Ranking College Football's 25 Fastest Players
Officially, Ohio State won college football's national title in 2014. Unofficially, the real champion was speed.
When the Buckeyes ran past Alabama in the Sugar Bowl semifinal game, their team speed helped dispel the myth that quickness can only be found in the SEC. And when they raced by Oregon, one of the most notorious speed-fueled teams, it was as much because of swiftness as it was scheme and strength.
You can't teach speed, but you can coach it into a spot on a football team where it provides the most bang for the blaze.
Every college team has fast players, but the ones who are able to convert this speed into tangible results are truly the fastest ones. Many of the game's fastest are either current or former track stars, ones who have found a way to maximize this velocity.
It's not just about getting from one end of the field to the other in the least amount of time, but also being able to elude and break free of others or to have the ability to close the distance when chasing someone down.
Who are the fastest players in college football? Taking into account their charted sprint times and their on-field performances, we've ranked the 25 best.
NOTE: Years listed for players are for the 2015 season.
25. B.J. Kelley, WR, Oregon
1 of 25
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'2", 185 lbs
Oregon has one of the fastest rosters in the country, with three Ducks making our top 25. The Ducks are so speedy that even their scout team can run circles around opponents.
B.J. Kelley rarely made it onto the field in 2014, getting some snaps on special teams, but he still had a major role as the scout-team player who often portrayed some of Oregon's opponents' fastest players. According to Andrew Greif of The Oregonian, this season Kelley's portrayals included Michigan State wide receiver Tony Lippett and various members of Washington State's bevy of pass-catchers.
Oregon coach Mark Helfrich told Greif that players like Kelley, a former high school track star who caught two touchdown passes in 2011, were a key to the Ducks' success this past season.
"That's part of our special sauce around here is those guys realizing that everybody matters," Helfrich said. "Every single person in this building helps us get better."
24. Kenric Young, WR, Utah
2 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 180 lbs
The first time Kenric Young touches the ball next season, it's very likely that will go down as the biggest reception of his college career. That's because Young's very limited action as a true freshman saw him only catch one pass in six games, a reception that went for a loss of one yard late in a loss to Arizona in November.
Young figures to have plenty more opportunities in 2015, as Utah graduated three of its top receivers, including speedsters Kaelin Clay and Dres Anderson. The Florida native has similar skills, a noted sprinter in high school.
23. Ridge Jones, WR, New Mexico
3 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'10", 166 lbs
Passing is not a big part of New Mexico's offense, as the Lobos were third-worst through the air in 2014 with only 89 yards per game. Ridge Jones only managed to catch two of the team's 76 receptions last season, but he managed to make good use of his wheels in the return game.
Jones averaged nearly 26 yards on kickoff returns, bringing one back 100 yards for a touchdown in a loss to Boise State. It took him 11 seconds to notch that TD, similar to the 10.57-second time he registered in a meet last May for New Mexico's track team.
New Mexico graduated its two most targeted receivers, so if coach Bob Davie looks to throw more in 2015, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jones in there as a deep threat.
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23. Kailo Moore, RB, Ole Miss
4 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'10", 188 lbs
In his two years at Ole Miss, Kailo Moore has been a part of the team's offensive and defensive depth. With his speed, he might end up getting a look as a return man in the future to allow him to cover all his bases.
Moore was a backup running back as a freshman in 2013, and this past season he converted to a cornerback and appeared in 12 games for the Rebels as a reserve on their vaunted "Landsharks" defense. He only had five tackles, but with Ole Miss graduating Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt, he may see more action next season.
Last spring Moore helped Ole Miss qualify for the NCAA championships in the 4x100-meter relay and during the season had times in the 100 and 200 that rank among the top 15 in school history.
22. Kenyan Drake, RB, Alabama
5 of 25
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'1", 202 lbs
A broken leg cut Kenyan Drake's junior year in half, preventing him from building on a career that saw him go from a garbage-time running back as a freshman to a key piece of Alabama's rushing attack in 2013.
