By now you've likely heard the reports about Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's speed in the 40 yard dash during spring practice.Center Mike Webster told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Pryor ran the fastest 40 of any Buckeye: 4.33 seconds. That number, if true, would make Pryor not just the fastest Buckeye, but potentially the fastest quarterback ever. At this spring's NFL scouting combine, Pryor would have tied for the second-fastest overall time, right behind wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey's 4.30. Pryor would have finished more than two-tenths of a second ahead of the fastest quarterback at the combine, West Virginia's Pat White, who ran a 4.55.
If Pryor's 40 time is true, that is.
Understand, I'm not saying Pryor didn't get timed at 4.33 seconds in the 40. It's just that he was timed by OSU staff, and do you think they might have a reason to report a really fantastic time for their star quarterback? And that's before considering the variations due to methods in timing.
The thing is, Pryor's 40 occurred in private. For all we know, he jumped out of an airplane and they timed him in the last 40 yards before his parachute opened. Anyone who has seen Pryor play knows that he's a phenomenally talented athlete. Saying that he's as fast as the fastest wide receivers, who are generally the fastest players on a football team, stretches credibility just a bit. Like to 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Pryor's listed playing size.
(Oh, come on. You actually believe the self-reported heights and weights that sports information departments give out?)
Just for kicks I compared Pryor's statistics to those of some well-known sprinters, hoping to shed some light on how likely it is that Pryor actually ran a 4.33 40. Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion and 2005 world champion in the 100 meter dash, stands 6-1 and weighs 183 pounds. He actually tried out for the Tennessee Titans in 2008. The best 40 time he managed was 4.42, though it's possible he has lost a step or two from his peak.
Pryor would tower over Tyson Gay, the 2007 world champ in the 100. Gay is 5-foot-11 and weighs 70 pounds less than Pryor. Gay has not been timed in the 40 anywhere that I could find. Anybody who stayed half awake in physics class knows that as mass increases, the amount of energy required to accelerate also increases. Giving up 70 pounds to Gay means Pryor probably couldn't keep pace with him, even if Pryor is taller and has longer legs.
Pryor's size is very close to that of one world-class sprinter, however: Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the 2008 Olympic champion and current world record holder in the 100 meter dash. Bolt is 6-5 and 190 pounds.
As luck would have it, the International Amateur Athletics Federation, track and field's governing body, timed Bolt's world record run very precisely. He ran the first 40 meters in 4.65 seconds. A yard is shorter than a meter; 40 meters is roughly 43.74 yards. Unless I've botched the math, Bolt ran the first 40 yards in 4.25 seconds.
So it's within the realm of possibility that an athlete Pryor's size could in fact run 4.33 in the 40. All we need to do to find out for sure is to get Usain Bolt to run it with 45 pounds of weight strapped to his back.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
damn 4.25 is ridiculous. bolt is a freak of nature
*The real question is, can Pryor turn that incredible athleticism into an incredible QB? I for one certainly hope so. I know from last year that he still has many things to work on, but he has great coaches to teach him. If he can successfully mix accurate passing in with the inevitable running he'll be doing (thus far a rarity among great running QB's), he just might be the weapon the Bucks need to get them back on top.
'All we need to do to find out for sure is to get Usain Bolt to run it with 45 pounds of weight strapped to his back.'
its not weight that would be added, that would be 45 lbs of more muscle, you damn retard.
more muscle can create more energy, to move that big fella. wow your idiocy annoys me.
You know, I think most people realized the last sentence of the article was tongue in cheek, but since you took it seriously, I will as well. I owe that to you.
Your assumption appears to be that the sole difference between Pryor and Bolt is that Pryor has 45 pounds more muscle. Pryor is one inch taller than Bolt, so at least some of that weight is bone, which doesn't help you run any faster. Body Mass Index charts (which are not universally accepted) suggest that every additional inch of height is "worth" about 2.5 pounds of weight. So I guess I should have said 42.5 pounds of weight?
At any rate, body composition would also be a factor. I couldn't find a listed body fat percentage for either athlete, but both are obviously very lean. The total body fat difference between the two is probably less than ten pounds.
Thus, in a worst-case scenario, Pryor is carrying about 32-34 pounds more muscle than Bolt. But where is that muscle?
Sprinters use every muscle of their bodies, but they don't use them all equally. From pictures Pryor appears to have significantly larger arms than Bolt, which is what you would expect from a quarterback. Of how much value in a footrace are larger biceps, triceps, deltoids, and trapezii? They have some value, but probably not a huge value.
Then you have to consider the differences in muscle optimization between a sprinter and a quarterback, whose training regimens are likely quite different. Bolt runs in a straight line. Pryor plants and cuts on almost every play.
All this is a long way of saying that Pryor's 4.33 is plausible for an athlete of his size and build. The difference between the two times (Pryor's and Bolt's) is less than 2%.
