Every year the NFL Scouting Combine gets bigger, and this year it got faster thanks to Washington Wideout John Ross and his blazing 4.22 second 40-yd dash. This is the 7th year that Zybek Timing Equipment has been used to measure the world’s most important 40-yd dash and we were impressed to see that run from up close.
As you can see in the photo…
…our red tripods line the track in Indianapolis so we can measure the athletes true times as accurately as 3 decimal points.
During each run, we record both a hand start / laser finish, and a fully automated time (FAT) that starts when the athlete lifts their hand and unblocks the sensor.
“Official times” utilize our electronic hand start, which is a button pressed when the athlete leaves the line; the 10-yd, 20-yd and 40-yd times are all fully automated.
FAT times are the most accurate method of measurement, and can be a let down to many athletes who are used to being timed by a stopwatch. This is why every athlete runs “faster” at their pro day than at the scouting combine. For more on this, you can check out the following article:
Why Athletes Run Faster at Pro Days.