Had he been able to finish out the season, Drake figured to have become even more integral as a pass-catcher, as before the injury he showed off his speed with a pair of long touchdown receptions, including an 87-yard TD against Florida.
All signs point to Drake making a full recovery from his injury, according to D.C. Reeves of the Tuscaloosa News.
"He expects to be healthy for the start of spring practice," Reeves wrote in December after Drake was seen "jumping and celebrating" on the field after Alabama beat Missouri in the SEC title game.
20. Isaiah Brandt-Sims, WR, Stanford
6 of 25Year: Redshirt freshman
Height, weight: 5'11", 175 lbs
With a do-everything weapon like Ty Montgomery at its disposal, Stanford had no need to burn a year of Isaiah Brandt-Sims' eligibility just to be a backup. Instead, that extra season of training should pay dividends for both the Cardinal and Brandt-Sims, who has a chance to be next year's version of Montgomery.
As a high school standout in Wenatchee, Washington, Brandt-Sims had 4,848 all-purpose yards in three seasons as a running back, receiver and kick returner. He also won eight state sprint titles, claiming his division's championship in both the 100- and 200-meter runs every year, per his Stanford bio.
Montgomery, who was a senior in 2014, averaged 128.6 all-purpose yards per game this past season after averaging 157.7 yards in 2013.
19. Jalen Hurd, RB, Tennessee
7 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'3", 227 lbs
One of the biggest running backs in the country, Jalen Hurd could easily get by just on power and strength. The fact that he's also got deceptive speed makes him that much harder to stop.
Hurd ran for 899 yards and five touchdowns while adding 221 receiving yards with two scores as a true freshman, one of more than 20 who contributed to Tennessee's first winning season since 2009. He had four 100-yard rushing games, including a 118-yard, one-touchdown performance in a blowout win over Kentucky that wildly impressed Kentucky coach Mark Stoops.
Stoops told Kyle Tucker of The Louisville Courier-Journal that Hurd "maybe doesn't look as flashy as the little guys sometimes, but he's always running away from people, running through people."
18. Artie Burns, DB, Miami (Florida)
8 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'0", 196 lbs
A three-time Florida state champion in hurdles as a high schooler, Artie Burns came to Miami as a two-sport athlete who has put football as his first priority. He competed for the Hurricanes' indoor track team last winter, posting the school's second-best time in the 60-meter hurdles ever, then rejoined the football team for spring practice in preparation for his first year as a starter.
"(The hurdles) make me stronger for football," Burns told Dave Krider of MaxPreps.com back in 2012. "It always will be my first love. When I get on the field, I can do whatever I want."
Burns had 11 starts in 2014, recording 40 tackles and breaking up six passes. His work helped Miami rank 17th nationally in pass defense this past season, limiting opponents to only 14 touchdowns in 13 games through the air.
17. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
9 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 200 lbs
Dalvin Cook was the No. 2 running back prospect in the 2014 class and the top-rated player from the state of Florida, according to 247Sports. Those ratings were the result of incredible high school results, along with being clocked at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash during the recruitment process.
A freak shoulder injury suffered during the spring, which required surgery, put Cook behind the game in preparing for his first college season. As a result, he did not make his collegiate debut until Florida State's second game, and he didn't start getting meaningful carries until mid-October, when he started in place of injured senior Karlos Williams.
It was all just a blaze of speed and success for Cook after that, as he finished with 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns and had five 100-yard games.
16. Miles Shuler, WR, Northwestern
10 of 25
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 5'10", 180 lbs
Miles Shuler's career began at Rutgers, but after hardly touching the ball in his first two seasons, the New Jersey native looked elsewhere and ended up at Northwestern. He was on his way to a having a pretty solid year before a pair of injuries, first to his head and then to his hand, ended his season after eight games.
