Add this to Myles Garrett's resume as college football's most freakish athlete: he can run like a wide receiver. And Texas A&M's star defensive end has technology to back up the claim made by TAMU head coach Kevin Sumlin.
"He's at 19-20 mph," Sumlin said Thursday, according to Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle. "That's where you start talking about receiver (and) DB speed."
It's just another display of outrageous athleticism for a defensive end listed at 6-foot-5, 262 pounds, who is one of the top draft prospects in college football. Sumlin's miles-per-hour comparison stems from the program's use of the Catapult system, which monitors players on the practice field in various ways using GPS technology. Catapult expresses speed in the form of a miles-per-hour reading.
By comparison, Minnesota's Jalen Myrick, named one of College Football 24/7's fastest players in the game, has topped out at 23.4 mph. FSU star running back Dalvin Cook clocked a 22.8 mph mark as a freshman. Of course, defensive end play doesn't call for straight-line speed nearly as much as receivers and defensive backs. First-step quickness is the greater measure for a pass rusher like Garrett, and that's something the junior has plenty of, as well. Garrett will decide after the season whether to apply for early eligibility in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The preseason All-SEC pick has set a goal of 20 sacks for the coming season. If he doesn't reach it, speed won't be the reason why.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
