re: LSU Targets SPARQ rating

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Gotta give the NFL combine bump in 40 times

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These times were done electronically and they ran on a slow track. The fastest time was a 4.43 out of over 1,000 participants.

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These times were done electronically and they ran on a slow track. The fastest time was a 4.43 out of over 1,000 participants.

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So at a setting like the Opening, could you see their times like a .10th faster? The times just seemed a bit off to me.

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Lanard Fournette 4:43 40

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What do we know about this guy? All RB in college? Is he a take?

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He would probably be one of the top athletes on LSU's team right now, so I would say yes. Even if he can't get a lot of pt at RB, he would have to be a good fit somewhere. My first though with those numbers would be safety or maybe he could even develop into a monster OLB in Chavis' system if we don't use him on Offense.

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A lot of factors could affect 40 times such as setup, track surface, and whether running into or away from the wind. With that many participants, you'd expect a few guys to break 4.4 with half of them being better track guys than football players. A high of 4.43 out of so many participants should mean that the setting is not as favorable for fast 40 times.

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Knowing quite a few kids who went there, I think the times are accurate. A few kids I know actually ran personal bests on saturday.

then is it accurate that johnson ran a 4.52. i, for 1, thought he was quite a bit faster than that.

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There were over a 1,000 listed participants at the event. You think the absolute fastest person in that large group could only run a 4.43? Even Sonny Shipp said it was a slow surface. He goes to several of these events and tracks performances every year.

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You need to understand a few things. First, several hundred of those kids participating were 7th and 8th graders, and the fastest one was in the 4.7 range I believe. Secondly, to even have a kid run a 4.43 is surprising and means that kid is already at national level speed. In the past 10 years the concept of 40 times has become ridiculous and people don't understand just how fast it truly is to run under 4.6. People are used to hearing lies so often about what the actual times are, in addition to the fact that athletes, coaches and parents are unaware that you have to add .24 seconds to hand time to convert to fully automatic timing to get an accurate mark.

Take a look at the top performers at the last NFL combine: NFL Combine top 40 performers

Notice that only 13 people at the whole combine, where the worlds best athletes prepare to be drafted, broke 4.43. Merrits time this past weekend is INSANE and people can't recognize it because every running back at every high school now runs a "4.3" or "4.4". I don't care what Sonny Ship says, I'll take my years of experience of strength, speed and conditioning athletes over what he thinks.

Just an anecdote to show where part of the problem lies. An athlete I worked with went to an LSU camp a couple summers ago and ran a "4.5". He signs with LSU and shows up to summer workouts the next year in the best shape of his life. He had worked his butt off and was ready to fly. He runs a 4.7 at their team camp. Did he get slower in the course of a year? No, he just wasn't told his correct time the first time around. This leads to kids thinking they are much faster than they really are.

As as side note, the vertical jump mat that kids are using these days are very easy to manipulate. You can add 5+ inches to your vertical just knowing how to land. When you test those kids on a stationary vertical jump tester, they don't jump nearly as high.

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People are used to hearing lies so often about what the actual times are, in addition to the fact that athletes, coaches and parents are unaware that you have to add .24 seconds to hand time to convert to fully automatic timing to get an accurate mark.

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Great post GhostofJackson!

I would like to clarify that the 0.24 correction is a rule of thumb that is usually applied to track, as that is the estimated time difference due to the electronic start from the gun, to the electronic finish.

At the NFL combine and other laser/electronic events, they are going on "first movement" and not having to react to a sound or stimulus. That is why you see a smaller correction (about 0.1 seconds) bewteen their hand times and "official" times.

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There were over a 1,000 listed participants at the event. You think the absolute fastest person in that large group could only run a 4.43?

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Yes. They are in high school.

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Even Sonny Shipp said it was a slow surface. He goes to several of these events and tracks performances every year.

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He also said wink wink on speedy noil about 1000 times.