Shuler had 23 receptions for 190 yards, and with two of the Wildcats' top three receivers graduating he figures to get more of an opportunity in 2015. That's when he'll get one last chance to show off his track-star speed, which enabled him to win a pair of New Jersey state titles back in high school.
15. Cameron Echols-Luper, WR, TCU
11 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'0", 190 lbs
One of two TCU players on this list, Cameron Echols-Luper didn't get much action on offense because of the wealth of talented pass-catchers. But he found his niche as the Horned Frogs' top punt returner, where he was better able to use the speed that led him to post the best time in the 200 meters of any college football player who ran track last spring.
According to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Echols-Luper ran the 200 in 20.61 seconds during the TCU Invitational in March. Later that season, he teamed up with fellow TCU receiver Kolby Listenbee to finish 10th in the 4x100-meter relay at the NCAA championships.
Echols-Luper averaged 10.58 yards on 33 punt returns in 2014, including a 69-yard touchdown that helped the Horned Frogs avoid a major upset at Kansas in November.
14. Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
12 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'0", 190 lbs
After a breakout freshman season, when he intercepted six passes and broke up another 11 throws, Kendall Fuller put together another solid year this past fall as the anchor of Virginia Tech's secondary. The speed that enabled him to close on receivers and shut down opponents' passing games also allowed him to become a run-stopper, recording two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss.
Fuller also was a key player on the Hokies' special teams, serving as a gunner and logging more than 100 return snaps.
With times in the 40-yard dash clocked as low as 4.38, according to NFLDraftScout.com, Fuller figures to be a high draft choice if he turns pro after the 2015 season. As it stands, he's rated as the top cornerback prospect in the 2017 draft class.
13. Stacy Coley, WR, Miami (Florida)
13 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'1", 185 lbs
If not for a shoulder injury suffered early in the season, Stacy Coley might have surpassed the output he had as a freshman, when his 1,461 all-purpose yards were among the 10 best in school history.
Coley still managed 23 passes for 184 yards, while averaging 22.5 yards on kickoff returns and also contributing on punt returns and with a handful of carries. He had seven touchdown catches in 2013 but didn't score a TD this past season as Miami's deep receiving unit had six players (plus running back Duke Johnson) catch at least 20 passes.
Fellow speedsters Johnson and deep threat Phillip Dorsett have graduated along with tight end Clive Watford. Assuming he can return to his old form, Coley could be the one making all the big catches for the Hurricanes.
12. Kolby Listenbee, WR, TCU
14 of 25
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'1", 183 lbs
After two seasons stuck far down the depth chart, Kolby Listenbee got a chance to show off on the football field the kind of lightning speed that enabled him to post some of the best sprint times in the country last spring as a TCU track star.
Listenbee was second on the team with 41 receptions for 753 yards, with the Horned Frogs' top yards-per-catch average of 18.4. He scored four times, including in the Peach Bowl blowout win over Ole Miss, and had a career-best 146 yards and a TD against Baylor.
He only had three catches in his first two years on the football team, but in the offseason he kept working on his speed. That culminated in him having a time of 10.23 seconds in the 100-meter dash and helping TCU's 4x100-meter relay team (that included Horned Frogs receiver Cameron Echols-Luper) place 10th in that event at the NCAA championships.
11. Thomas Tyner, RB, Oregon
15 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'11", 215 lbs
Thomas Tyner's numbers might have tailed off in his second year of college football, but his speed didn't.
After rushing for 711 yards and nine touchdowns as true freshman in 2013, this past season Tyner ran for 573 yards and five scores as the emergence of Royce Freeman kept him from taking over the role of Oregon's No. 1 running back. He did step up in the semifinals for an ineffective Freeman, gaining 124 yards and scoring twice on 13 carries.
Despite being one of the heavier players on this list, Tyner runs like a sprinter, tapping into his high school track days when ran the 100-meter dash in as fast as 10.35 seconds, per Oregon's website.
