Of all the football players from Alabama’s high schools and colleges who’ve tried to reach the pros, which one ran the fastest 40-yard dash at the annual NFL Scouting Combine?
The NFL Scouting Combine will be held next week in Indianapolis for the 33rd straight year. The players arrive for testing and interviews in four groups and will be on the field from March 1-4.
Of the six measurable drills, the 40 is the marquee event. Records from the early combines can be sketchy, but complete data is available starting with the 2000 event. These are the top 15 40 times since that year by players with Alabama football roots:
Steve Dykes
1. J.J. Nelson, Midfield High, UAB: 4.28 seconds
The wide receiver’s 2015 run is tied for the seventh-fastest at the combine. The Cardinals drafted Nelson in the fifth round, and he’s caught 81 passes for 1,439 yards (a 17.8-yard average) and 10 TDs in four seasons.
Al Bello
2. Tim Carter, Auburn: 4.32 seconds
After Carter's run at the 2002 combine, the Giants drafted the wide receiver in the second round. He played in seven NFL seasons with 81 receptions for 1,090 yards and four touchdowns.
Stephen Dunn
2. Chad Jackson, Hoover High: 4.32 seconds
After Jackson's run at the 2006 combine, the Patriots drafted the Florida wide receiver in the second round. He suffered a torn ACL in the AFC championship game during his rookie season and played in only six more NFL games.
4. Jonathan Jones, Auburn: 4.33 seconds
After Jones' run at the 2016 combine, the cornerback went undrafted. He caught on with the Patriots as a contributor on special teams. The past two seasons, he's been used as a slot corner or a fourth cornerback by New England. Jones has earned two Super Bowl rings in his three NFL seasons.
5. T.J. Green, Sylacauga High: 4.34 seconds
After Green's run at the 2016 combine, the Colts drafted the Clemson safety in the second round. He made four starts as a rookie and seven in 2017. In 2018, Green was released with an injury settlement by Indianapolis on Sept. 7, signed with the Seahawks in October, stayed on the active roster for three games without getting on the field and ended the season on injured reserve with a hamstring problem.
Michael Conroy
5. Julio Jones, Foley High, Alabama: 4.34 seconds
After Jones' run at the 2011 combine, the Falcons traded five draft picks to the Browns for the No. 6 choice to draft the wide receiver. He's gone on to be an All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler six times. Jones has caught 698 passes for 10,731 yards and 51 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons.
5. Onterio McCalebb, Auburn: 4.34 seconds
After McCalebb's run at the 2013 combine, the running back went undrafted. He had weighed in at 168 pounds. The Bengals picked him up with the intention of converting him to cornerback. In two seasons, McCalebb played in one game before Cincinnati tried him at wide receiver in 2015. He was released before that season started.
Thomas B. Shea
5. Ben Tate, Auburn: 4.34 seconds
After Tate's run at the 2010 combine, the Texans drafted the running back in the second round. He suffered a broken ankle in his first preseason appearance and missed the 2010 season. Tate returned to spend three seasons as Arian Foster's backup, and injuries to Foster gave him the opportunity to run for 942 yards in 2011 and 771 yards in 2013. After becoming a free agent, he played for the Browns, Vikings and Steelers and rushed for 390 yards in 2014, his final season.
Hannah Foslien
9. Devin Aromashodu, Auburn: 4.35 seconds
After Aromashodu's run at the 2006 combine, the Dolphins selected the wide receiver in the seventh round. Aromashodu caught 78 passes for 1,193 yards and five touchdowns in five seasons with three teams.
Dylan Buell
9. Tony Brown, Alabama: 4:35 seconds
After Brown's run at the 2018 combine, the cornerback went undrafted. He signed with the Los Angeles Chargers but didn't make the team coming out of the preseason. Brown landed with the Packers in the fourth week of the season and wound up playing 11 games. He got regular playing time on defense in the final four games of his rookie season, including three starts, and played every defensive snap in the last two.
Patrick McDermott
9. Lardarius Webb, Beauregard High: 4.35 seconds
After Webb's run at the 2009 combine, the Ravens selected the Nicholls State cornerback in the third round. Webb spent nine seasons in Baltimore, including six as a starter -- five at cornerback and one at free safety. He intercepted 15 passes, averaged 9.3 yards on 59 punt returns and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
Michael Hickey
12. Anthony Averett, Alabama: 4:36 seconds
After Averett's run at the 2018 combine, the Ravens drafted the cornerback in the fourth round. Averett played as a reserve and special-teamer in 11 regular-season games plus a playoff contest as a rookie, missing five games because of a hamstring injury.
Ronald Martinez
13. Mario Fannin, Auburn: 4.37 seconds
After Fannin's run at the 2011 combine, the running back went undrafted. Fannin signed with the Broncos, but he suffered a torn ACL in training camp before the first preseason game and never played in an NFL contest.
Ron Antonelli
13. Dee Milliner, Stanhope Elmore High, Alabama: 4.37 seconds
After Milliner's run at the 2013 combine, the Jets drafted the cornerback with the No. 9 pick. Milliner started 12 games in his rookie season, but his career seemed to become one injury after another after that. He played in three games in 2014 and five in 2015 before the Jets released him in September 2016 while on injured reserve with a hamstring problem.
Joe Sargent
15. Leodis McKelvin, Troy: 4.38 seconds
After McKelvin's run at the 2008 combine, the Bills drafted the cornerback with the 11th pick. In eight seasons with Buffalo, McKelvin intercepted 13 passes, returned three punts and one kickoff for TDs and led the NFL with an 18.7-yard punt-return average in 2012. His career ended with a season for the Eagles in 2016, when he returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown.
Jamie Squire
15. Jonathan Wilhite, Auburn: 4.38 seconds
After Wilhite's run at the 2008 combine, the Patriots drafted the cornerback in the fourth round. Wilhite started 13 games in three seasons with the New England before suffering a hip injury late in 2010. Released at the end of training camp the next season, Wilhite joined the Broncos for his final NFL campaign in 2011.
Ken Levine
What about Bo Jackson’s 4.12?
The combine concept started in 1982 and became a league-wide event in 1985. Almost half of the annual gatherings could be classified as prehistoric because of the lack of information compared to today's categorized and accessible statistics that come out of Indianapolis. During the NFL Scouting Combine in 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Auburn running back Bo Jackson recorded a 4.12-second 40. Or that's what's been reported. Jackson has said it didn't happen, although he's said he ran a 4.13-second 40 for NFL personnel at Auburn on his way to track practice.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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