Cal Football: First Skydiving Experience Was a `Super Rush' for Camryn Bynum
Former Cal cornerback Camryn Bynum's focus right now is preparation for the NFL Scouting Combine, where he hopes to gain the attention of pro scouts.
A first-team All-Pac-12 selection, Bynum is in Dallas, Texas, working at Olympic track star Michael Johnson's high-performance training facility with a group of prospective NFL draftees, including Oregon State star linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr.
It's all business these days for Bynum.
But in October, as he and his Cal teammates awaited the start of the Pac-12 football season, Bynum checked off a long-time bucket goal when he jumped out of an airplane at 18,000 feet for his first skydiving experience.
“I’m a daredevil, so it’s something I’ve always kind of wanted to do,” Bynum says in the video above.
As a kid, Bynum loved jumping off cliffs or doing bicycle jumps. “All the fun stuff.”
Actually, skydiving was teammate Elijah Hicks’ idea. With his birthday approaching, Hicks suggested the two try skydiving. Then they convinced fellow cornerback Chigozie Anusiem to join them.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t scary at all,” Bynum said. “It was just a super rush. I had super fun.”
Enjoying the moment
When the plane reached 18,000 feet, Bynum recalled sitting in the open door with his legs dangling outside. Before jumping, Bynum asked the instructor — who was attached to him for the tandem jump — if they could do backflips during the free-fall portion of the jump.
Here's a video of Bynum's inaugural skydiving experience.
“We just fell off the plane and started doing backflips — it was crazy,” he said.
A backflip 3 miles above the earth
The initial few seconds were intense. “When you jump, it’s like a magnet yanking you to the ground,” Bynum said. “Right after you feel the pulling sensation, you’re floating. You’re free-falling. Then it’s just fun.”
Once the parachute was released and opened, Bynum became the navigator.
“That part’s more trippy to me when the parachute’s out because he had me steering it,” Bynum said. “You just realize, `I’m hundreds of feet up in the air and this piece of cloth is holding me up.’ “
In the video below, Bynum talks about other things on his bucket list, including one ambition that tops them all.
Bynum looks forward to skydiving again someday, but understands his future NFL team may not allow it.
“That’s why I had to do it in college before I signed any contracts,” he said.
Although he emerged from the experience unscathed, Bynum is less than entirely convincing while offering his thoughts on the risk involved in skydiving.
“It’s safe,” Bynum said. “You either die or you’re good.”
Back on terra firma
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
