Andre De Grasse knows that 2016 is big. It's the year when the world will be watching to see if he can overtake Usain Bolt as the fastest man on the planet. 

 

But all of that is for another time. 

 

In the first week of 2016, the new Puma pro from Toronto, Canada was biding his time in a Phoenix hotel room while his living situation was sorted out.

 

"I'm very excited to see how this season goes," De Grasse said. "I've made a lot of changes. I'm really looking forward to seeing how these changes work out. I'm taking it one step at a time."

 

Running for USC last spring, De Grasse tipped college track and field off its axis when he dashed to wind-aided times of 9.75 and 19.58 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene. He went on to earn double golds at the Pan Am Games and a bronze in the 100 meters at the World Championhips.

 

Months later, he opted to turn pro and focus on his wide open window of opportunity rather than return for his final season at Southern Cal. 

 

He has joined the Altis training group in Arizona, where his buildup to Rio de Janiero will begin this month. 

 

"It was very tough to leave USC," De Grasse said. "I had a great environment there with great coaches and a great team atmosphere. So leaving some of my friends, it was tough to do that. But it was time to move on and focus on the next part of my career."

 

De Grasse became the first Canadian since Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey to run sub-10 seconds for 100 meters in 2015. And although he had sprinting in his blood -- his mother was a high school sprinter in Trinidad and Tobago -- De Grasse didn't take up track in earnest until his junior year of high school. 

 

He attended Coffeyville Community College (Kan.) for two years before heading west to USC for one spectacular season. 

 

De Grasse said USC has  remained supportive and he will take online courses through the school. He said he intends to re-enroll and attend classes at USC in fall after the Olympics in order to complete his degree.

 

At Altis, he will be part of a diverse collection of athletes that includes standouts Aries Merritt, Muna Lee, Brad Walker, Kellie Wells, Jeremy Dodson and Curtis Beach.

 

The sprint group, specifically, includes Anaso Jobodwana, Wilfried Koffi, Ameer Webb, Akeem Haynes, Dodson, Justyn Warner and Dontae Richards-Kwok.

 

"I'm adapting well so far," De Grasse said. "I love the coaches here. I love the facilities."

 

De Grasse has will get a chance to work on his start when he makes his NYRR Millrose Games debut at The Armory in New York City on Feb. 20.