Power Ranking College Football's 25 Fastest Players
Speed is becoming the name of the game in college football.
Wide-open offenses such as the ones at Baylor and Oregon are world-famous for being factories of lightning-fast players. Even the pro-style teams known for their powerful "man ball" styles like Alabama and Stanford are loading up on track-star talent at skill positions and all across their defensive backfields.
But who holds a legitimate claim to being the fastest in college football heading into the 2016 season? The most common way to measure speeds in football—times in 40-yard dashes—are notoriously unreliable thanks to various conditions and timing mechanisms.
A more accurate measure of speed is the fully automatic time system used in official track and field records from reliable sites such as the Track & Field Results Reporting System, Track & Field News and DyeStat. Many players who are considered some of the fastest in college football either run track collegiately or ran in high school.
In this countdown, I relied on recent, verified and mostly wind-legal times from the above sites in the 100 meters, which is the most common event among these speedsters. (More recent times held a greater weight than old high school ones when the numbers were close.) However, some track stars with elite numbers in other events, such as hurdles and relays, were eligible for special consideration.
Now, to be completely clear, this track-time method is the best objective way to pick the fastest players in college football. Some who didn't make the Top 25 could be faster than those inside the Top 25, but there's no real way to determine that without relying on opinion instead of the hard data.
Notice a player with a verified 100-meter time that I left out? Want to suggest a player for the honorable mention category? Let me know in the comments below.
"Football Speed" vs. "Track Speed"
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A common complaint with lists such as these from some football fans is that there is a difference between speed on a football field and speed on a running track.
Chris Huston of HeismanPundit.com put together fastest college football player lists just like this one from 2005 to 2014. In his 2014 edition, Huston gave a great argument against this belief:
"Let’s dispense with the notion that there is ‘football’ speed and ‘track’ speed. The ability to start and stop and change direction are attributes unto themselves and not elements of being fast. Neither is the unique ability to maintain one’s speed in full football regalia. Face it, what most people see as speed on the track not translating to football is really just a matter of a player not being very good.
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Simply put, speed is speed. Other athletic skills can make a player's movement more effective on the football field, but they're still just as fast as they are on the track.
With that in mind, let's continue on to a group of honorable mention candidates who just missed out on the Top 25.
Honorable Mention
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This honorable mention list consists of players who are considered by many as some of the fastest in college football—they just didn't have the recent verified track times needed to make the final Top 25.
Again, some of these speedsters might be faster than some of those in the Top 25, but there's no way to objectively determine it. For now, these players deserve special mention for being extremely effective on the football field with their speed.
Shout out some more speed demons in the comments below.
- Baylor RB Johnny Jefferson
- Florida WR Antonio Callaway
- Florida RB Jordan Scarlett
- Florida State RB Dalvin Cook
- Georgia RB Nick Chubb
- Georgia WR Isaiah McKenzie
- Georgia Southern RB Matt Breida
- Kentucky RB Stanley "Boom" Williams
- LSU RB Leonard Fournette
- Michigan WR Jehu Chesson
- Nebraska DB Nate Gerry
- Nebraska WR De'Mornay Pierson-El
- Ohio State RB Dontre Wilson
- Oklahoma RB Alex Ross
- Oklahoma State WR James Washington
- Oregon RB Taj Griffin
- Oregon DB Charles Nelson
- Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey
- TCU WR KaVontae Turpin
- Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd
- Texas A&M WR Speedy Noil
- Texas Tech RB Justin Stockton
- USC RB Ronald Jones II
- Utah WR Kenric Young
25. Washington WR John Ross III
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Top time: 10.66 in 100 meters (high school, 2013)
A knee injury cost John Ross III the entire 2015 season for the Washington Huskies, but an offense returning plenty of starters will get an extra shot in the arm when he returns for the 2016 campaign.
The Long Beach, California, native ran two kickoffs back for a touchdown in the 2014 season as a sophomore and also grabbed four touchdown passes—averaging 21.82 yards per his 17 receptions on offense. He was just one of 11 players nationally in 2014 to have multiple kick return scores. He also started several games at cornerback, showing his excellent versatility.
Ross might lose some of his speed in his return from a knee injury, but this former high school track star should still be an effective weapon for Jake Browning and the rest of the Huskies when he makes his long-awaited return to the field this fall.
24. NC State RB Nyheim Hines
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Top time: 10.65 in 100 meters (high school, 2015)
One of the fastest recruits in the class of 2015, Nyheim Hines hit the ground running this past fall for the NC State Wolfpack. He had 48 carries, 20 receptions and 35 kick returns for NC State as a true freshman, finishing eighth nationally in total yardage for the final category.