This speed could make Tyner a viable option as a pass-catcher in 2015 similar to how the Ducks converted 1,000-yard rusher Byron Marshall into their top receiver.
10. Curtis Samuel, WR, Ohio State
16 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 5'11", 196 lbs
As Ohio State's quarterbacks showed up this past season, the Buckeyes are a team so loaded with talent that it can't get it all on the field at the same time. But if someone were to go down, the next man up is just as talented, if not more.
This exists with OSU's running backs as well, where Ezekiel Elliott is certainly the star attraction, but Curtis Samuel showed he'd be more than capable of carrying the load if something were to happen to the starter. While he didn't have the same kind of power that Elliott showed in 2014, Samuel's first season of college football did include plenty of glimpses of his quickness.
Samuel ran for 383 yards and six touchdowns on just 58 carries, while he also had 11 receptions and handled a dozen kickoffs.
9. Alex Ross, RB, Oklahoma
17 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'1", 221 lbs
Oklahoma's 2014 season began with three unproven players battling for the top running back spot after the team's two leading rushers from the year before had graduated. Alex Ross wasn't able to establish himself as the go-to guy in the backfield—Samaje Perine had something to do with that—but he did manage to find his own important role.
As the Sooners' primary kickoff man, Ross averaged 31.2 yards on 23 kickoffs and scored twice. Both return TDs came in big wins, at West Virginia and against Texas in the Red River Shootout.
Ross continued to get touches as a running back, going for 144 yards on 13 carries against Iowa State and finishing with 595 yards and four scores. Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman wrote that he began the season labeled as a "home run hitter" because of his speed, but then with better maneuverability he began to make his swiftness work in crowds.
8. Kermit Whitfield, WR/KR, Florida State
18 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'7", 183 lbs
Much like his team, Levonte "Kermit" Whitfield wasn't able to completely match the success he had a season ago. But despite reduced results, Whitfield remains one of the fastest players in the game.
As a freshman, Whitfield averaged more than 36 yards on kickoff returns and brought two back for touchdowns. The most notable of those was during the BCS title game, a 100-yard return that gave Florida State a 24-20 lead to help lead the Seminoles to the national championship.
This past season, though, Whitfield's kickoff-return average dropped to less than 21 yards, and he wasn't able to score. He did get a little more involved in FSU's passing game, catching 11 balls for 145 yards.
7. KD Cannon, WR, Baylor
19 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 170 lbs
Baylor's passing offense was one of the tops in the nation in 2014, the product of a great system, a veteran quarterback and an overabundance of targets. KD Cannon was the most consistent of those weapons, not to mention the fastest.
An accomplished sprinter and triple jumper in high school, per his school bio, Cannon lived up to his surname by seeming to be shot out of one on certain deep routes this past season. He led the Bears in yards per catch, averaging 17.8 yards, while catching 58 passes for 1,030 yards with eight touchdowns.
Cannon saved his best for last, scoring twice and hauling in eight passes for 197 yards in Baylor's Cotton Bowl loss to Michigan State.
6. John Ross, WR, Washington
20 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'11", 179 lbs
Washington's first season under coach Chris Petersen saw several Huskies players find multiple ways to contribute to the team's 8-5 record. That often meant starters on one side of the ball getting time on the other side or getting involved in special teams—whatever it took to get the job done.
John Ross was in that mix from the first game of the season, scoring rushing and receiving touchdowns at Hawaii and later showing off his speed as a kick returner and later a converted defensive back. All told, Ross scored seven TDs: four as a receiver, two on kickoffs and one as a running back, while defensively he made 16 tackles and had a key interception in Washington's Apple Cup win over Washington State.
He started three games at receiver and four at cornerback, making the switch to defense late in the season (but continuing to handle kickoff duties).
5. Speedy Noil, WR, Texas A&M
21 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 5'11", 185 lbs
The best kind of nicknames are ones that are either memorable or completely fitting. If this wasn't the case, it wouldn't make sense for the player born Devante Noil to hang his hat on being called "Speedy."
