We’ve all heard the term “SEC speed” brought up when discussing college football, but does the conference truly have the fastest players?
Not exactly, according to NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread, who named the 16 fastest players in college football as part of an offseason “16 for ’16” series.
Three SEC players make the list, but none crack the top five. The conference players listed are:
- Mississippi State DB Brandon Bryant (No. 14)
- LSU CB Donte Jackson (No. 7)
- Alabama DB Tony Brown (No. 6)
Goodbread cites Brown’s recent performance at the 110-meter hurdles in ranking him the fastest player from the SEC:
The Alabama cornerback, a former five-star recruit, ran a 13.81 in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Track and Field Championships earlier this month to earn All-America honors. The football program has timed him at 4.34 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Brown is currently facing an indefinite suspension from football by the NCAA.
The No. 1 overall spot went to Oregon WR Devon Allen:
Last fall, it was fair to wonder if the Ducks’ wide receiver/track star had lost a step due to a knee injury. Now, it’s fair to assume he hasn’t. He won his second NCAA title in the 110-meter hurdles event earlier this month with a time of 13.50 seconds, and earlier in the track season, he posted a 100-meter dash time of 10.36. He’ll compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 9 in the 110-meter hurdles event, where a top-three finish would qualify him for the Summer Games in Rio. Understandably, Allen is pondering his future in both sports. Two years ago, Allen clocked the second-fastest 110-meter hurdles time in NCAA history at 13.16. The knee injury happened against FSU in a College Football Playoff semifinal. With his recovery validated by the 2016 track season, Allen this fall looks to return to his 2014 football form, when he caught 41 passes for 684 yards.
The full list of 16 players can be viewed here.
Do you think he missed any SEC speedsters who should have made the list? Are any of the three who made the cut underrated?
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
