4.29

[FactChecker2022 15]

𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Disclaimer: this post is by no means meant to disparage Dominick Collins. Collins is an outstanding young athlete who will no doubt play football at the next level. 

It is however a shame that he was put in the position of having to actually post on his twitter account that he didn’t run a 4.29 at the Combine. 

Think about a 4.29 40-yard dash for a minute.  A 4.29 even hand timed would translate to an electric time of around 4.46. 4.46 makes you one of the ten fastest WRs at the NFL combine. 4.29 translates to about a 9.79 100m. That means you are faster than the 2020 Olympic champion in the 100m.

Unfortunately this type of information being put out by the people who run this combine is exactly why this combine should be considered a laughingstock by college programs. When you put out a time like 4.29 you have devalued all of the information you are putting out. A young man who ran 4.6 is suddenly looked at as a guy who runs 4.75 or 4.80. None of the information can be trusted.

And then for the combine to hide behind the fact that multiple college coaches verified the time. Think about the coaching malpractice they are implying. They want us to believe a college coach timed a kid who had over 1000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns at 4.29 and didn’t offer him on the spot. Carson Jenkins ran a legit 4.4 at a William & Mary football camp a few years ago and was offered on the spot. 

Unfortunately nothing will come of this. Next year, this combine will continue to prey on overzealous parents and young athletes. They will overcharge and make promises they have no intention of keeping. 

I just wish young athletes and their parents would stop being taken advantage of by combines like this. Parents/kids save your money, don’t waste it on combines like this one. If you want a legitimate college evaluation, go to a college campus and attend one of their camps in front of their coaching staff. That’s where you will get a true evaluation.

Best of luck to Mr. Collins. I look forward to following the rest of his career at Princeton High School and I look forward to seeing where he will get an opportunity to play at the next level.

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

I agree with you FactChecker.  Great post man.  I do think this though........zero chances parents and kids will stop attending these combines.  You are going to see even More of an increase because they see it as name recognition and doing anything you can to get your name out there.  Lets say his true 40 time is 4.45ish and not 4.29.  I don't know if that's true, but lets say it is.  His name is out there.  It's in the discussion.  The topic is being talked about and that in an of itself gets colleges to at least, "take a look."  That's what many parents are going for.  

How to fix the issue?  We are NOT going to stop the High School Combines and attendance, as these are only going to skyrocket more, but you fix the issue by having all electronic timing.  We have went to the moon a few times.  We have devices in our hands that tell us how to get from point A to point B and allow us to have a discussion live where we can see and hear someone in Nepal or New Zealand.  Yes, we can easily make it to where ALL of these High School combines set the standard of having electronic timing only.  It's not that hard.  The question is......do we want to?  Probably the answer is no.  If colleges would universally put out statements to recruits and coaches that, "we don't value ANY hand timed 40's" and make that a universal kind of standard, then the High School Combines show up only with electronic verification and they stop the hand-timed stuff.  Only my opinion.