LSU Tigers CB Patrick Peterson is expected to be the first defensive back off the board at the 2011 NFL Draft, and his showing today at the Combine didn’t do anything to change that notion. He turned in a blazing 4.34-second 40-yard dash despite being a bigger corner, also ranking No. 6 in the vertical jump and No. 5 in the broad jump among all DBs.
That wasn’t the fastest 40 time of the day, though, with Miami Hurricanes DB DeMarcus Van Dyke cranking out an unofficial 4.28 that’s the best of the year among all players and one of the best ever. He ran it again, producing a 4.36 despite stumbling. Elsewhere in the ACC, Virginia’s Ras-I Dowling and Clemson duo Byron Maxwell and Marcus Gilchrist turned in some impressive numbers at various events.
Chris Culliver of the South Carolina Gamecocks likely helped himself as well, running a 4.4 and finishing second in the vert.