Published March 1, 2013 - 1:00pm
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SBNation had a fascinating accumulation of players’ 40 times from high school compared to the times in the NFL Combine.
Fifty-five players from the SEC ran the 40, and only 17 shaved their 40 times while in college. The average high school 40 time was 4.663, compared to their average combine 40 time 4.7285. They added an average of nearly .07 on their 40 time. But the linemen were the ones who suffered the most.
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | POS | NFL 40 | HS 40 | DIFF |
| P.J. Lonergan | LSU | OL | 5.38 | 4.78 | 0.6 |
| Kwame Geathers | Georgia | DL | 5.44 | 5 | 0.44 |
| D.J. Fluker | Alabama | OL | 5.31 | 4.9 | 0.41 |
| Sam Montgomery | LSU | DL | 4.81 | 4.44 | 0.37 |
| Sheldon Richardson | Missouri | DL | 5.02 | 4.72 | 0.3 |
| Josh Boyd | Mississippi State | DL | 5.14 | 4.85 | 0.29 |
| DeVonte Holloman | South Carolina | LB | 4.76 | 4.5 | 0.26 |
| T.J. Moe | Missouri | WR | 4.74 | 4.5 | 0.24 |
| D.J. Swearinger | South Carolina | S | 4.67 | 4.44 | 0.23 |
| Jordan Reed | Florida | TE | 4.72 | 4.5 | 0.22 |
| Philip Lutzenkirchen | Auburn | TE | 4.94 | 4.73 | 0.21 |
| Kevin Minter | LSU | LB | 4.81 | 4.6 | 0.21 |
| Damontre Moore | Texas A&M | DL | 4.95 | 4.74 | 0.21 |
| Tyler Wilson | Arkansas | QB | 4.95 | 4.75 | 0.2 |
| Justice Cunningham | South Carolina | TE | 4.94 | 4.78 | 0.16 |
| Jonathan Stewart | Texas A&M | LB | 4.68 | 4.52 | 0.16 |
| Josh Evans | Florida | S | 4.58 | 4.43 | 0.15 |
| Mike Gillislee | Florida | RB | 4.55 | 4.4 | 0.15 |
| Alec Ogletree | Georgia | LB | 4.7 | 4.55 | 0.15 |
| Sean Porter | Texas A&M | LB | 4.75 | 4.6 | 0.15 |
| T.J. Johnson | South Carolina | OL | 5.33 | 5.2 | 0.13 |
| Luke Joeckel | Texas A&M | OL | 5.3 | 5.2 | 0.1 |
| Matt Elam | Florida | S | 4.54 | 4.45 | 0.09 |
| Christine Michael | Texas A&M | RB | 4.54 | 4.45 | 0.09 |
| Robert Lester | Alabama | S | 4.66 | 4.59 | 0.07 |
| Zaviar Gooden | Missouri | LB | 4.47 | 4.4 | 0.07 |
| Tavarres King | Georgia | WR | 4.47 | 4.41 | 0.06 |
| Mychal Rivera | Tennessee | TE | 4.81 | 4.75 | 0.06 |
| Zac Stacy | Vanderbilt | RB | 4.55 | 4.5 | 0.05 |
| Cornelius Washington | Georgia | LB | 4.55 | 4.51 | 0.04 |
| Ace Sanders | South Carolina | WR | 4.58 | 4.54 | 0.04 |
| Justin Hunter | Tennessee | WR | 4.44 | 4.4 | 0.04 |
| Barkevious Mingo | LSU | DL | 4.58 | 4.55 | 0.03 |
| Dee Milliner | Alabama | DB | 4.37 | 4.35 | 0.02 |
| Jon Bostic | Florida | LB | 4.61 | 4.59 | 0.02 |
| Devin Taylor | South Carolina | DL | 4.72 | 4.7 | 0.02 |
| Tharold Simon | LSU | DB | 4.51 | 4.5 | 0.01 |
| Cobi Hamilton | Arkansas | WR | 4.56 | 4.56 | 0 |
| Chance Warmack | Alabama | OL | 5.49 | 5.5 | -0.01 |
| Darius Slay | Mississippi State | DB | 4.36 | 4.37 | -0.01 |
| Shawn Williams | Georgia | S | 4.46 | 4.5 | -0.04 |
| Onterio McCalebb | Auburn | RB | 4.34 | 4.4 | -0.06 |
| Michael Ford | LSU | RB | 4.5 | 4.56 | -0.06 |
| Eric Reid | LSU | S | 4.53 | 4.6 | -0.07 |
| Ryan Swope | Texas A&M | WR | 4.34 | 4.41 | -0.07 |
| Sanders Commings | Georgia | DB | 4.41 | 4.5 | -0.09 |
| Chris Gragg | Arkansas | TE | 4.5 | 4.6 | -0.1 |
| Lavar Edwards | LSU | DL | 4.8 | 4.9 | -0.1 |
| Tyrann Mathieu | LSU | DB | 4.5 | 4.62 | -0.12 |
| Knile Davis | Arkansas | RB | 4.37 | 4.5 | -0.13 |
| Michael Williams | Alabama | TE | 4.52 | 4.7 | -0.18 |
| Sharrif Floyd | Florida | DL | 4.92 | 5.12 | -0.2 |
| Alvin Bailey | Arkansas | OL | 4.95 | 5.3 | -0.35 |
| Tyler Bray | Tennessee | QB | 5.05 | 5.45 | -0.4 |
| Corey Lemonier | Auburn | DL | 4.6 | 5.06 | -0.46 |
Photo Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
I think anything under .3 is kind of like ‘margin of error’. Playing football in high school I know that 40 times can fluctuate, of course. Some dashes you just fly by and some you don’t. Also, I know some (but not all) of these players did put on some weight when they came into college and that has a little to do with it as well. Do some players doctor their numbers? Of course.