40-yard dash times

#1
D

dcorey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2008
Messages
102
Likes
59
#1
Interesting tid bit about the 40 yard dash in a recent Rivals article...

If you've seen video of Usain Bolt's recent world-record runs in the 100 and 200 meters, you have to think there are some college coaches salivating at the thought of the 6-foot-5 Bolt playing wide receiver. You also have to wonder if any of them are now thinking of including a trek to Jamaica for the country's annual junior track meet, where Bolt first came on the scene.

Bolt's incredible 9.58 clocking in the 100 meters should have an affect on how recruitniks now look at 40 times.

A former colleague passed along a "biomechanical analysis" of Bolt's run, which included his times at 20-meter intervals. He ran the first 20 meters in 2.89 seconds, the first 40 in 4.64 seconds, the first 60 in 6.31 seconds and the first 80 in 7.92 seconds before finishing in 9.58.

Forty yards equates to 36.58 meters, which means Bolt's 40-yard dash time in a race in which he ran the fastest 100 meters ever was about 4.28.

Think about that the next time you hear about some 17-year cornerback who supposedly runs a 4.31 40.

Just goes to show how much you can really put into the 40 times that are posted on some of these recruits profiles.
 
#2
#2
I'm pretty sure it had to have been faster than a 4.28, considering Chris Johnson ran a 4.24. You figure if Johnson is faster in the first 40 meters, he could at least hold up decently in the next 60.
 
#4
#4
I saw it. They said it equated to him running a 3.83 40 from a dead stop in the starting blocks like football players are tested. Now that is flying
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#6
#6
I lived with a Jamaican for a year. He tried to get me to go start a football camp down there. He thought we could make a killing doing it. His plan was to get them into college then be their agent afterwards. He was a business major thought it would work.
 
#7
#7
LAJBoys said:
I saw it. They said it equated to him running a 3.83 40 from a dead stop in the starting blocks like football players are tested. Now that is flying
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...

Sorry, guys my original post was in meters, not yards on times. He averaged 3.832 per 40 meters. 9.58/100 = .0958 x 40 = 3.832. There is 1.0936133 yards in a meter. So, divde the 3.832 by 1.0936133 and you get a 3.50 average per 40 yards. Maybe he did run a 3.8 or 3.9 40yd. Wow, that is incredible!!!!!!!

Darrell Green, who ran one of the fastest 40-yard dashes ever at 4.09 seconds (unofficially timed and not verified)[1], had a collegiate best of 10.08 s in the 100 meters

40-yard dash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Deion Sanders ran the fastest 40 yard dash at the NFL combine. The time was 4.24 seconds over 40 yards.

I assume you are referring to the 40 yard dash as it applies to American Football. Currently, there is no official recognition of any 40 yard dash time. The 40 yard dash, as measured by the NFL combine, uses a method slightly different than standard track & field. In track and field, the runner reacts to the starting gun, where as the NFL combine allows the runners to start whenever they want, with the timers starting precisely when the runner does. This gives the combine method around a .15 second advantage. Also, combine participants are timed using 2 methods - by coaches with hand-held stopwatches and electronically.

With that said, the fastest 40 yard dash runners on the planet are most likely world-class sprinters (Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Maurice Greene, Usain Bolt) whose track and field times would translate to very low 4 second range NFL combine-style 40 times.

Regarding the fastest 40 ever run by an NFL player, there are lots of players noted to have been clocked around 4.1, such as Darrell Green, Deion Sanders, Raghib Ismail, Joey Galloway to name but a few. There are also many notable burners over the years who could have no doubt ran in the 4.1 range, such as Willie Gault, Bob Hayes, Cliff Branch and so on. There have been pure sprinters who have tried their hands at pro football who also should be mentioned, such as Renaldo Nehemiah, Alexnander Wright and Jimmy Hines.


But it is Olympic athlete, Ben Johnson, who was believed to have run 40 yards faster than any human in history. Johnson is best known for injecting steroids and winning the 100 meters at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul in 9.79 seconds, only to have his gold medal and world record stripped after failing a post-race drug test.

Timing officials have since broken down that famed race into 10-meter increments, and Johnson was so preposterously fast that he went through 50 meters in 5.52 seconds and 60 meters in 6.37 – both under the current world records at the time at those distances. He went through 40 yards that day in 4.38 seconds. But, no matter how fast he was on steroids, Usain Bolt's legal 9.69 (9.55 without slowing) 100m time (40 yards of it) blows it away. Usain Bolt's 40 yard during his 100m record was likely a VERY low 4 such as 4.09 or 4.02.

This years combine:

Heyward-Bey, Darrius 4.30
Wallace, Mike 4.33
Knox, Johnny 4.34
Butler, Deon 4.38
Thomas, Mike 4.40
Harvin, Percy 4.41
Underwood, Tiquan 4.41
Byrd, Demetrius 4.42
Murphy, Louis 4.43
McKinley, Kenny 4.44
Ogletree, Kevin 4.46
Edison, Dominique 4.47
Maclin, Jeremy 4.48
Mitchell, Marko 4.49
Sargeant, Lydell 4.50

DCorey, you are correct! Think about that the next time you hear about some 17-year cornerback who supposedly runs a 4.31 40.
 
Last edited:
#8
#8
Anybody remember Damon Duval? Kicker for Auburn hit 3 game winning kicks in a row one year ('04, '05 ?), one of them beat Florida...
Anyway he "claimed" he ran a 4.39. We raced, I won... I don't believe he actually could run a true sub 4.4 40, cuz I never thought I was that fast.
I never buy into these reported 40 times...
 
#9
#9
how many were as tall as bolt? it takes a lot to get those long legs churning that fast even with a few steps off his pace compared to everyone else
 
#10
#10
36.576 meters=40 yds... 100 meters equals 109.3613 yds 9.58/109.3613=.0875... .0875*40=3.503 40 yd dash.... thats insane!!!!!!
 
#11
#11
One thing we should all agree on and that is Bolt is the fastest runner period. He competes against world class speed and makes it look easy, so for someone to think there are football players as fast as Bolt is not realistic. I do believe there are players who can hit a higher gear quickly but to think they could line up beside Bolt and defeat him is a stretch.
 
#12
#12
joeydupree said:
Anybody remember Damon Duval? Kicker for Auburn hit 3 game winning kicks in a row one year ('04, '05 ?), one of them beat Florida...
Anyway he "claimed" he ran a 4.39. We raced, I won... I don't believe he actually could run a true sub 4.4 40, cuz I never thought I was that fast.
I never buy into these reported 40 times...
Click to expand...

Duval's draft profile has him at 4.9. Either that is a mistake or he is a liar.
 
#15
#15
Funny - this article discusses 40 times and the inaccuracy of those times reported by colleges:

'Wake me when Terrelle Pryor's fake 40 time eclipses speed of sound'

My favorite line was at the end -
This is not Florida-level fake, but still: Totally bogus.
Click to expand...

:)

BTW - sorry if that was posted before, if so I didn't see it. I actually wanted to post it when the article first ran but I'm stil a noob and can't post new threads.
 
Last edited:
#16
#16
alright, Bolt is Tall and fast, lets teach him how to catch and put him on the team. We can teach him everything else that matters in football after we sign him. Well I guess it just wishful thinking.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top