But after his first season at Texas A&M, we're pretty sure that Speedy Noil isn't just going to be a flash in the pan. He'll be flashing by but with plenty of success.
Noil was third on the Aggies in receiving in 2014, catching 46 passes for 583 yards and five touchdowns. On a roster loaded with standout receivers, Noil stood out by being the one who could run past everyone when needed.
4. Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC
22 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 5'11", 185 lbs
His official title on USC's roster is cornerback, where Adoree' Jackson started several games as a true freshman. But the former 5-star prospect was recruited by the Trojans (and plenty of other schools) for his athleticism, versatility and speed, attributes he showed not only as a defensive back but also a wide receiver and kick returner in 2014.
"Eighteen years after (former Michigan star Charles) Woodson's exploits, Jackson is a throwback to the former Heisman winner, excelling as a cornerback, wide receiver and kick returner," Bleacher Report's Kyle Kensing wrote.
Jackson played on both sides of the ball in seven of USC's 13 games last season, finishing with three touchdown catches and 49 tackles. He also averaged nearly 30 yards per return on kickoffs, fourth best in FBS, and scored twice, including in USC's 45-42 win over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.
Against Notre Dame in November, Jackson became the first Trojans player since at least the 1960s to start on both offense and defense.
3. Tony Brown, CB, Alabama
23 of 25Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 198 lbs
Tony Brown played in all but one game for Alabama this past season, serving as a reserve defensive back who registered only 10 tackles (one for loss) and broke up a single pass. With the Crimson Tide losing several members of their secondary group to graduation or early NFL entry, Brown figures to see a lot more playing time in 2015.
That means we'll get to see more of his blazing speed, which is getting honed in the offseason as part of Alabama's indoor track team.
According to the school's track website, on Saturday Brown ran the 60-meter hurdles in 7.89 seconds, which ranks as the seventh-best time in school history and No. 15 in the NCAA this season.
2. Khalfani Muhammad, RB, California
24 of 25
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 5'7", 170 lbs
Khalfani Muhammad wasn't able to break through for California as expected this past season, only getting 46 carries for 215 yards along with four touchdowns. A lack of involvement with the program during the spring—when he was competing with the Golden Bears' track team—likely contributed to this, along with the emergence of junior Daniel Lasco.
But if Muhammad keeps putting up the times he did in sprints like he did in 2014, Cal football coach Sonny Dykes will be forced to find a spot on the field for this speedster.
Muhammad had the 16th-best time in the 200 meters and the 20th-best in the 100 among college football players who ran track last spring, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He showed off that speed, as well as the ability to take a hit and keep moving, on a 50-yard touchdown run against Arizona in September.
1. Devon Allen, WR, Oregon
25 of 25
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'0", 185 lbs
Devon Allen entered the 2014 season with a reputation as a speedster and some national track titles to back that up. But now that we've seen what the hurdling superstar could do with pads on and the ball in his hands, he's reaffirmed his spot as the fastest player in college football.
Allen led Oregon with seven touchdown catches last season, while hauling in 41 receptions for 684 yards. He also averaged more than 26 yards on eight kickoff returns, though he wasn't able to break one off for a score.
"It's one thing to be a college football player who runs track—there's a slew of those players every year and only a handful do so at a high level," wrote Chris Huston of Heisman Pundit. "But it's another thing to have the physical capability to train for football in the fall (and take all the physical punishment that comes with it) then come out in the spring and switch one's body to an entirely different discipline and still perform at a world-class level."
Last spring and summer Allen won both the NCAA and U.S. 110-meter titles, the first collegiate athlete to do so since 1979. His speed was sorely missed during the playoffs, when after returning the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl he injured his right knee and didn't return. He also missed the national title game, though he's hoping to be back in time for outdoor track season, per NBC OlympicTalk's Nick Zaccardi.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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