"The true freshman broke three (one was called back) kickoff returns for more than 90 yards, one of which went for a touchdown," Alec Lower of SB Nation's Backing the Pack wrote. "He also played admirably when forced into action at the running back spot."
Hines should become an even bigger weapon in both the passing and running games as he enters his sophomore season. He's already been able to flash his excellent speed on the gridiron in a special teams capacity, making him one to watch in the ACC.
23. New Mexico WR Ridge Jones
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Top time: 10.65 in 100 meters
Ridge Jones' track times slipped a bit in the 2015 outdoor season, but they were still strong enough to crack the Top 25 of the fastest players at the FBS level.
Jones hit a couple of big plays for New Mexico in 2014, breaking off a long touchdown carry and taking a kickoff back for a touchdown. Last season, the Lobos used him a few times on offense and on special teams, and he posted a 20-yard carry in the season finale at the New Mexico Bowl.
The Texas native will continue to be a secret weapon of sorts for New Mexico's unique option offense, and he'll battle to get more playing time in special teams heading into his senior season. He's one of the quickest playmakers that the Group of Five conferences have to offer.
22. Arkansas WR Eric Hawkins
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Top time: 10.64 in 100 meters
Injuries have limited Eric Hawkins' impact on the field in his three seasons for Arkansas. But, if he can stay healthy throughout his 2016 campaign, the Razorbacks will have one of the SEC's fastest players to rely on in the return game and in offensive situations.
Individually, Hawkins' personal best in the 100 meters is a solid 10.64 on the track for Arkansas. But Hawkins is also a champion in the 4x100 relay, as he was part of the Razorback team that won the NCAA Championships last May with a time of 38.47 seconds.
On the football field, Hawkins averaged 22.30 yards per kick return last season for the Razorbacks, playing in eight games. He only has three career catches on offense, and they all came during the 2013 season for the Razorbacks.
21. Duke DB DeVon Edwards
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Top time: 10.61 in 100 meters
DeVon Edwards is an experienced safety, sprinter and special teams weapon for Duke. Last football season, Edwards tied for the second-most tackles on the team with fellow safety Jeremy Cash and ranked sixth nationally in average kick return yardage.
Edwards took three kick returns back for touchdowns, including this 100-yard effort in a win over Georgia Tech. He's returned six kicks for scores in his three years with the Blue Devils and will return in 2016 as one of the nation's most effective return men.
"Just a quiet assassin," defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said, per Laura Keeley of the News and Observer. "He is always going to smile, no matter what happens. He is always going to tell me that he’s got it, everything is okay, don’t worry about it, coach, I got it. He’s a calming presence."
20. Tennessee DB Evan Berry
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Top time: 10.57 in 100 meters (high school, 2013)
The most dangerous kick returner in college football last season, Evan Berry was second to none at turning on the afterburners in the open field. The brother of NFL safety Eric Berry averaged more than 38 yards per kick return and scored three touchdowns in that category.
"We have a lot of confidence in him, obviously, and our whole entire kickoff return unit," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said last year, per Patrick Brown of the Times Free Press. "We invest so much time in that. Every time we go out on the field to return a kick, whether it's a punt return or whether it's a kickoff return, everyone on our sideline expects a big play."
Before he was ripping up fields across the SEC with his special teams speed—which also came in handy on a 100-yard pick-six in a bowl victory over Northwestern—Berry had a solid high school track career in Georgia. His personal best came in 2013 during a state championship meet.
19. Alabama DB Marlon Humphrey
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Top time: 55.56 in 400-meter hurdles
Marlon Humphrey made a name for himself in 2015 as a top cornerback for an Alabama team that won the national championship. The redshirt freshman recorded eight pass breakups and three interceptions for the Crimson Tide as he started 14 of 15 games.
Before the 2015 football season, Humphrey had already made waves on the track with his incredible speed. The Alabama legacy—his dad was a star running back for the Crimson Tide—was a member of a school record-breaking 4x400 relay team at Alabama that qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Humphrey does longer distance events in track than most of the players on this countdown, but he was also a great sprinter and hurdler at powerhouse Hoover High School in Alabama. His speed makes him a tough matchup for almost anyone lined up with him at wide receiver.
18. Ohio State RB/WR Curtis Samuel
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Top time: 6.44 in 55 meters (high school, 2013)
Curtis Samuel was a difficult player to rank in this Top 25. He didn't run in outdoor track meets during his high school days, but his 55-meter time in 2013 at Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn was one of the fastest in the country that year.
