MIAMI -- Classes are over for the day and while most students have left for home, some are still roaming Miami Central.
One group of kids is playing on the high school's track, speaking "Spanglish" and pushing each other on a skateboard. As they stop and start, a lean figure in a green compression shirt and black shorts smoothly runs past.
The teens' conversation is quickly drowned out by the runner's feet hitting the rubber track. The pounding alternates with the breaths that are exhaled on an 88-degree day.
"Give me 10 more percent," a voice tells the young man.
It's at this point when James Cook, the young running back who committed to Florida State as a high school freshman, nods his head and does what's instructed.
This particular workout is in preparation for the Class 3A state track meet the following Saturday. Cook qualified for state in the 400 meters by finishing fourth at the regional meet in 48.83 seconds; he was the only freshman to make the regional finals in that event.
"I'm at state for the 400," Cook says matter-of-factly. "And I plan on winning it."
Cook is nothing if not confident.
His words aren't forced. They are more measured than anything.
Actions, however, are different. Cook's plan on the football field is to essentially surpass all of the things his older brother, Dalvin, accomplished at Central.
"I mean, everybody knows me as Dalvin's brother, but I am trying to change that and be my own name," Cook told Warchant.com. "And work hard. Work harder than he did in high school. Work harder than he did at college and break all his records."
Does Dalvin know this?
"I'll show him. He ain't gotta know. I'll show him," Cook said.
Click here to read the rest of this feature on Miami Central running back James Cook. Find out how Central coach Roland Smith believes the two brothers compare on the field, learn more about the family's athletic legacy, and see what the younger Cook has in store for this season.
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