LFO’s Floyd is hard to overlook anymore

Matt Holden first encountered Corey Floyd when they were in all-star baseball competition at 5 years old. Holden admits his current Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe teammate didn’t strike fear in opponents.

Thirteen years later, the slugging first baseman and pitcher is still fighting a lack of respect. To help change his reputation, the LFO senior decided to make a major change before his final season.

Like most athletes who hope to attract college scouts, Floyd worked extensively in the weight room. He also ran, he worked on his assortment of off-speed pitches and he refined that sweet left-handed swing that has confounded coaches, teammates and rivals since he was, well, 5. But while those changes were huge, they weren’t the most noticeable.

“Corey decided to lose the glasses this year,” Holden said with a laugh, referring to Floyd’s horn-rimmed spectacles that made him look more scholarly than athletic. “It’s changed his entire look. Corey’s always been a shy type, and when you first meet him you don’t think he’s the most athletic guy. But when you get to know him and play with him, you realize just how good he is.

“I really think he’s tired of being overlooked.”

The new look, courtesy of contact lenses, hasn’t changed Floyd’s smooth game. Something else is different, however, according to his coach.

“I think his whole personality has changed this year,” said Brad Langford, who took over the head coaching job after serving as Michael Brown’s assistant for four seasons. “The first three years here, he didn’t say a word off the field. On the field, he’s got a totally different personality. He’s matured into a leadership role for us, and with Dexter (Scudgins) and D.T. (Daniel Travis) graduating, that was something we needed.”

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Floyd has helped the Warriors get off to a 5-1 start, already earning three pitching wins and hitting over .320 with two home runs and nine RBIs. Those are numbers that might surprise some outside the LFO program, but not Floyd’s coaches or teammates.

“Corey is one of those kids who, as soon as he steps into the batter’s box, always seems to hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat,” Langford said. “He’s worked his tail off to get to where he is. Honestly, I don’t know if anyone believed when he first came in that he would be a front-line starting pitcher and be hitting in the cleanup spot. He deserves everything he gets this year.”

Floyd says he won’t worry about personal attention, only how the team does.

“I just want to win, and anything I can do to help that is what I’m going to concentrate on,” he said. “We have a goal to go further than we did last year (first round of the state playoffs). This team has bonded together and we don’t worry about personal stats.

“I’ve learned you can do anything with hard work and a lot of heart,” he added. “I know people have looked at me and said, ‘This kid can’t have much athletic ability.’ I guess, though, you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

It’s said that great athletes are the ones who rise to the occasion. Floyd did just that late in Tuesday’s 9-3 win over Armuchee. With a couple of scouts in the stands, the Indians wanted to get ace pitcher Tyler Smith in for an inning, so the Kennesaw State signee came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth.

It was just the moment Floyd had been waiting for, a chance yet again to prove himself. With a runner on second base and two out, Floyd worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off two hard-hit balls before sending an RBI single up the middle.

“I wanted to hit against him so bad I couldn’t stand it,” said Floyd, his personality changing immediately when recalling the challenge. “He’s by far the best pitcher we’ve faced this year, so it was nice to see what I could do against him.”

Glasses or no glasses, Corey Floyd will have a hard time being overlooked from now on.