Vic Beasley Sets Speed Record on 40 Yard Dash

Associated Press Aug.22, 2014

CLEMSON, S.C.- In Friday drills for the Clemson Tiger football team, the heat and humidity weren't the only things burning up the field. A new record has been set by defensive end Vic Beasley, clocking a 4.0 second 40 yard dash.

The Adairsville, GA native already had a reputation for his speed, collecting many national awards and accolades for his performance on the football field in his 4 years at Clemson. Having already graduated with a degree in sociology, he returns to the football field in 2014 to complete his 5th year of NCAA eligibility before likely entering the NFL draft next February.

"It's pretty amazing," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "We knew he was fast, but those line positions, we just don't ever have them run a [timed 40 yard dash] so we had no idea."

The previous consensus all-time leader in the 40 yard dash is Bo Jackson's 4.12 second run at the 1986 NFL combine.

"Yeah, he smoked it." Swinney said.

Often criticized by statisticians, 40 yard dash measurements don't have an official standard of measurement or conditions, and no official world record is kept. This afternoon's timing was performed by Deputy Lt. James Davey of the Pickens County Sheriff's Department.

News traveled fast and less than an hour went by before Steve Spurrier, head coach of the in-state rival South Carolina Gamecocks, released his opinion on twitter- "That's pretty fast. Pickens County usually writes tickets for that, but I guess Lt. Davey doesn't want to get fired" referencing an incident from 2013 involving Clemson's coach Swinney and a scandal around a citation from Pickens County for a moving violation ending in an officer's termination.

Coach Spurrier's tweet has since been removed from the social media website.

When asked to comment, coach Swinney declined.

"We go back and forth with each other alot in the media, the fans like it, but it's not good for the programs, it's not good for the players, you know, to see all that," Swinney said. "My momma always told me, she said boy, if you lay with dogs you get fleas, and yall know how much I love my momma."

The first game of the Clemson Tigers' season is against the University of Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA on Saturday Aug. 30.

This post was edited on 8/22/14 at 1:00 pm