Now, if only I believed he actually ran a 4.33 ...
Oh come on with sarcasm allready...did't that TE from San Fran (Vernon Davis) who's 6'6" 250 run a 4.38 40.
these 40 times are b.s.
If he's so fast, why did he run out of bounds before the first down marker more than 8 times during the Fiesta Bowl against Texas? Vince Young and Michael Vick would have been able to get the yards needed.
Well im glad someone mentioned vernon davis. He did run a 4.38, however he is 6'3" 250lbs. I am more surprised that no one mentioned Calvin Johnson, WR for the Detroit Lions. He was measured at the combine to be 6'5" 239lbs. He ran an official 4.35 40yard dash. That point alone makes it possible for T. Pryor to run a 4.33. However, I doubt he ran a 4.33, reaches 6'6" ,or weighs 235. College coaches ALWAYS exaggerate measurables. You wont know this kids true height, weight or 40 time till he runs at the combine or a pro day.
I have to be honest , Mr. Hasty, you dont seem like a big football fan.
Depends on what you mean by "football fan." I watch as much college football as I can but pay little attention to the NFL. I don't watch the draft, don't follow the combine, and in fact probably watched less than an hour of NFL football during the 2008 season. So it doesn't surprise ME that I didn't mention Vernon Davis or Calvin Johnson's 40 times, because it's likely I never heard them in the first place. I do remember some of the buzz around Davis but I couldn't even tell you what year he was drafted. Sorry.
back when carl lewis and leroy burrel ran in tokyo. burrel ran a 9.85 100 meters. sony had clocks at 40 yards,and his 40 time was only 4.38. that was with track spikes and at the time the fastest track at the time.
Usain Bolt is 210-lbs. He stated as much on an episode of "Top Gear" recently...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTk17C8jL5w
... go to about 9mins 25sec
You can't compare a 40 time with a 100 meter time of a olympic sprinter because of the starting factor. When a 100 meter sprinter runs the 100 he's accelerating to top speed, which occurs some way down the line. So, the sprinters second 40 will obviously be better than the initial 40. So it's entirely possible that Prior could have a better start or initial quickness than an olympic sprinter but a lower top speed, so would lose in a longer sprint.
So..If Pryor was really 6'3"3/4 220lbs (which he is) does that make it more plausible to run A 4.33? And, if your not a draft or combine fan, why are you even writting articles about someone's 40 time? That's a draft/combine thing.
*You raise an interesting point, skerballed, but you must also consider that the sprinter has a MUCH better launch because of the blocks and his spikes, two things that football players don't use when clocking their times. I'd still give the edge to the track star. Also, a human being is a rarity among animals in that he reaches top speed almost immediately, much quicker than four-legged predators. Food for thought.
What's it matter? If Pryor runs forty yards in one play, it's all to the good at any speed. With the unknow receivers and the lighter weight at running back, Pryor is likely going to get many opportuities to practice that 40 speed.
I'm sure u all have heard the Deion Sanders NFL Combine story where he ran between a 4.18-4.21. Also Randy Moss ran a 4.21 when he was at FSU.
People better believe because before Pryor graduates he will leave with national title and heisman
Sportswriters (and maybe some fans) will disagree, but I wouldn't be surprised if several NCAA I football athlete could break world records in 400 and under sprints and hurdles. In America, however, how many middle school kids with outstanding talent live, dream, and train to become world class sprinters. Compared to football (e.g., Tebow) a gold medal winner is de facto "Division II" in this country. Just take a poll of middle school kids with outstanding talent. Ask how many live and dream to become a world class sprinter. We'll never know if Bolt's performance means anything more than selling copy for sportswriters, much as the gold medals in olympic basketball meant nothing much until the best of America (pros) began to play. Then the "great" teams of other countries simply became "solid" competitiors. I know, a few cross-overs (Hayes, etc.)existed -- but he, too, was just that, a crossover who, of course, placed the runners of that day in reality perspective (in spite of our "oohs and Ahs" of the time). Bolt's "awesome" performance (saw it) should always be kept in this perspective -- a "maybe, maybe not" outstanding run if the world record reflected "Division II" athletes all along.
I think 40 times are without equipment and I think a QB equipment does not weigh what you think it does. Maybe it did when helmets were leather and shoes were like hiking boots with spikes. I bet the equipment of today weighs 15 lbs soaking wet.
I wonder how fast Unitas or Montana ran the 40? I wonder if they gave a ratz azz? Clock managment, NO turnovers, and timing with recievers might over shadow the 40 huh? Pryor does scurry out of bounds well before he needs to. Buckeyes will have a down year this year, and with all the hype on Florida, it's the year to be down. But next year they will be ranked #1 or #2 and will justify it by going undefeated and winning it all with the Heisman coming back to Columbus and Pryor going to the NFL.