South Carolina running back Brandon Wilds didn't wow any scouts with his on-field workouts at the NFL Combine on Friday, but he didn't disappoint either. Just as he did during his four years in Columbia, the Blythewood native displayed incredible consistency, further proving his reliability to professional scouts.
After putting up 21 reps on the bench Thursday, good for seventh-most at his position, Wilds began Friday with the 40-yard dash. Knowing that scouts point to his speed as a weakness, Wilds made a big statement when he matched Alabama's Heisman winner Derrick Henry, the consensus number two back in the draft, with a time of 4.54 seconds. The Gamecocks' leading rusher last season, Wilds bested Arkansas' Alex Collins (4.59) and Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Dixon (4.58), who are projected by CBS Sports as the third- and fifth-best running backs in the class, respectively.
The backs then had their leaping abilities put to the test in the broad jump and the vertical jump. Wilds matched Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott, the top running back in the draft, with a jump of 9 feet, 8 inches, which again put him ahead of Collins (9 feet, 4 inches). In the vertical, Wilds was sixth among backs with a 36.5-inch jump, just a half inch behind Henry, and well ahead of Elliott (32.5) and Collins (28.5).
Once the leaping was over, Wilds headed to the events where he was expected to perform poorly: the three-cone drill and the 20- and 60-yard shuttles, all of which test quickness and agility. In the three-cone drill, Wilds posted a time of 7.08 seconds, faster than Henry's 7.20. Wilds topped the national champion again in the 20-yard shuttle, running a 4.33 compared to Henry's 4.38. South Carolina's back struggled a bit in the 60-yard shuttle, as could be expected, placing ninth of 12 participating backs with a time of 11.75 seconds.
Overall, Wilds' numbers are strong, and they indicate that he is consistent, as he shows on tape. Despite never reaching 600 yards in a single collegiate season, Wilds is doing everything he can to prove to NFL scouts that he deserves to hear his name called at the draft, and his performance at the combine is certainly a step in the right direction.