A ton has been made about Troy Pride, Jr. who we discussed last week for despite not having the most impressive statline, having quite a resume and seemingly having his stock rise ahead of the NFL Draft.
Pride’s coverage skills were always good at Notre Dame even if his size isn’t exactly that of a traditional NFL cornerback, at least not of the traditionally sized stars.
However, his speed is truly elite. The former track team member at Notre Dame ran a 10.5 second 100 meter dash at the ACC Outdoor Championships in 2018, good enough for a fifth place finish before he moved on from track and focused solely on football.
The USA TODAY tried to guess who will run the fastest 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine this week and named a few of the favorites to walk away with the fastest time. Pride is by no means their pick but he’s listed with the following writeup:
Troy Pride Jr., CB, Notre Dame
One of our earlier picks as a sleeper to watch at the combine, Pride could seize the stage at the combine by following a standout Senior Bowl with another impressive workout. Pride said he’s “way faster now” than when Notre Dame hand-timed him at 4.30, and he was recognized as one of the Athletic Coast Conference’s top sprinters during his freshman and sophomore years.
For what it’s worth, wide receiver John Ross of Washington ran a 4.22 40 yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine which is the recorded for fastest dash to this day.