Ben Johnson made a red rectangular charcoal grill for a manufacturing methods class and that group project helped launch Johnson's transformation from a walk-on into an NCAA heptathlon qualifier.
"I'm pretty sure every single dinner my second year of college I ate a frozen pizza," he said.
Johnson improved his speed and technique over the years. He also improved his eating and sleeping habits.
His diet is helped by weekly trips to Sam's Club to buy chicken and Sunday nights grilling for himself and roommate Lucas Shaffer.