Cross country runners have to deal with a lot. Weather. Mud. Wild animals.
According to NCAA.com's Frank Warner, a cross-country runner in Pennsylvania had a close encounter with one the state's more fleet-footed residents. A very close encounter.
Justin DeLuzio, a senior at Division III Gwynedd Mercy, was knocked off his feet by a deer during an NCAA regional race last week at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa.
DeLuzio was running in an 8k race on the DeSales race route just after noon when at least 10 deer ran into a line of runners from their left, and one of them hit him. The whole thing was caught on video.
"Watch out for the deer!" someone yelled as two deer passed DeLuzio before the third one rammed his stomach and flipped him to the ground. At least seven more deer followed but missed the other runners.
As FoxSports.com's Dan Carson put it, "You don't expect Bambi to hit like Earl Thomas."
"It lifted me off the ground," DeLuzio said. "I turned to my left and boom -- my feet are in the air."
Teammate Matt French stopped to help DeLuzio back up and then ran with him over the four remaining miles to make sure he wasn't seriously hurt. The team said DeLuzio, 21, was sore and badly bruised but OK.
DeLuzio told Fox Sports he heard the warning yells but it all happened too fast for him to have time to process and react.
"Someone yelled, and I caught a glimpse of the deer, and I ... I just didn't expect it," DeLuzio says. "It just flipped me end over end.
"I sat there in disbelief, I wasn't quite sure what had happened. Part of me was like 'This is your last race! Get up!' while the other part like 'I just got hit by a deer! Take a breath and acknowledge what just happened!' "
Eric Bologa, part of the cross country team of Frostburg State University in Maryland, was taking video of the race when the deer galloped toward the runners from an open field.
Bologa posted the video on his Facebook page with an introductory line, "Who says cross country isn't a contact sport?"
DeLuzio and the Griffins, who finished 46th out of 52 schools, were mostly thankful that the rare contact play in cross country did not result in any serious injuries.
"I would definitely say there's relatively low risk in future deer-related injuries in cross-country," DeLuzio told Carson. "I'm just really fortunate for how it did happen. It could've been so much worse."
Rams jam
Former Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson doesn't have high hopes for the franchise based on what he's seen so far.
On Saturday, the Hall of Famer told SiriusXM NFL Radio that even with No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff, mainly because of a dull offense and an inexperienced coaching staff that includes second-year quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke and offensive coordinator Rob Boras, who spent the past 12 seasons as a tight ends coach.
"Then we have a quarterbacks coach -- no offense -- a quarterbacks coach, Chris Weinke, that's coaching our No. 1 pick, that we traded all these draft picks for," Dickerson said. "Show me the proof, show me what you've done, show me your history. What history do you have working with quarterbacks [and] developing quarterbacks?
"Then I could believe, and I just believe that they don't have the right coaches and that's what it comes down to: the coaching of a quarterback. You can't just throw a quarterback out there and expect him to play well."
Dallas Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, seems to be doing all right. Then again, they have Wade Wilson as the quarterbacks coach.
Sports quiz
Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson set the NFL's rookie rushing record with 1,808 yards in 1983. Whose record did he break?
Answer
New Orleans Saints running back George Rodgers, who rushed for 1,674 yards in 1981.
Sports on 11/21/2016