Urban Meyer, who has pulled in some elite track stars as a college football coach and has effectively used them in his offense, moved Samuel from running back to H-back ahead of the 2015 season. With Ezekiel Elliott off to the NFL, Samuel could move back to running back in 2016 and become Ohio State's next feature back with his blazing speed.
"I'm not sure if my role will change or not," Samuel said, per Bill Landis of Cleveland.com. "I know I'll be playing some running back, some slot. It will be a mix of both."
17. Michigan DB Jabrill Peppers
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Top time: 10.51 in 100 meters (high school, 2013)
In addition to doing virtually everything for Michigan in 2015, Jabrill Peppers was also a track star in high school. He won multiple New Jersey state championships as both a junior and senior in high school, posting a career-best 10.51 in the 100 meters in 2013.
On the football field, Peppers has been able to use his speed and athleticism as a safety, quarterback, running back, receiver, kick returner and punt returner in his redshirt freshman campaign for the Wolverines. When he had the ball in his hands, his elite speed changed games.
"Jabrill Peppers added spice to Michigan's running game late in the season with speed no other back offered all season," Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free-Press wrote. "The redshirt freshman who starts at safety had the vision to hit the holes and accelerate, rushing for 72 yards along with two touchdowns on 18 carries."
16. Oregon RB Tony Brooks-James
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Top time: 10.59 in 100 meters
The first of several names on this list from the high-powered offense and legendary track program at Oregon, Tony Brooks-James was inadvertently left off this countdown last summer.
That mistake won't happen twice, as Brooks-James' non-wind-aided 10.59 as a freshman in the 100 meters was one of the best among Division I football players in 2015. He had a wind-aided time of 10.50 last season, too, putting him closer to some more Pac-12 speedsters on this list.
Brooks-James received a few opportunities to make big plays for Oregon in 2015, averaging exactly nine yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns. He scored twice in the season opener against Eastern Washington and had a touchdown run in Oregon's strong first half against TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
15. Baylor WR KD Cannon
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Top time: 10.58 in 100 meters
KD Cannon is the ultimate speed weapon for a Baylor offense that loves to stretch the field in every conceivable direction. He was the Bears' No. 2 receiver behind Corey Coleman for a second straight season, averaging 17 yards per catch in both campaigns.
On the track, Cannon posted a strong 10.58 in the 100 meters at last year's Big 12 Championships, where he also came in second in the conference as a member of Baylor's 4x100 relay team. In high school, Cannon posted unofficial times in the sub-10.4 range for the 100 meters.
All eyes will be on Cannon in 2016 as he becomes the top returning receiver for the nation's No. 1 offense. He could post simply ridiculous numbers with quarterback Seth Russell this fall thanks to his top-notch speed.
14. Alabama DB Tony Brown
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Top time: 13.92 in 110-meter hurdles
Alabama defensive back Tony Brown posted some strong times in his first season in Tuscaloosa, but the one that stands out above the rest is the 39.23 he helped post in the 4x100-meter relay last spring.
The Crimson Tide relay team finished eighth at the NCAA Championships, and Brown was named an All-American for the event. He carried that work over to the football field, where he recorded 16 tackles—including one for a loss—and forced a fumble for the eventual national champions.
His speed will continue to be a tremendous asset for the Crimson Tide, which improved their pass defense in a big way last season. Brown should be a key member of the secondary rotation again in 2016.
13. Stanford WR Isaiah Brandt-Sims
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Top time: 10.53 in 100 meters
Stanford got a much-needed injection of elite speed this past season when Christian McCaffrey broke out to have a record-smashing year for the Cardinal. Whenever the coaching staff decides to turn young receiver Isaiah Brandt-Sims loose, they'll have plenty of speed in their ranks.
Brandt-Sims is the fastest player for Stanford, and he posted the best times for the track team in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters during last April's "Big Meet" against Cal. His wind-aided 10.5 at the Longhorn Invitational was 12th-best among all football players in 2015.
Brandt-Sims didn't record any statistics as a freshman last football season, but he's expected to become a valuable weapon down the road for the Stanford offense.
12. Oregon WR Kirk Merritt
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Top time: 10.44* in 100 meters (high school, 2014)
A Louisiana product that decided to blaze his own trail to the Pacific Northwest, Kirk Merritt was one of the fastest recruits in the class of 2015, posting a slightly-wind-aided 10.44 as a high school junior. (The date of this top time docks Merritt and the next couple of players on this list slightly when compared to current track stars who also play football.)
