How Fast Is Terrelle Pryor, Really?

By now you've likely heard the reports about Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's speed in the 40 yard dash during spring practice.

Center Mike Webster told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Pryor ran the fastest 40 of any Buckeye: 4.33 seconds. That number, if true, would make Pryor not just the fastest Buckeye, but potentially the fastest quarterback ever. At this spring's NFL scouting combine, Pryor would have tied for the second-fastest overall time, right behind wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey's 4.30. Pryor would have finished more than two-tenths of a second ahead of the fastest quarterback at the combine, West Virginia's Pat White, who ran a 4.55.

If Pryor's 40 time is true, that is.

Understand, I'm not saying Pryor didn't get timed at 4.33 seconds in the 40. It's just that he was timed by OSU staff, and do you think they might have a reason to report a really fantastic time for their star quarterback? And that's before considering the variations due to methods in timing.

The thing is, Pryor's 40 occurred in private. For all we know, he jumped out of an airplane and they timed him in the last 40 yards before his parachute opened. Anyone who has seen Pryor play knows that he's a phenomenally talented athlete. Saying that he's as fast as the fastest wide receivers, who are generally the fastest players on a football team, stretches credibility just a bit. Like to 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, Pryor's listed playing size.

(Oh, come on. You actually believe the self-reported heights and weights that sports information departments give out?)

Just for kicks I compared Pryor's statistics to those of some well-known sprinters, hoping to shed some light on how likely it is that Pryor actually ran a 4.33 40. Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion and 2005 world champion in the 100 meter dash, stands 6-1 and weighs 183 pounds. He actually tried out for the Tennessee Titans in 2008. The best 40 time he managed was 4.42, though it's possible he has lost a step or two from his peak.

Pryor would tower over Tyson Gay, the 2007 world champ in the 100. Gay is 5-foot-11 and weighs 70 pounds less than Pryor. Gay has not been timed in the 40 anywhere that I could find. Anybody who stayed half awake in physics class knows that as mass increases, the amount of energy required to accelerate also increases. Giving up 70 pounds to Gay means Pryor probably couldn't keep pace with him, even if Pryor is taller and has longer legs.

Pryor's size is very close to that of one world-class sprinter, however: Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the 2008 Olympic champion and current world record holder in the 100 meter dash. Bolt is 6-5 and 190 pounds.

As luck would have it, the International Amateur Athletics Federation, track and field's governing body, timed Bolt's world record run very precisely. He ran the first 40 meters in 4.65 seconds. A yard is shorter than a meter; 40 meters is roughly 43.74 yards. Unless I've botched the math, Bolt ran the first 40 yards in 4.25 seconds.

So it's within the realm of possibility that an athlete Pryor's size could in fact run 4.33 in the 40. All we need to do to find out for sure is to get Usain Bolt to run it with 45 pounds of weight strapped to his back.