Georgia’s Elijah Holyfield trails NFL combine tailbacks in 40-yard dash
INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia tailback Elijah Holyfield ran his best 40-yard dash in 4.76 seconds according to NFL.com’s preliminary report.
It was disappointing time for the 5-foot-10, 217-pound Holyfield, who said Thursday he was optimistic he could run a fast time and shake off any criticism that he lacks breakaway speed.
Holyfield got off to a good start at the combine on Thursday when he did 26 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press. That was third-most among the running backs in Indianapolis.
26 reps puts @EH_taught_me at 3rd-most among RBs on the bench press.#NFLCombine #GoDawgs
📺: March 1-4 LIVE on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/6uBqkyWOo0— Georgia Football (@FootballUGA) March 1, 2019
I’ve been training hard,” Holyfield said. “I’m looking forward to seeing all of the hard work pay off.”
RELATED: Elijah Holyfield feels the need for speed, trains with Olympic star
Holyfield, who ran the 40 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday, worked with global track star and fellow Atlanta product Christian Coleman during his NFL combine prep.
“He’s helped me a lot with my starts and trying to do more with less motion,” Holyfield said on Thursday. “You want all of your force going forward. I’d had a lot of wasted motion when I was starting.”
By comparison, former Georgia stars Nick Chubb and Sony Michel ran times of 4.52-seconds (Chubb) and 4.54 at last year’s NFL combine.
On Friday, Florida’s Jordan Scarlett ran a 4.41 according to NFL.com, Alabama’s Damien Harris ran a 4.49, Texas A&M Trayveon Williams ran a 4.50 and Kentucky’s Benny Snell ran a 4.65.
Former NFL player personnel executive and current NFL.com analyst suggests 4.55 is the benchmark for running backs at the combine.
Holyfield will have the opportunity to run the 40-yard dash and re-test in all of the NFL combine events again on March 20 at UGA Pro Day.
If Holyfield can’t improve his time by at least a tenth of a second, it will lead to more speculation over whether he left the Bulldogs’ program a season too early.
RELATED: Holyfield explains his decision to leave Georgia football team
Holyfield is one of four UGA underclassmen competing at the NFL combine, joining receivers Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley and tight end Isaac Nauta.
Holyfield also had a 29.5-inch vertical jump and did a 118-inch broad jump. The vertical jump was not up to projected RB standards, but the broad jump met the benchmark set forth by NFL expert Gil Brandt.
When you watch the NFL combine workouts this week, keep this chart handy. These are my target test results for each position and event. pic.twitter.com/w3yzY8PcGF
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) February 25, 2019