Merritt was the 2014 SPARQ national champion, showcasing not just his track-star speed, but his all-around athleticism at The Opening. A year later, he was back in Oregon, gearing up for his first season with the Ducks.
As a true freshman, Merritt was used in both the rushing and receiving and return games for Oregon, averaging 11 all-purpose yards per play. He should get a lot more work in the Ducks offense this fall.
11. Oregon RB Thomas Tyner
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Top time: 10.43 in 100 meters (high school, 2011)
Thomas Tyner's eye-opening track time came way back in 2011, when he was still in high school. However, Tyner has been able to show off his top-notch speed plenty of times since then for the fast-paced Oregon Ducks offense.
Tyner was third on the team in rushing in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and he averaged more than six yards per carry as a freshman. He missed all of 2015 for Oregon with a shoulder injury, but he is expected to return to the team in 2016.
When healthy, Tyner can be a tremendous burst of speed out of the backfield behind star running back Royce Freeman. While he'll have to battle a crowded depth chart of other lightning-fast backs, Tyner showed in his first two seasons in Eugene that he is extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands.
10. Georgia WR Reggie Davis
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Top time: 10.43 in 100 meters (high school, 2013)
Reggie Davis became more of a weapon in Georgia's passing game last season, and the Bulldogs will need the Florida-born speedster to take his game to the next level in coach Kirby Smart's debut season.
Davis most notably had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown and his lone receiving score of the season against Tennessee. (He also had a costly drop for the Bulldogs on what would've been a game-tying touchdown.) Davis only recorded one more catch for the rest of the year.
With Malcolm Mitchell now gone, Davis will be the Bulldogs' second-leading wide receiver for 2016. If he can become more consistent as a receiver, Davis definitely has the speed to make huge things happen for the Georgia offense.
9. USC DB/WR Adoree' Jackson
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Top time: 10.48 in 100 meters
Do-it-all USC star Adoree' Jackson is a Pac-12 champion and 2016 Olympic hopeful in the long jump, but don't overlook his elite speed on and off the football field. Jackson came in seventh in the conference in the 100 meters last year and has already posted a strong time of 6.79 seconds in the 60 meters early in the 2016 indoor season.
"When people see I’m a two-sport athlete, they think I’m doing it just to do it," Jackson told Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer last year. "Some people think I’m doing it to get better at football, but I’m doing it to be one of the USC greats that are up on the track and field wall."
As a sophomore in 2015, Jackson took more responsibility on offense, finishing with 414 yards and two scores as USC's No. 2 receiver. The Heisman dark-horse contender also added a pair of punt return touchdowns and a pick-six to give him five non-offensive scores in just two seasons with the Trojans.
8. Texas Tech DB Nigel Bethel II
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Top time: 10.48 in 100 meters
I used the 100-meter sprint as the golden benchmark for most of these speedsters, and Texas Tech defensive back Nigel Bethel II had one of the strongest times in 2015 among FBS players.
With what he showed in the 200-meter sprint last year, though, Bethel might have a legitimate claim to be even higher in this countdown. His time of 20.81 seconds was third-best among football players behind TCU track greats Cameron Echols-Luper and Kolby Listenbee—both of whom are no longer with the Horned Frogs.
In 2015, Bethel had 43 tackles—35 of them solo ones—in just nine games for the Red Raider defense. He started at cornerback and will be a leader for Texas Tech in the 2016 season, when the team returns its entire starting secondary.
7. Ole Miss DB Kailo Moore
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Top time: 10.43 in 100 meters (2014)
Ole Miss defensive back Kailo Moore didn't run the 100 meters during the 2015 track season, and his best 60-meter and 200-meter times in the few indoor events he participated in were lagging behind some of the top names on here.
But Moore is still one of the fastest players in all of college football, running a 10.43 in the 100 meters back in 2014. In high school, he won the Mississippi Class 2A state championship in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters with blazing times.
Moore saw the most defensive snaps of his career as a junior in 2015, and David Ching of ESPN.com writes that he'll battle for starting time at cornerback during spring practices. This will be the last year for him to utilize his track-star speed for the swarming "Landshark" defense.
6. LSU DB Donte Jackson
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Top time: 10.30* in 100 meters (high school, 2015)
Donte Jackson was another tough name to slot into this Top 25. He hasn't recorded an official TFRRS time yet in his track career at LSU, but the freshman was a Louisiana high school legend.
