Seth McGowan brought his athleticism to the table on Saturday at the NFL Combine in historic and near record-breaking fashion.
The former Kentucky running back wowed the bevy of scouts on hand in Indianapolis with a vertical jump to be remembered. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Texas native was in rare form in that category, and he almost outdid every other running back that had ever done the vertical jump at the Combine before him.
And just because he didn’t break the all-time record doesn’t mean his vertical jump of 42-50 wasn’t one for the ages. It certainly was, and it was also the second-highest vertical jump ever by a running back at the Combine. Whatever else McGowan did at the Combine this week and however his NFL Draft stock goes, up or down, there’s no question his vertical jump on Saturday will have a positive outlook on how scouts view him at the NFL level.
McGowan proved on Saturday he can perform the vertical jump with the best who’ve ever done it in Indy, and he has also proved at Kentucky that he can make some tacklers miss on a consistent basis. He ran for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Wildcats last season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
That was his only season in Lexington, with McGowan transferring from New Mexico State after the 2024 season. And that 2024 season was pretty special, too, for McGowan, who piled up 823 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, averaging a stunning 5.4 yards per carry.
McGowan did solid work on the field during his college career, and then on Saturday he served notice to NFL teams that his collegiate success might just translate to the pro level.
Here is Kalshi’s breakdown of the top 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
