University of Georgia standout Nolan Smith ruled over the first day of on-field drills at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. But his run at the throne came up a little short.
On Thursday, the 6-foot-2, 238-pound pass rusher clocked, at least at first, a blazing 4.44-second 40-yard dash. Then, upon further review, the official time bumped him up (or down, really) to a ridiculous 4.39 seconds.
4.44u@GeorgiaFootball DL Nolan Smith is out of this world.
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/L8ICkVQEkT— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2023
That performance put Smith second all-time amongst defensive linemen in the 40-yard dash. So, still at No. 1, remains Carolina Panthers defensive end Amaré Barno—who is a relatively distant three one-hundredths of a second away.
Barno ran into the history books at last year’s combine. The Virginia Tech product had the official stopwatch read a 4.36, which would later help him get scooped up by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Last year, @Ayye_Barno ran the fastest 40-yard dash ever by a defensive linemen (4.36).
Can someone break that record today?
📺: #NFLCombine begins today at 3pm @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/AWrnNSk6qe— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2023
As for the runner-up, expect Smith to go a bit higher than that. The projected first-rounder also recorded eye-opening numbers in the vertical jump (41.5 inches) and the broad jump (10 feet, eight inches).