Indy combine yielded some of top 40 times ever -- with an explanation

Three players were timed at 4.27 seconds or faster at the Indianapolis combine last month, including a 4.21 by LSU wide receiver Trindon Holliday and a 4.22 by Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford, according to official records sent to NFL teams last week.

Those times are the best ever clocked at an Indianapolis combine. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller's 4.27 also ranks among the top 10, according to NFL team sources and research by NFLDraftscout.com. However, those times are not being acknowledged as best ever by NFL.com because they were recorded as hand-held rather than electronic watches.

Although the combine has many athletic tests, including the vertical jump and various agility drills, the 40-yard run has become the glamour event, one that garners far more attention than any other. So reports on 40-yard times are watched closely and debated hotly.

Depending on which inexact science you prefer, Jacoby Ford might or might not have the second-fastest 40 in combine annals. (Getty Images)

And since it found a permanent home in Indianapolis in 1987, the annual combine and its popular 40 has gained in popularity every year. Before 1987, combines were held at New Orleans (1984, 1986) and Arizona (1985), but because of the vast differences in conditions among those venues, NFLDraftScout.com uses only data from Indianapolis for compiling lists of best performances.

That said, Auburn superstar Bo Jackson has the best verifiable time at a combine with his 4.12 clocking at the New Orleans Superdome in 1986. And although there are numerous stories that Deion Sanders ran faster than 4.2 seconds at another Superdome combine, reports from that event indicate that he was timed in 4.28 seconds at best on one of the so-called "official" stopwatches.

As the combine collided with the micro-coverage brought on by the Internet era and NFL Network television, a new perspective has evolved in terms of what was considered official.

Times posted by NFL.com have been cited by NFL Network television and other media as "official" times, although the "official" designation has historically never been made by the National Invitational Camp, which is in charge of combine events and the data that it collects for distribution to teams. In fact, until the recent proliferation of coverage by NFL Network, NIC did not release any data to the media.

Using NFL.com's list -- based only on electronic times -- the best time at the Indianapolis combine this century remains 4.24, run by East Carolina running back Chris Johnson, who used that speed to rush for more than 2,000 yards last year with the Tennessee Titans. His best clocking in 2008 was indeed a so-called electronic time.

To be clear, both hand-held and electronic times involve human reaction on a stopwatch. Hand-held times are started and stopped by a professional timer provided by the NIC. Electronic times are also started by an NIC professional timer but stopped when the runner passes an electronic beam.

Historically, the NIC has simply recorded all six times and offered them to NFL teams to use as they wish. Most teams acknowledge the fastest time regardless if it were recorded as hand-held or electronic. Some teams take an average one way or another. And many will say they rely only on their own hand-held timers, despite the fact their scouts are seated a significant distance from the event.

But based on using only the best electronic times, the fastest clocking at this year's combine was 4.28 by Ford -- .04 off Johnson's electronic time in 2008. Ford was clocked by hand at 4.24 and 4.25 on the same run and had an even better 4.22 hand-held time on his second run. Based on that, Ford actually had two of the top three times at this combine.

The next top electronic times this year were 4.34 by Holliday and 4.37 by Spiller. But Holliday -- a world-class sprinter with a 10-flat 100 meters on his résumé -- had similar and much faster hand-held times of 4.21 and 4.25 on the same run in which electronic clocking was only 4.34 -- a difference of between .13 and .09 seconds.

Apparently, the NFL scouting community believes Taylor Mays was significantly faster than his official Indy time of 4.43. (Getty Images)

While these disparities can be expected because all timings involve human reaction on a device at the start, there has been a lot of confusion and controversy resulting from the various reports, especially the initial times taken by hand and announced as unofficial during NFL Network's live TV coverage.

One of the most controversial times at this year's combine was that of USC's top-rated safety Taylor Mays. His best recorded electronic time was 4.43, on his second run when his hand-held times were 4.37 and 4.39. At the heart of the controversy is the fact that his first run was obviously far better, with hand-held times of 4.31 and 4.33. But there was no electronic time recorded.

"They told me it was a malfunction, but they wouldn't verify that officially," said Mays' agent, Gary Wichard, CEO of Pro Tec Management, which also represents Spiller.

