At the NFL Combine, arguably the biggest event of the week, an NAIA player broke a combine record for the fastest 40-yard dash. Now, this didn’t happen at the NFL Combine, but at one of the regional combines the league holds.
Wendall Williams, a University of Cumberlands football player, ran a 4.19, a combine record.
Wendell Williams from University of Cumberlands just broke a record @NFLRegCom running the 40yrd dash in 4.19! #dontstopyafeet
— NFLRegionalCombines (@NFLRegCom) March 5, 2016
Along with his 4.19 40, Williams had a 45-inch vertical jump. But his athleticism should come as no surprise. He was a long jump champion, and ran a 10.36 100-meter sprint.
Along with his track and field prowess, Williams was an All-American in football. He led his team in receiving with 15 catches, collecting 457 yards and eight scores. His versatility also allowed him to rush for 205 yards and three touchdowns on just seven rushes.
Williams also unsurprisingly had three kickoff returns for touchdowns, and one punt return for a touchdown.
As the Syracuse New Times reported back in 2014, Williams was driving a truck, and dropped out of college, before turning his life around thanks to the help of a man named Will Dowdell.
“[Dowdell]’s on my shoulder making sure I go toward my dream. My dream is to play in the NFL,” Williams said, via the Syracuse New Times. “He always instilled in me the desire to do whatever it took. He turned the light on in my head, and he’s driven me to do the best I can.”
If NFL teams had not heard of Williams before his record breaking 40-time, they surely have now, and it might just be enough to get him drafted come April.
[Larry Brown Sports/Photo: mid-southconference.org]
