I've been teaching at UMass since 1984 and just about every semester I get at least three or four varsity athletes in my classes.

This year, I got to teach a very good wide receiver who is also such a good student that ESPN last month named him to its Academic All-American first team. I refer to Anthony Nelson, a senior from Wellington, Fla., who transferred to UMass last year from Hofstra after Hofstra dropped its football program, and who promptly made an enormous impact with the Minutemen.

In his one season here, Anthony led the team with 57 receptions (ninth-best in UMass history for a single season), led the Colonial Athletic Conference in receiving yards per game (70.1), picked up 250 yards against Delaware and 190 in Gillette Stadium against New Hampshire, ran back punts and kickoffs.

And was a gentleman. And a superior student.

Among Anthony's statistics is a 3.88 GPA, with a major in economics. This week at the UMass Sports Luncheon, Anthony received the university's award for the 2010 Male Scholar-Athlete.

From antiquity, literature and philosophy are full of commentary about the value of a sound mind in a sound body, of physical skill to complement social and intellectual ability. These things long ago became clichés - which is not to say they aren't still true, and that their significance is too often and too easily obscured by the sensationalism of one-dimensional success on the field.

Anthony Nelson is a superb example of how sports can teach the whole person. And you don't have to be as fast, as quick, as talented as he is to understand how, when you are playing a physical game, you develop more than muscle memory and the ability to make routines out of those patterns the coach shows you. You learn about learning itself - about how you react mentally to a situation, how you go from understanding what you're supposed to do to figuring out how you can actually do it.

In the classroom Anthony was one of several talented students. My class that semester somehow collected an unusually high number of hot academic types, quick thinkers, assertive young people who asked lots of questions, challenged conventional thinking.

Anthony was the newest, just arrived from Hofstra, and from a home state far away. He didn't lead the class with receptions or returns - but he was never out of position, his grasp was sure, and he was definitely a starter. He always showed up with a good question in mind about the reading.

He's majoring in economics because, as he said at this week's sports luncheon, he found it immediately fascinating as a discipline. His focus on the assignments was as sharp as his focus on an end-over-end kickoff. If the class were the Patriots, Anthony would be Deion Branch - not flashy, but utterly reliable.

I've almost always been impressed by the UMass football team's attitude toward its students' academic responsibilities. Once or twice I've tried to teach a player who was at UMass only for football and had no clue or no motivation when it came to the classroom. All the others, even if they didn't have Anthony Nelson's academic aptitude, have shown up on time (or early) and contributed to the educational quality of the place. When one like Anthony comes along, it's an extra pleasure.

Safety at night

Back to running - and to the shortage of daylight this time of year. Here's my annual reminder about safety on the roads, where drivers encounter runners who can't run during daylight hours.

Drivers: When you see a runner coming toward you, keep your headlights on low beam. High beams tend to hit runners in the eyes, making us unable to see the ground and easily get out of the way.

Runners: Wear reflective material on your head, torso, ankles, shoes. Better still, get one of those little strobe lights, to make yourself more noticeable and less of a nuisance.

Cyclists: Legally, at night you are supposed to have a headlamp and a taillight working. They're cheap.

Snowstorm Classic

The Greater Springfield Harriers' popular series of winter races in Springfield's Forest Park opened last Saturday and continues through February with alternating 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer races. Last week was a 10K, this Saturday's a 5K and so on through the winter. Races start at 9:30 a.m. at the Skate House beside Porter Lake. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m. No advance online registration, just show up, pay your $4 (or $3 if you are a Harriers member) and run.

A post-race raffle includes tickets to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Majestic Theater. Break your age-group record and you win a gift certificate. The Harriers also award prizes to whoever most closely predicts their finishing time and to whoever finishes all 13 races.

And yes, races are held Christmas and New Year's Day. For more info, visit harriers.org.

John Stifler, who writes a regular column about running and other sports, can be reached at jstifler@econs.umass.edu.