"At the very least they should have found a way to acknowledge the better times Taylor had in the first run. Taylor was upset because he knows he had a better time than four-four anything. He is a four-three guy in the 40 and everybody knows it."

And that seems to include NFL.com and NFL Network. In an NFL.com blog, NFL Network's Mike Mayock says he "spoke to representatives from six different teams that all had Mays running between 4.31 and 4.35 seconds."

The NFL.com blog goes on to say, "It was originally reported that Mays had an unofficial time of 4.24 seconds on his first run and 4.34 seconds on his second run, but he was later credited with an official time of 4.43 seconds. The difference suggests that Mays' actual 40-yard dashes were closer to the unofficial times than the official time."

In an attempt to achieve some responsible clarity on what Mays really ran at the combine, NFLDraftScout.com senior analyst and certified statistician Chad Reuter reviewed available data from the combine and arrived at some interesting mathematical conclusions.

Based on verifiable times from the top 25 runners -- all with at least one time of 4.42 or better -- there is a variance of .0354 seconds between the average of the hand-held times and the electronic time on a given run.

The average hand-held time on Mays' first run was 4.32. Add .0354 to that and it is likely his electronic time on that run was 4.36, proving what Mayock, Wichard and numerous scouts and fans believed all along -- that Mays is indeed a 4.3-something runner in 40 yards.

Tennessee free safety Eric Berry also did not have a reported electronic time on his first run. Applying the same formula, his first electronic time -- which included hand-held times of 4.45 and 4.50 -- would come in at 4.51. But his results weren't questioned because his second run was actually better and included an electronic time of 4.47. So no complaints from him.

Closer analysis of the data shows that electronic times are slower than the hand-held times 87.5 percent of the time on those who ran 4.42 or faster. But the human element will never result in absolute consistency, so there were some disparities that resulted in the electronic time being conspicuously faster than the hand-held times.

The biggest benefactor of a faster electronic time at this combine was Pittsburgh tight end Dorin Dickerson, who had hand-held times of 4.51 and 4.50 on his first run. But his electronic time was a sizzling 4.40. On his second run, Dickerson was timed at 4.44 and 4.43 on the hand-helds and 4.45 on the electronic time. So NFL.com deferred to the best electronic time of 4.40, and of course, Dickerson gratefully accepted. Based on the formula, his first electronic time should have been about 4.54.

Some believe all this data analysis is making too much out of too little. Most scouts would prefer to defer to game films, where they can watch the athletes actually play football in uniforms rather than run and jump in their underwear. But a variable of .0354 seconds could make the difference between a player being perceived as a 4.41 or a 4.37 runner. And in some negotiations, that might be worth a lot of money.

And for Holliday, the decision to declare one method of timing official means his 4.21 hand-held is not recognized -- by NFL.com at least -- as the best in Indianapolis combine history.

