Speed Thrills: the 20 fastest players in the N.F.L. Draft

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11. Sam McGuffie, TB formerly of Michigan, now of Rice is a TX school boy legend after HS combine numbers like a 4.32 40 yard dash and a 41 inch vertical. The Redshirt sophomore McGuffie led the Owls in rushing (883 yards), receiving (39 catches) and all-purpose yards (1,277).

12. WR Travon Patterson of Colorado formerly of USC; his cousin is former Trojan TB Stafon Johnson, he ran track at Poly, with bests of 10.44 in the 100 meters (winning the 2006 CIF Division I race; he also was third at the 2006 CIF Masters meet and fourth at the 2006 state meet) and put up a 21.41 in the 200 (he was third in the 2006 CIF Division I meet and seventh in both the CIF Masters and state meets). He sprinted for USC’s 2008 track team (in his only appearance, he ran the leadoff leg on the 400-meter relay team in a heat at the Pac-10 meet) and reportedly has run a 4.3 second 40-yard dash, [hand timed].

13. QB Robert Griffin of Baylor, While at HS in Copperas Cove TX was one of the top sprinters in the nation, he received the Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award after setting state records in both the 110-meter (13.55 seconds, [with a personal best of 13.3]) and the 300-meter (35.33 seconds) hurdles. His personal best time in the 400-m is a scorching 46.9. He has also Joined Baylor’s track team following spring ball and earned All-America honors after finishing third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400-meter hurdles (49.55). He won the Big 12 gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles with the third-fastest time (49.22) in school history .NCAA All-American in the 400-meter hurdles, placing third with a time of 49.46…Clocked a career-best time of 49.22 to win the Big 12 Outdoor Championships…The time ranks as the third-fastest in Baylor history…Won the NCAA Midwest Region title with a region record time of 49.53…Competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, finishing 11th overall with a time of 49.38. At Copperas Cove High School: He was one of nation’s top high school sprinters, received 2007 Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award after setting state records in both the 110-(13.55 seconds with a personal best of 13.3) and 300-(35.33 seconds) meter hurdles…His 300 hurdles time was one-hundredth of a second off the national prep record…Also posted a 46.9 personal best in the 400 meters…His time of 49.56 in the 400-meter hurdles ranks as the second-best in prep history He almost made the U.S Olympics team as a hurdler 2 summers ago and then went on to have a spectacular freshman season and set an NCAA record for most passes without an interception to start a career. Griffin tore his ACL in just his third game last season. It generally takes athletes two years to fully recover , he is still rebuilding speed after last year’s ACL tear but some think that at about 207-214 he could get to the low 4.4s or perhaps faster.

14. Wow 2 QBs on the list? Yes though if Michigan changes their offense will Denard Robinson, stay a QB, at Michigan? It’s not often you find a quarterback who can run 10.44 in the 100 meters, but Robinson is one of them. His size is considered an issue but when you ran a 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds [hand timed], long jumped 20′ 5.5” without devoting much time to that event and finished third in the 100-meter dash at the 2008 Florida 4A Track & Field State Championships he recorded the fastest competition time in 2010 among Michigan’s sprinters in the 60-meter dash at 6.81, teams may overlook you being generously listed at 6’0” 203, I suspect he’s neither.

15. WR [did not play this year] Jeshua Anderson WA State, He left the Cougars’ football team in September and began conditioning for track, but since I here he will be worked out for NFL scouts at WSU. ANDERSON’S WSU Records:
60m Hurdles – 8.01i (2008) 400m – 46.54 (2008), 46.67i (2008) and 46.08 in 2009 4x400m Relay – 3:07.47 (2008), 3:08.86i (2008) 110m Hurdles – 14.08 (2008) 400m Hurdles – 48.68 (20008) 4x100m Relay – 40.12 (2008) 48.47 in 2009

He closed out prep career by setting a national 300m hurdle record time of 35.28 seconds, winning the state title, ran 35.34 at state meet prelims which was state meet record and finished fourth in 110m hurdles with time of 13.82. Anderson also won Arcadia Invite 300m hurdles in 35.75, ninth-best in nation and was named American Track & Field Athlete Athletes Only Magazine Athlete of the Week (June 4, 2007). Anderson won 400m dash at Mt SAC Relays, was named 2007 Los Angeles Daily News All-Area Boys Track & Field Team and ran anchor on winning 4x400m relay (3:06.22) at USATF Junior Olympics.

16. Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden is returning for his senior season. One of four unanimous choices to the Pac-10 all-conference first team, Bolden said he was coming back to finish what he started with his teammates. He had spent a month gathering facts about his NFL draft chances. Bolden led the Sun Devils with three interceptions, including one for a touchdown, and had 52 tackles this season. The native of Ontario, Calif., also returned 11 kickoffs for a 29.2-yard average, including one for a 97-yard touchdown. His best HS combine [hand timed] 40-Yard Dash: 4.35 and ran a 4.39 in spring of 2009, Short Shuttle: 4.22, Vertical Jump: 34.0,” 3-Cone: 7.31 Broad Jump: 9’10”. Bolden was granted an extra year of eligibility last March after missing most of the 2009 season with injuries.

17. Chris Culliver CB, South Carolina, burst onto the scene In Babe Ruth fashion, when at the Durham HS combine in 2006 Culliver predicted a 40-yard dash time in the 4.2-second range despite staring at a wet track. With four watches on him, the Garner (N.C.) cornerback delivered with a 4.28-second run. Culliver also recorded a 4.55-second 20-yard shuttle, 36.9-inch vertical jump, and 22 repetitions of 185 pounds. Now up to 201 and coming off of a shoulder injury he might have slowed a bit but he may still be among the fastest CBs in the draft class.

*18. Tyrell Worthington CF? Tyrell made the difficult decision to eschew football and sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played as both a running back and as a defensive back in high school before signing a letter of intent with East Carolina. He has floundered in the Minors after the Diamondbacks selected him in the 5th round out of South Central HS, Winterville, N.C. He was released in 2009 by the Arizona Diamondbacks, then was picked up the Baltimore Orioles for less than a month and released by them as well. He is living in Raleigh working full-time for UPS, but I am hearing he may be returning to the gridiron, At the same Durham HS combine in 2006 that Culliver attended he posted an attention grabbing 40-yard dash time of 4.36 seconds. The former Winterville (N.C.) South Central tailback also had one of the better 20-yard shuttle times in the uncooperative Methodist College gym 4.36 seconds. He rounded out the day with a 29.3-inch vertical jump and 10 repetitions of 185 pounds, while measuring in at 5-foot-10 ½ and 184 pounds.

19.1 Other speedster with an ECU connection is late-blooming RB Jonathan Williams, who was clocked at 4.37 in the 40-yard dash while at J.H. Rose High School and overcoming the slow start to his college career and injuries had 847 rushing in 2010 at 5.5 yards a carry.

20. Another player that required me to make like ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter was former KSU RB/KR Justin Woods is perhaps the fastest prep in the state of Kansas, the ‘Chris Rainey of the Great Plains’ he has incredible linear speed reportedly he has been clocked at 4.29 in the 40. Woods set the school record in the 100 meters (10.4) and tied the state record in the 200 meters (21.44) as a junior and was 2005 Class 5A state champion in both the 100 and 200 meters. Woods played at Fort Scott CC in 2009 and I found him at Pittsburg State where he plays and I found a 10.86 100m from a recent track meet, but I don’t see him on the current football roster. Despite that I expect to see him timed at some schools pro day.

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