Jalen Myrick's historic 40 turned heads, but he still has a chip on his shoulder

The night before the NFL Scouting Combine, Jalen Myrick called his shot. The former Minnesota cornerback told roughly 10 people that he would do something that no B1G player had ever done before.

He said he was going to run the 40-yard dash in the 4.2-second range.

Naturally, friends and family were skeptical about Myrick’s prediction. After all, no defensive back had run a sub-4.3-second 40 at the combine since 2012. On top of that, no B1G prospect had ever broken 4.31 seconds.

But Myrick’s thinking was different. In his pre-combine workouts, he clocked in at anywhere from 4.31-4.34 seconds. Those times came when he had what he called “dead legs,” which meant he ran a day after a hard workout.

He didn’t have to worry about that in Indianapolis. With fresh legs, he felt like a 4.27 or a 4.28 was within reach.

Fresher than ever, Myrick followed through.

In 4.28 seconds, Myrick went from being just another defensive back at the combine to being a B1G record-holder.

The reactions from NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, Rich Eisen and Deion Sanders said it all.

“Look at that!”

“Four, two, niiiiine.”

“Four, two, what?!”

Upon further review, Myrick’s unofficial 4.29 turned into a 4.28. More importantly, his name turned into a familiar one for scouts.

Immediately after his B1G record-breaking run — he didn’t find out about that until after the combine — Myrick was approached by several defensive back coaches on the field. Everyone wanted to get a closer look.

“A lot of that attention came real quick. It came real fast. I’ll say that,” Myrick told Saturday Tradition. “A 4.2 is just so rare. It’s not the only thing that gets you drafted, but it’s a big thing that can get you drafted to a higher position.”

Myrick had a flurry of texts from family, friends and teammates, some of whom were the same people that doubted his lofty pre-combine prediction.

“When I did it, they were like, ‘Dang. He said he was gonna do it,’” Myrick said. “I was like, ‘I know. I told y’all yesterday but you didn’t believe me.’”

It took one blistering 40 time for Myrick to get the respect he felt he deserved. Well, sort of.

Historically speaking, Myrick’s 40-yard dash made a major statement. In addition to recording the fastest time by a defensive back since Miami’s (FL) Demarcus Van Dyke in 2011, only seven prospects clocked better electronic times in combine history.

One of them just happened to be in Indianapolis that same weekend.

Two days earlier, former Washington receiver John Ross broke Chris Johnson’s 11-year-old combine record with a 4.22-second 40-yard dash. It was the first time that two guys ever broke 4.3 seconds in the same year. But by that point, Ross had already earned all of the weekend headlines.

“I did feel disrespected going into it. But now I feel like…I still feel disrespected at the same time,” Myrick said. “I ran a 4.28 but (John Ross) ran a 4.22. I wasn’t even the fastest guy at the combine. I was the fastest DB. I still feel like it was a good time and even though a DB hasn’t (matched my time) in six years, I still don’t think it caught the attention it should’ve caught.

“But it definitely brought me a lot more attention.”

Myrick’s 40 time was essentially a catchy Super Bowl commercial. As he hoped, it turned heads. But without a quality product (or quality film), it was all for naught.

If scouts went back to Myrick’s film, they probably saw a few things.

Pads or no pads, Myrick has next-level speed. He showed that on defense and special teams. Twice he scored off interceptions and he also had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Not surprisingly, NFL.com dubbed Myrick the B1G’s fastest player before the start of the 2016 season.

“My ability to run really fast shows the best of my ability. It just helps me out with certain things that maybe I don’t do as well as other people,” Myrick said. “But my speed just catches everything up, no matter what.”

Speed, as Myrick knows, isn’t everything.

He made it a priority to improve his hips during the pre-draft period. Myrick hoped that would help make his technique a bit smoother. Once an admitted weakness, now he believes it’s a strength.

Myrick tried to learn from the NFL defensive backs that came before him at Minnesota. Throughout his Gopher career, he worked to incorporate Briean Boddy-Calhoun’s ball skills, Eric Murray’s physicality and Brock Vareen’s technique into his game.

Those guys also shared valuable off-the-field wisdom with Myrick. They told him to enjoy the process and remember that while it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s just football.

It wasn’t long ago that Myrick was the three-star Bloomingdale, Ga. recruit who couldn’t get an SEC offer. Actually, Myrick struggled just to get any Power Five offers.

Minnesota didn’t get a closer look at Myrick until one of his family friends gave his buddy, former Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith, his junior year highlight tape. Smith passed it along to the football staff, and the rest is history.

Four years later, Myrick turned his rare scholarship offer into 93 tackles, 21 pass breakups, five interceptions and 1,052 kickoff return yards in 47 career games. Now, he’s hoping to turn that and his record-breaking 40-yard dash into an NFL opportunity.

Add it all up and Myrick is still projected as a likely Day-3 pick. Knowing that, he told the Star-Tribune he doesn’t think he should be drafted any later than the second round. Whether that happens or not, Myrick knows as well as anyone.

All it takes is one.

With five weeks remaining until the NFL draft, Myrick’s major tests are in the past. The combine and pro day in the books, so he shifted his training a bit. He doesn’t have to stress about his 40 time. Instead, he has to talk about it.

“It’s still a pretty regular occurrence,” he said. “Every time I talk to a team or talk to anybody, I’m still hearing about it.”

Myrick will continue to talk with NFL teams and work out in Minneapolis. He’ll do that until he goes back to Georgia for the draft.

Recently, he had a conversation with former Minnesota teammate De’Vondre Campbell, who just finished his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons. They discussed the idea of playing together in Myrick’s home state. Perhaps he’ll wind up alongside Campbell or one of his other former Gopher teammates.

However it shakes out, Myrick is eager to prove himself to the team that drafts him. He wouldn’t mind answering the question that everybody had after the combine.

What will Myrick’s future NFL team get besides a guy who can run a fast 40-yard dash?

“You’re gonna get a dog,” Myrick said. “You’re gonna get a passionate player, a very emotional player and a player who’s ready to compete at the highest level.”