Kennard returns to football

MIAMI — After a disastrous foray into mixed martial arts fighting, Marcus Kennard is returning to football. But it comes with a catch.

The veteran who has spent his football career playing in the secondary said he will be pursuing a different position when he enters the UFSL draft — running back.

Kennard will be going back to his roots with the move to offense, as he was a star in high school as both running back and a corner back. It wasn't until he was a sophomore at Michigan State that the team decided to move him to the defensive side of the ball.

Since losing a chance at fighting for the heavyweight title months ago, Kennard said he has been focused back on football, working out with a special group of trainers at D1 Sports Training in Knoxville, Tenn.

Tim Rogers, one of Kennard's trainers at D1, said the exercises have been built around making Kennard into a strong runner, and emphasizing ball control.

"He is a freak athlete, and the speed was there, but he needed to be powerful," Rogers said. "It involved him pulling objects that were tied to his waist, dragging with his feet. And at the same time, we tried to punch that ball out of his hands."

Kennard developed a reputation as a headhunter in the past, so Rogers said his physicality wasn't an issue in their minds. The challenge, was taking a body molded for fighting and turning it back into a football players body.

"Structurally speaking, there isn't much that needed to be changed, but it was about minor tweaks," Rogers said. "He had developed his fighting game around stand-up fighting, and punching on the ground. It wasn't about speed. We had to get his 40 time from 4.6 down to at least 4.4. That's tough."

To Kennard's credit, according to Rogers, he has improved steadily over the past few months and is ready for the upcoming challenge.

"As I understand it, he doesn't want to play defense, and I think he is ready to play offensively," Rogers said. "Whether he plays running back, or plays wide receiver or something, he will contribute."

Because Kennard hasn't played running back since his freshman season, he might be looked at as a risk at the position, or even a project.

Even with all the work that has been put in by Kennard, football analyst Todd McShay said he isn't sure he's sold on Kennard as a runner.

"I understand what he wants, but is it what other teams want — I don't know," he said. "When you have a guy with his size and ability, he is so versatile. If a college team had him, they might play him at four or five different positions. At the professional level, I think he is limited to one or two positions he can settle in to."

Kennard announced his intentions early this week and has entered his name into considerations for a prospects game, playing running back.

There are a number of running backs available in the upcoming draft, and it might be tough for Kennard to catch the eye of general managers without a standout performance in that game or an individual workout.