off the mark in light of his track feats. So he has good height and speed, the ability to run a good route can be learned, speed not so much. I like this guy more and more.

 

Lionsfan

May 27th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^

Hopefully he can fill out a bit. Obviously he's doing fine, since he's got a D1 schollie, but it just seems like one big hit would break him

NDPhilly

May 27th, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^

Darboh is a nice player but Chesson is better IMO

ND has a physical freak coming in at receiver to. Chris Brown who's 6'3" with a fastest 100 of 10.51, 200 of 21.60, High Jump of 6'10", Long Jump of 23'9", and a 51' triple jump.

Don

May 27th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

You are so right—Jehu Chesson, at 6-3/175, will break in half just like Anthony Carter (5-11/161) and Desmond Howard (5-10/172) did before him. Too bad you have to be well over 200 lbs to be able to take a hit.

WolverLaker

May 27th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^

Don't mean to be a downer, but as a track and football coach, I can say that track speed is different than football speed.  Even when I played there were kids that I was faster than in football, but not in track.  With that being said, the kid is definitely fast.  Will be nice to see how it translates on the field.

WolvinLA2

May 27th, 2012 at 2:46 PM ^

I agree that just because a guy is fast on the track, it doesn't mean it will translate on the football field.

HOWEVA, if there is a guy you already know is a good football player (like Chesson), then it's definitely a good thing to see fast track times.

Wolfman

June 28th, 2016 at 2:34 AM ^

Was it on this blog? I am not certain where I read it, but I read one of the reasons NFL analysts were so high on Jehu was that he showed no more fear running over the middle than he did straight down the sidelines to catch the ball. They just love that. 

I should have read Don't post immediately below because he usually makes a nice, logical post and I am certain I saw mention of A.C. If I did, I am certain it was more of this. His size didn't matter. You weren't going to break that young men, ever. One of the thinnest frames I've ever seen and his legs might finish second to mine in terms of thickness. That would be the only time he ever finished so high. Regardless, this was one tough man and there is no doubt why Bo pursued him so heavily and why he was always one of his favorites. Just a baller. 

rob f

May 27th, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^

He's gonna be playing in the B1G.  That makes him slow.  All SEC players are faster, even linemen.  Any CFB expert/talking head could---and will---tell you so.

Naked Bootlegger

May 27th, 2012 at 3:01 PM ^

The recruiting gurus may not like his straight-line speed, but they clearly have underestimated Jehu's speed while hurdling over defenders on his way to the end zone.   The dude can fly.

Born Blue

May 27th, 2012 at 9:04 PM ^

As a former football & track guy athlete and coach, I've heard it all before.  I wonder what Mike Holloway & Urban Meyer (the coach @ UF when these athletes were recruited) have to say about Percy Harvin & currently, Jeff Demps?!!?  Relax dude, track, as you know, is a LARGELY non contact sport...that's what makes the difference.  And, oh by the way, Herschel Walker STILL runs a 4.4 40!!

NOLA Wolverine

May 28th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^

His speed doesn't look bad at all in his films, and these numbers pretty much confirm what the video shows: straight line speed is not an issue. Maybe the evaluators didn't like that he runs a bit "smoother" than most? I.E. he's no one to make explosive cuts or change in directions? He looks like a non-pothead version of Charles Rogers.

Opinion25

May 28th, 2012 at 5:01 PM ^

In fairness to the recruiting services (whose job is impossible to do with precision), ppl may be exagerating the raters saying he lacked speed, at least their was a mix of opinions. In particular, when HS kids play against lesser competition, it can be really hard to judge game speed at the next level. The ESPN scouting report felt that he had "good speed", but it MIGHT be more competitive speed than elite spead. Since in footaball, speed after the first 30-40 yards is much less important than it is in track, Chesson may indeed lack elite football speed if his track success is due to beating folks in the second 50 (note that he also runs the 200m).

This is not to say that his success in track isn't good news, only that the rating of good, but not great, football speed may in fact be the case. But in someone who is tall, and received good ratings for hands, high-pointing the ball, and route running, good speed may be all that he needs to be a great colleage receiver. Let's wish him the best.

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/evaluation/_/id/127591/jehu-