Former Texas receiver Marquise Goodwin was an Olympic long jumper and may be the best athlete at this year’s Scouting Combine. But he wants to be more than that: Goodwin wants to be the fastest man ever to run at any Scouting Combine.
Goodwin told reporters today that he thinks he can break the 40-yard dash record, which Titans running back Chris Johnson set with a 4.24-second time in 2008.
“I want to run the fastest [40] ever,” Goodwin said Friday. “That’s my goal.”
Goodwin didn’t have to be prompted to say that Johnson’s record is what he’s aiming for.
“Chris Johnson, 4.24, fully automated,” he said. “So . . . that’s my goal.”
In his final college game, Goodwin was the MVP of Texas’s Alamo Bowl win over Oregon State. In that game, Goodwin had a 64-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard touchdown catch, but he said he wants NFL teams to know that his football skills are not limited to his speed.
“I’m looking to run the fastest, but I want to prove that I’m more than a speed guy,” he said. “I can run routes. . . . I’m definitely not a track guy playing football. I’m a football guy that just happens to jump really far. . . . I want to show I can catch the ball away from my body. Anyone can run a 40. . . . Track guys just really have linear speed. I have proved I have more than linear speed. Track guys are known for not being able to catch, for not having good hands. I run routes, get out of my breaks. I can run other routes other than just running the nine. I’m tough. I have taken on hits, I’ve blocked. I even got MVP for blocking one game and I didn’t even touch a ball that game. I don’t think a track guy could go out there and get MVP for blocking.”
For NFL teams, Goodwin’s body of work on the field will mean a lot more than his 40 time. But a 40-yard dash record would certainly open some eyes.