Dual-sport star: Noah Igbinoghene making his mark on football and track

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AUBURN, Ala. – It's a Friday afternoon in April. The sun is beating down on Noah Igbinoghene as he stands on the track and stares down at the sand pit he's about to jump into. Two weeks earlier, he was on the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium playing in the spring game. But on this day, his focus is on track and field and his main event – the triple jump.
 
It's not unlike when Igbinoghene stands in the end zone awaiting the kickoff in football. There's the anticipation. The adrenaline coursing through his veins. Though he likens it more to playing cornerback – the position he began playing this spring.   
 
"I compare track to playing cornerback because while there's still a team aspect, you're on an island by yourself," Igbinoghene said. "When I'm jumping, I'm the only one on the runway. There's nobody else with me. I'm the only one who determines how far I jump.
 
"In football, other positions like wide receiver, you've got to depend on the quarterback getting you the ball. But corner, you're by yourself. You're on an island by yourself."
 
After clapping some to get the crowd into it and to get himself hyped up, Igbinoghene takes off. He sprints down the track and when he closes in on the sand pit, he jumps, takes one step, then another, and then he propels himself as far as he can into the sand.  
 



It's rare to see a dual-sport athlete at this level any more, especially given the demands of playing SEC football, but when Gus Malzahn and his staff recruited Igbinoghene, they offered the chance for the star athlete to continue his jumping career and follow his dreams of one day competing in the Olympics.
 
"It's definitely a hard thing," Igbinoghene said. "At first, I had to learn how to balance school, track and football at the same time. But football was very patient with me, very lenient with me with the workouts. They just let me focus on track when track season came, and I didn't even have to worry about football all that much.
 
"The way football handled it, the way my coaches handled it, it was an easy transition for me. The hardest thing for me was probably balancing everything out with school."
 
It's not like Igbinoghene is an afterthought on the football team either. As a freshman, he was thrown into the fire as one of the team's primary kickoff returners. He also caught six passes for 24 yards. And this spring, looking to get him on the field more, the coaching staff tried him out at cornerback where he lined up with the first-team defense in the spring game.
 
"He responded very well (to the position change)," Malzahn said. "He's a tough guy. He's a smart guy. He caught on well. And he did a super job with that. He's a guy we feel like can do both (offense and defense) next fall."
 
With fall camp beginning Friday, Igbinoghene will turn his full attention to football for the next five months where he's a prime candidate to enjoy a breakout season.


 
But once the football season is over, it's on to track where the gains could be just as significant seeing as he barely scratched the surface as a freshman. He now knows what to expect in terms of preparation, and the more opportunities he has to work with Auburn assistant track and field coach Greg Stringer, the more he will improve.
 
Stringer, who coaches horizontal jumps for the Tigers, sees the potential. It's just a matter of working with him and helping him hone his craft.
 
"When you come straight from football and score in the SEC championship indoor, that's speaking volumes," Stringer said. "It's in him. Anytime your mom and dad are Olympians – you know it's in the genes.
 
"If I can just get him in. He was still in the mode where it was natural for him in high school, but at this level, I just have to take over the conversation and say, 'Hey listen, these are the things that are going to help you. You're already strong enough. You don't have to come out here and put in the work right now because football, you're strong. You're working. All we've got to do is just practice the fundamentals, the technique.'"
 
The dream for Igbinoghene has always been to represent his country at the Olympics and play in the NFL. At Auburn, that dream can still very much become a reality.
 
In fact, it could become the start of something special between the football and track and field teams. Auburn just signed wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, who recently finished second in the 100 meters at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland and plans to run for the track team. Freshman running back Shaun Shivers also has plans to do both in college.
 


"I'd just like to thank football for allowing us to use [Igbinoghene]," Stringer said. "And if they would continue to do that, we'll try to stay in compliance and keep him healthy and faster and also help this Auburn family. He could do it. He can definitely help us. 
 
"And with the relationship with Anthony coming over from football as well, I think we're entering something sweet here with football and track."
 
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf