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Courtesy of Clemson University

Clemson’s Jacoby Ford will run in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which begin this morning in Des Moines, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Imagine this scenario, having an opportunity to run in the 2008 Olympics or playing football for a team that has an opportunity to play for ACC and National Championships. That’s the dilemma Clemson wide receiver and track star Jacoby Ford could be faced with when the NCAA Outdoor Championships are completed this week in Des Moines, Iowa.

The championships get started with the preliminary rounds today at Des Moines’ Drake University.

“I want to make the finals and be a track outdoor all-American,” Ford said Tuesday.

But if Ford, who will run along side teammate Travis Padgett in the 100-meter dash, does accomplish his goal, it’s likely he might earn an opportunity to compete in the U.S. Olympic time trials later this summer.

“I would have to talk to my family first,” Ford said. “I’m going home next Tuesday, so it would be something I would have to talk over with them. I’m pretty sure, and more than likely, I will not go because I know football is going to be my main love and if I had to choose, I will always pick football above track.”

There is a good chance Ford will have to make that choice.

Ford was All-ACC and All-Region in the 100-meters after a fourth-place finish in Tallahassee, Fla., in the NCAA East Regionals last month. He holds a season-best time of 10.21 seconds. If he records a time like that this week – he needs just a 10.28 – then he will indeed be invited to Eugene, Ore., the host of the Olympic time trails.

The three fastest times in the 100 at the trails will make team USA, and then three other selected sprinters will fill and make up the relay team.

“I think about the Olympics and Coach (Charles) Foster always talks to me about it,” Ford said.

But Ford has also talked to football coach Tommy Bowden. With the Beijing Games not completed until Aug. 24, Ford knows it would be nearly impossible for him to train and compete for the Olympics and then try to be ready for a long and grueling football season in less than a week.

“I told him (Foster) I wasn’t going to try and pursue it this year because if I did happen to make the team, the Olympics are not over until six days before our first game which means I would have to be over there training to get used to the air over there instead of training over here and getting prepared to play Alabama,” he said. “A lot of things have been going through my head, but I think I made the right decision. I’m just going to take a break and get my legs back up under me and get ready for this football season.”

A season Ford and his teammates are anxious to get started.

“We have a lot of talent coming back this year with a lot of veterans,” Ford said. “It’s going to be a real fun football season this year.”

Though there are still seven weeks before camp starts on Aug. 1, the Tigers are already having a little fun seeing how people are reacting to what preseason magazines have been saying about the 2008 squad. Every magazine has predicted Clemson to win the ACC Championship this year and has them in the top 10, while Phil Steele’s magazine has the Tigers picked fifth nationally and as a legitimate contender in the national championship race.

“We are really excited about it because it shows that we are a little more respected nationally than we were the year before,” Ford said.

But there are still those naysayers. Several so-called experts in the media have already taken their shots at Clemson, calling it one of the more overrated teams in the country. Ford says the team is using those words as extra motivation this summer.

“That’s always good to go out there and have a little chip on our shoulder because people are going to be wanting to see what Clemson is going to do,” Ford said. “‘Are they going to fall down like they usually do?’ Hopefully this will be the year that we finally funnel all the criticism that we get and take all the heat off our coaches and go out there and make plays and see what we can do this year.

“We have too many veterans on the team and everybody is really excited.”