Jackson ran the 100 meters in a personal-best 10.30 seconds at the Louisiana state meet in 2015, where he took home his fourth state championship. The time was wind-aided, but it was still legitimate enough to be verified on the comprehensive national high school list at Track & Field News. (A wind-corrected adjustment of his time puts the sprint in the low 10.4 range.)
The young speed demon got his football career at LSU off on the right foot, recording 26 tackles and one interception as a defensive back, and averaging 20.5 yards on eight kick return opportunities. With a full preseason of training before his sophomore year, Jackson will be a potential breakout star in 2016.
5. Arkansas State ATH Cameron Echols-Luper
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Top time: 20.39 in 200 meters
Cameron Echols-Luper doesn't run the 100 meters, but his superb time in the 200 meters is enough to give him a special spot inside the top five. His 20.39-second mark in that event at the Big 12 Championships was the fastest by any college football player by two-tenths of a second and the 13th-best among all Division I sprinters.
Echols-Luper was a valuable special teams weapon for TCU in 2014, most notably running back a punt for a 69-yard touchdown in a close call against Kansas. But Echols-Luper didn't suit up in the 2015 season for anyone, as he decided to transfer to Arkansas State last August.
The track star was reportedly changing his position to quarterback with the Red Wolves, but he is listed on the team's website as a wide receiver. Either way, Arkansas State's offense will get a world-class injection of speed when Echols-Luper takes the field in 2016.
4. Florida State WR Kermit Whitfield
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Top time: 10.28 in 100 meters (high school, 2013)
Kermit Whitfield has the best official 100-meter time of anyone on this list, but he hasn't posted a track time like that since his senior year of high school. (He had a rough 7.21 in the 60 meters in his one-off return to the track at the 2015 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships.)
But on the field, Whitfield has utilized his speed better than anyone else in the top five. He led the nation in kick return average as a freshman in 2013 and had a monumental 100-yard touchdown in the BCS National Championship Game against Auburn.
This past season, Whitfield was Florida State's No. 2 receiver with 798 yards and six touchdowns. He went for a career-high 172 yards against Louisville, turning busted coverage into zero chance for the Cardinals on a 70-yard touchdown. He's a consistent threat to score on both offense and special teams for the Seminoles.
3. Oregon WR Devon Allen
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Top time: 13.16 in 110-meter hurdles (2014)
Devon Allen's place in the rankings was a tough call. He missed the entire 2015 track season due to a knee injury he suffered in Oregon's Rose Bowl semifinal victory over Florida State. Allen made his return to the football field this fall and recorded nine catches for 94 yards.
But before suffering the major knee injury, Devon Allen was one of the fastest collegians in the entire country. He won both the U.S. Track and Field and the NCAA titles in 110-meter hurdles and posted the event's second-fastest time in college track history.
As Huston wrote in 2014, hurdles have "an element of precision and timing to the hurdles that has less to do with raw speed than technique," but one can't post a time like 13.16 in the hurdles without also being incredibly fast. We'll get a better gauge of Allen's speed post-injury in the 2016 track season, but right now, he's still firmly in the top five.
2. Cal RB Khalfani Muhammad
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Top time: 10.44 in 100 meters
On the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's list of 2015 bests for college football players, Cal running back Khalfani Muhammad's name is the top one returning for the 2016 FBS season in the 100 meters.
However, Muhammad's 10.35-second sprint at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge was wind-aided, and his best official time from TFRRS is a 10.44. Don't take anything away from Muhammad, though—that 10.44 is still one of the best by any college football player in the 2015 track season.
Muhammad, who was a California state 100-meter champion in high school with a blistering time of 10.35 seconds, led the Golden Bears in rushing last season with 586 yards on just 87 carries. He got to showcase his world-class jets in Cal's wild win over Texas, when he made one cut and sprinted 74 yards to the end zone.
1. Arizona WR Tyrell Johnson
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Top time: 10.41 in 100 meters
With TCU wide receiver Kolby Listenbee and his absurd 10.04 time in the 100 meters now headed to the NFL, Tyrell Johnson holds the claim as the fastest major college football player in the country based on track times.
Johnson ran a 10.41 in the 100 meters at the Pac-12 Championships last spring. (In addition to the non-wind-aided 100-meter time, Johnson's fastest 60-meter time is also better than Muhammad's.) While that only got him in the Top 75 of the Division I's top sprinters, consider that all of these players are posting elite numbers while splitting training time between football and track.
A foot injury cost the Wildcats wide receiver the first five weeks of the 2015 season, but he returned to lead the team in kickoff returns and catch a 17-yard touchdown pass against Arizona State. He should figure to be a bigger weapon on offense in 2016.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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