It’s a Must to Keep Track of Fast Times

College football coaches are kept busy in March and April with spring practice, but they still make time to dissect sports sections, looking for speed.

And how do college recruiters spot speed? They check out the high school track times on Fridays and Saturdays searching for football players who are running swift times in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and hurdles.

Junior receiver Corey Anderson of Lake Balboa Birmingham opened some eyes with a 21.8-second 200-meter clocking in his second race of the season last month when he beat Washington-bound Dan Howell of Newhall Hart.

“He’s just maturing,” Birmingham track Coach Scott King said. “When we get to some speed work, it’s going to be exciting to see what he can do.”

Junior running back/cornerback Cary Harris of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is dropping his 100-meter time seemingly on a weekly basis. Last week, he ran a 10.5 hand time. He has done 10.84 electronically.

Harris is improving so much that track Coach Joe McNab believes he can threaten Justin Fargas’ school record of 10.37 by the time he graduates.

“If he keeps working hard, he’ll challenge it,” McNab said.

If recruiters for USC Coach Pete Carroll and UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell didn’t notice Harris’ times, they’d be considered sleeping on the job.

Track is the sport football players use to get faster. Fast times in early meets are an indication of who is making rapid progress before the real speed training kicks in prior to the Southern Section and City championships.

At perennial City power Los Angeles Dorsey, football Coach Paul Knox requires all his skill-position players to join the track team.

“Anyone who’s supposed to touch the ball has to be in track unless they play another sport,” Knox said. “We feel our speed is an advantage, and we need our skill players working on their speed.”

David Gettis, Dorsey’s outstanding junior receiver, is the defending state 400-meter champion. Courtney Williams, a junior defensive end who led the team in sacks, finished second in the 200 in the invitational portion of Saturday’s Pasadena Games. Does any team have a defensive end as fast as Williams?

Dorsey’s returning running backs, Stafon Johnson and Jeremiah Johnson, are sprinters for the track team.

When a football player spots another football player in a track meet, the competitive juices begin to flow. The crowds aren’t as large and there won’t be any physical contact, but the competitive instinct kicks in to show who’s going to be ready for the fall.

“It brings the intensity level higher,” Anderson said. “It gets you more pumped up. In my mind, Gettis has been my competition. He’s been the person I’ve been trying to get. When I see him in a race, it brings up my intensity level.”

Anderson, 6 feet 1, 165 pounds, knows what speed means to him.

“For me, I’m not the biggest person in the world,” he said. “I’m most likely to get recruited because of my speed.”

Birmingham football Coach Ed Croson can’t wait to see how fast Anderson will be this fall.

“The kid can fly,” Croson said. “I can tell you right now, we’re glad to have him. He’s got that extra gear. If you don’t grab him right away, you’ll have a hard time catching him.”

Anderson’s speed will allow him to return kickoffs and punts in addition to his receiving duties.

And he promises, “I don’t think anyone will catch me from behind.”

Notre Dame’s McNab, who also serves as defensive coordinator for the football team, said track workouts are invaluable in helping football players improve their speed.

“Speed is a skill that can be taught,” McNab said. “If you have better mechanics and learn proper bio-mechanics, you’re going to run faster.”

One reason Notre Dame has won consecutive Southern Section Division III football titles is the work done in the off-season.

Besides Harris, sophomore running back Rodney Glass is creating excitement in track. He has run the 100 in 10.95.

And sophomore quarterback Garrett Green, weighing a muscular 185 pounds, is running 15.1 in the 110 high hurdles.

Chastin West, the leading receiver at Moorpark as a junior, has run the 100 in 10.8.

If college football coaches like players who are daring and tough, beware of junior defensive end Andrew Stevens of Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula. He has gone 13-7 in the pole vault.

Some football players have decided that individualized instruction is better than competing for their school’s track team, so they’ve hired private tutors to help them improve their speed.

“You’re not competing against anyone. You’re doing it for yourself,” said junior receiver Gavin Ketchum of Oak Park, who hired former USC football player Travis Hannah as his trainer.

Football players know that speed matters, and recruiters are paying close attention to those track times.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com