‘Going For That Island’ Costs Gibson in His 40-Yard Dash

All week leading up to the NFL Combine, Shelton Gibson was receiving praise for his speed. While at West Virginia, he constantly ran 9-routes (streaks) and was the Mountaineers big play receiver. Pundits kept putting Gibson in their pools as a candidate to run one of the fastest times in the receiver group and possibly in the combine.

Shelton himself upped the ante by stating he was “going for that island” in reference to the $1 million dollar prize Adidas has offered to anyone who beats Chris Johnson’s 2008 NFL Combine 40-yard dash record of 4.24 seconds.

Gibson did not challenge Johnson’s record and he didn’t even come close. Gibson’s first attempt in the 40-yard dash resulted in an unofficial 4.50 second time and his second was a 4.52.

Shelton suffered in part from a lack of production because of quarterback play but he did not produce elite level yards during his time at West Virginia. He was being talked about as a day two or three level player but his 40-yard time had the possibility to move him up into an early day 2 selection. Now with these times, Shelton will need to impress in other areas if he wants to hear his name called early in the draft.