Toriano Pride Jr. leads all cornerbacks in 40-yard dash at 2026 NFL Combine
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Toriano Pride Jr. did his work at Mizzou the past 2 seasons trying to cover speedy wide receivers, but as the former Tigers star prepares for what he hopes will be a long and fruitful NFL career, it’s his own speed that was being shown off during this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Pride, who spent his first 2 collegiate seasons at Clemson in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Columbia, put on an absolute show of speed Friday among the cornerbacks trying to impress NFL scouts in Indy. In fact, the 5-foot-11, 188-pound St. Louis native finished at the top of the list among cornerbacks in the 40-yard dash, turning in a blazing time of 4.32 seconds. Naturally, there are other factors for NFL teams to consider with Pride as he goes through the crucial steps at the Combine in trying to improve his NFL Draft position.
But for the teams who crave more speed from their cornerback room, Pride provided a front-and-center example of someone they might really be interested in come this spring at the draft in Pittsburgh. Pride finished with 24 total tackles, 17 of them solo, with 1 fumble recovery and 2 interceptions during his senior season at Mizzou, and the speed that he continually flashed while covering receivers at Clemson and Mizzou was on full display at the annual mega scouting event in Indianapolis.
The top 10 cornerback times in the 40 at the NFL Combine were not surprisingly filled with former SEC players. Pride headlined the list, but right behind him at No. 2 in Indy was Georgia‘s Daylen Everette, whose 4.38 time also likely caught the attention of those NFL scouts.
Domani Jackson of Alabama tied for 5th among corners in the 40 with a time of 4.41 seconds, Texas‘ Malik Muhammad finished 8th among corners at 4.42, and Tennessee‘s Colton Hood was 10th with a 4.44 clip.
Here is the complete top 10 list of the 40 times among cornerbacks at the Combine:
Here are the fastest 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine, regardless of position, with the offensive skill position players set to run their 40-yard dashes on Saturday:
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.
