Savage Truth

by Achilles on May 1, 2008 1:34 PM PDT in Football

Yes, the title is a blatant rip-off of Dan Savage, but I consider it a tribute.

Thursday's Daily Bruin has a nice feature on two-sport athlete Darius Savage.

Here is an excerpt:

For any athlete at UCLA, it is tough to handle the rigorous schedule of practices, workouts, meetings and class.

For Darius Savage, multiply that strenuous schedule by two and you would have a better idea what he has been through during his career so far at UCLA.

The sophomore from San Diego has spent his first two years as a Bruin shuffling his focus from the Rose Bowl to Drake Stadium, balancing his life between football and track and field.

This spring quarter, everything has been crammed into one. With the track season in full swing and the start of spring practice, this is the first time Savage has had to deal with both sports at the same time.

"It's pretty busy," Savage said. "It's probably been the hardest few weeks for me athletically."

It is not an easy schedule. Football workouts in the mornings. Class during the day. Track practice Mondays and Wednesdays. Football practice three times a week. Lifting and conditioning. Tutoring and meetings. After some reading and a little time to relax, it's finally time for bed.

Although it seems like a lot, Savage seems to have handled everything well, and he is excelling on the football field and in the throwing circle.

UCLA has had it's share of two-sport stars: Freddie Mitchell (football and baseball), Danny Farmer (football and volleyball), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (basketball and track and field), Ryan Hollins (basketball and track) ... just to name a few.

Personally, I'm glad to see Darius doing well in both sports. He's projected to start on the offensive line in football and he's an All-American in shot put. More than that, I'm glad the coaches are open to players participating in two sports. I feel that attitude benefits recruiting (and thus the team) and also benefits the student athletes.

Here is a picture from the Daily Bruin web site:

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An awesome Savage

A week or two ago, there was a picture of Savage on one of the BN links - maybe BRO - showing him in his track outfit with a shot in his hand. I'm sure many of you may have seen it. Perhaps because he had a more menacing expression on his face, he looked even more impressive than the above photo. I understand he has little actual football experience. It will be interesting to follow his career.

by Offside on May 1, 2008 2:08 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Menancing

He needs to be a nasty beast if he is going to excel on Saturdays for us in the Fall and eventually on Sundays as some (CRN) are predicting. Or at least he needs the ability to flip a switch and get nasty if that isn't his everyday demeanor.

From what I've seen and heard, I think this kid is the real deal and could eventually be an All - American in both T & F and Football.

The Savage Beast.... is what we need!!

by Bald Eagle on May 1, 2008 2:32 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs