re: Is Billy Cannon the original Freak athlete in LSU History?

There have not been many SEC football athletes to have won an SEC championship in the 100 yard/meter dash, and even then, most of them are novelty players. (Actually, the only other 3 that I know of [either pre-Billy or post-Billy] are Chris Cummings, Leonard Scott, and Trindon Holliday--no Herschel Walker and no Bo Jackson.)

Not only that, but Billy almost certainly could have been an Olympic weightlifter had he (1) not been such a damn thug/delinquent all the time, and (2) not focused his training so much on football and sprinting.

The dude was the original freak. Before Bo Jackson, there was Billy Cannon, and just like Bo Jackson after him (and Mickey Mantle before him), his pro career potential was sadly cut short very early in his career with a serious knee injury. And yet, even AFTER ending his career as a RB, he was still talented enough that the Raiders were able to switch him to TE, where he also made All-Pro and finished out an 11-year pro career before going into the lucrative fields of dentistry and counterfeiting. How many NFL players do you know that have made All-Pro at multiple positions?

Billy Cannon was the very embodiment of talent and human potential.