2010 Scouting Combine: 40-yard dash results
No.	Player	Pos	School	Best Time	HH 1A	HH 1B	ET -1	HH-2A	HH-2B	ET - 2
1	Trindon Holliday	WR	LSU	4.21	4.21	4.25	4.34	4.32	4.40	4.38
2	Jacoby Ford	WR	Clemson	4.22	4.24	4.25	4.28	4.22	4.25	4.30
3	C.J. Spiller	RB	Clemson	4.27	4.31	4.27	4.37	4.30	4.31	4.37
4	Taylor Mays	FS	USC	4.31	4.33	4.31	No Report	4.39	4.37	4.43
5	Akwasi Owusu-Ansah	CB	Indiana (PA)	4.32	4.49	4.43	4.53	4.32	4.37	4.47
6	*Jahvid Best	RB	California	4.34	4.38	4.43	4.43	4.34	4.37	4.35
7	Ben Tate	RB	Auburn	4.34	4.43	4.34	4.43	4.47	4.48	4.50
8	Brandon Banks	WR	Kansas State	4.37	4.42	4.43	4.43	4.39	4.37	4.45
9	Brandon Ghee	CB	Wake Forest	4.37	4.40	4.37	4.45	4.38	4.37	4.45
10	*Ryan Mathews	RB	Fresno State	4.37	4.38	4.37	4.45	4.58	4.59	4.57
11	David Pender	CB	Purdue	4.37	4.42	4.50	4.51	4.39	4.37	4.47
12	Devin McCourty	CB	Rutgers	4.38	4.38	4.40	4.48	4.41	4.46	4.49
13	Marcus Easley	WR	Connecticut	4.39	4.46	4.43	4.49	4.39	4.40	4.46
14	*Eric Berry	FS	Tennessee	4.40	4.45	4.50	No Report	4.40	4.43	4.47
15	Dorin Dickerson	TE	Pittsburgh	4.40	4.51	4.50	4.40	4.44	4.43	4.45
16	*Kareem Jackson	CB	Alabama	4.40	4.51	4.53	4.55	4.42	4.40	4.48
17	*Joe McKnight	RB	USC	4.40	4.50	4.43	4.50	4.40	4.43	4.47
18	Taylor Price	WR	Ohio	4.40	4.42	4.40	4.42	4.47	4.46	4.41
19	Andre Roberts	WR	Citadel	4.40	4.44	4.40	4.46	4.47	4.50	4.52
20	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	SMU	4.40	4.44	4.40	4.41	4.46	4.50	4.44
21	Kyle Williams	WR	Arizona State	4.40	4.42	4.40	4.43	4.46	4.43	4.47
22	Kevin Thomas	CB	USC	4.41	4.41	4.46	4.48	4.44	4.50	4.48
23	A.J. Jefferson	CB	Fresno State	4.42	4.44	4.53	4.51	4.42	4.53	4.51
24	Myron Lewis	CB	Vanderbilt	4.42	4.46	4.53	4.51	4.42	4.43	4.52
25	*Golden Tate	WR	Notre Dame	4.42	4.48	4.46	4.45	4.47	4.50	4.42
Best Time = Best verified time, hand held or electronic from two timed runs HH1A = Hand Held time #1 from the first run HH1B = Hand Held time #2 from first run ET-1 = Electronic time from first run HH2A = Hand Held time #1 from the second run HH2B = Hand Held time #2 from the second run ET-2 = Electronic time from second run * = underclassman

Best 40-yard dash times of this century
Player	Best Time	Year	Pos	School	HH 1A	HH 1B	ET -1	HH-2A	HH-2B	ET - 2
Trindon Holliday	4.21	2010	WR	LSU	4.21	4.25	4.34	4.32	4.40	4.38
Jacoby Ford	4.22	2010	WR	Clemson	4.24	4.25	4.28	4.22	4.25	4.30
Chris Johnson	4.24	2008	RB	E. Carolina	4.29	4.33	4.33	4.26	4.31	4.24
*Darrius Heyward-Bey	4.25	2009	WR	Maryland	4.25	4.29	4.30	4.27	4.28	4.36
Jerome Mathis	4.26	2005	WR	Hampton	4.29	4.26	4.32	4.29	4.28	3.33
C.J. Spiller	4.27	2010	RB	Clemson	4.31	4.27	4.37	4.30	4.31	4.37
Mike Wallace	4.28	2009	WR	Mississippi	4.28	4.28	4.33	4.33	4.37	4.38
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	4.29	2008	CB	Tennessee St.	4.29	4.35	4.33	4.40	4.39	4.33
Johnny Knox	4.29	2009	WR	Abilene Christian	4.31	4.29	4.34	4.33	4.35	4.38
*Fabian Washington	4.29	2005	CB	Nebraska	4.29	4.29	4.33	4.30	4.31	4.37
Darrent Williams	4.30	2005	CB	Oklahoma St.	4.30	4.33	4.34	4.36	4.37	4.37
Mike Thomas	4.30	2009	WR	Arizona	4.30	4.30	4.40	4.34	4.31	4.41
Yamon Figurs	4.30	2007	WR	Kansas State	4.30	4.32	4.35	4.37	4.38	4.37
Stanford Routt	4.31	2005	CB	Houston	4.31	4.27	4.39	4.32	4.28	4.39
Best Time = Best verified time, hand held or electronic from two timed runs HH1A = Hand Held time #1 from the first run HH1B = Hand Held time #2 from first run ET-1 = Electronic time from first run HH2A = Hand Held time #1 from the second run HH2B = Hand Held time #2 from the second run ET-2 = Electronic time from second run * = underclassman

Frank Cooney is the publisher of NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.