Florida State Seminoles 40 Yard Dash Time Trials

Welcome to Tomahawk Nation's exclusive coverage of the 40 Yard Time trials. Ok that was a little joke for those of you who like such things about that other site you have to pay for. I did see reporters from several outlets out there on the field, and I did not have my camera so there will be no shirtless pictures, sorry. Onward...

**Update**  Tomahawk Nation member The K-Man took pictures.  Now, onward...

**Update #2** Video added.

First, a little talk about 40 times. They are the most overhyped statistic in all of football. Evaluators use them as a baseline. There is very little between a player who can run 4.35 and 4.42 , as both have adequate speed if their other tools are capable. However it is fun to follow them and gawk at how they are in a different stratosphere from the likes of .....well me. Another thing about 40 times is that it shows how much team speed a team has. If a team can litter the field with players who run 4.5 and under it is a large advantage, which can be seen in the FSU-Wisconsin game from last year, or any time Ohio State plays an SEC team. One thing that stands out from today's workout is that FSU has more than enough speed to compete with any team in the country on that level.

The players were running in one of two formats. There was a completely hand timed format that starts on movement and ends with a coach hitting the clock at the end. These times are unofficial, and often are not a true representative score because it is very difficult to get the timing down. Other sites are reporting all of the times that they heard, most of them are hand timed and most are probably faster than what was really run. That is ok though, because like I said there isn't a real difference between 4.31 and 4.38 or whatever.  The other timing mechanism was hand started on movement then it was electronically timed with a laser at 10yds and then again at 40yds. Unfortunately I had to go to class and was not able to see all of the times so I can't speak to some of the really low numbers that are out there, if they were hand timed or electronically. Also, our players were running in cleats on grass, not in a track with light shoes on.

The fastest reported electronically timed 40 that I saw first hand was Bert Reed at 4.36.

It went something like this, Bert Reed ran and then:

Todd Stroud: Wooo Bert !

Nigel Bradham: Ay yo what'd he run?

Todd Stroud: Four thirty six.

Nigel Bradham: ooohh weee.

Louis Givens was about to run his electronic number and I would not doubt that the 4.31 was laser timed, and Bert may have actually done better on his second electronic. Two things that stood out. Our WR can fly. Reed and Givens are the fastest guys on the team (and Harley now), but Goodman ran in the 4.4 flat range. And Fortson was impressive coming in under 4.5 with his size. The other is that our LB corps is ridiculous, all of them. Bradham and Watson under 4.5, Watson just beat him; but Bradham is a monster of a man up close.

Other things that were cool:

They all get along so well, and have nicknames and whatnot. I am officially just calling Louis Givens 'G' from now on.

They would run in packs on the hand timed, and they are really competitive. I heard a few " you owe me five on that" , "My footwas in the air on the start that don't count", etc.

Terrell Buckley got out there and ran with a lot of the defensive guys. Dekoda Watson beat him straight up.

Rodney Hudson ran a 4.9, and he carries at least 290 Lbs, he will be a first round pick one day.

It was a ridiculously hot day outside and they ran out in the sun on the band field. I was actually late because I checked the practice field and Doak first, then assumed it was in the turf room and left campus for like 10 minutes to get my sunglasses. There weren't really many fans, looked like some family members in the stands, and there were reporters and stuff on the sidelines, but I might have looked like a stalker a little.

Overall it was pretty cool and our team really showed out.

Now, from The K-Man:

Tavares Pressley is a beast.  He had ice on his left knee after practice, but he definitely was NOT injured. He smoked one of the defensive players in a 1-on-1 late in the session. If he’s 6’1", he’s gotta be at least 210 pounds. [ran 4.59]

via i187.photobucket.com

From left:  Nigel Bradham, Richard Goodman, Rod Owens (aka "Old School"), Patrick Robinson

via i187.photobucket.com

-From what I heard, 4.31 was the fastest time. I thought Bert Reed was held that time
    -Bert probably ran the most 40’s, actually pleading with Stroud to let him run the last one.

—Jajuan Harley looks like a chiseled 21-year old out there.  He ran a 4.31

—Cameron "Hellaswag" Wade ran head-to-head against somebody wearing a FAMU t-shirt. The FAMU guy won, but Cam looked to have very competent speed. He’s certainly faster looking that Greg Carr, his perpetual comparison. He was also the only player wearing ear buds during the events.

—Maybe I missed it, but I was disappointed to not see Patrick Robinson run.  [He was not in today's group]

—Jamie Robinson looked like Roger Craig running out there. I think he got a 4.40 flat.

—I was disappointed that Avis Commack didn’t run faster in spite of his high school track success [4.45]. He has a narrow, choppy step. Avis can definitely hang an extra 10-15 pounds on that frame. I’m hoping he breaks out in the next couple years, but might need some more seasoning.

—Nick Moody is a beast. I didn’t identify him running on any of my videos, but he’s a big boy. Can’t imagine how he’ll be when his shoulder actually works.  [Moody reports that he ran a 4.5, thanks DA-2]

—Jermaine Thomas was very competitive. He didn’t want to get beat by anyone, especially JaJuan. Jermaine looks like he could do 75 pull-ups to warm up.  [ran 4.49]

—Richard Goodman has an exotic physique, but it’s full of muscle. He ran a 4.34.

—There’s a fast white guy with blond dreadlocks who ran pretty fast. He was referred to as "fast white boy" by his teammates as he ran.

—Vince Williams wasn’t participating in the 40’s. Seemed to be walking kinda gingerly as well, but maybe that’s how he walks.  [Williams' back is coming along slowly]

—I think Bo Reliford raced T-Buck head to head and lost. Not 100% certain it was Bo(Beau).

—It was HOT AS HELL IN TALLAHASSEE.

Anybody got a specific question, I’ll be glad to answer.
There were 2 different areas where 40’s were being run. As you can see in the pic of Tavaris, the tripods were for the electronic one. The handheld times were near the right sideline.

I’ve learned that it’s really hard to identify shirtless players that don’t have
A) easily identifiable hair.
B) recognizable tattoos
C) players and coaches yelling their names and nicknames just prior to running

Bert Trying to Beat JaJuan's time

This was one of Bert’s final attempts to beat Harley’s 4.31 time. He was screaming “I’m gonna show you the 4.2 Club!”. Stroud didn’t yell out a time, so it obviously wasn’t faster than 4.31.
The premium sites may offer optimal views and clearly displayed times, but I offer the side chatter w/ profanity and views of the fast white guy with dreadlocks.

FSUNCENSORED: 

I've had numerous people tell me that E.J. Manuel ran a 4.51.  That was probably hand timed, but it is still super impressive!

Other times of note: 

Matt Dunham is very out of shape, with times over 5 seconds.

Evan Bellamy looks fat as... well, you know.  A friend of mine described him as "the worst body since Corey Niblock." 

From Andrew Carter: (seems he was reading the hand-timed 40's and not the laser timed.)  Some good notes there.

Video!! Thanks, Seminoles.com. 

Our video will be later today.

Go Noles!!

GO NOLES!!

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