Kentucky RB Boom Williams Ran a 4.28 40-Yard Dash in 9th Grade. Now He’s Poised to Demolish The NFL Combine
Stanley “Boom” Williams burst onto the national recruiting scene as a 9th grader.
A native of Monroe, Georgia, Williams balled out as a freshman at Apalachee High School. That garnered him enough attention to earn an invite to the University of Georgia’s “Dawg Night” football camp, an annual event held in June. There, Williams wowed UGA coaches with an incredible 4.28 40-Yard Dash (hand-timed).
“I ran a 4.28. I think that really started me off [right], and then coach Mark Richt gave me an offer and that was my first offer. To be able to have that speed and show that speed was very big; it was a great chance and a great experience for me,” Williams told STACK.
Williams went on to collect offers from programs like Clemson, Auburn, LSU, Wisconsin and West Virginia before settling on Kentucky, where he contributed right away as a returner and all-purpose back. Last season, he exploded for 1,170 rushing yards on just 171 attempts (a 6.8 yards-per-carry average) before deciding to forgo his senior year and declare for the NFL Draft.
STACK recently visited with Williams at IMG Academy and the buzz was undeniable. This guy could be the star of the 2017 NFL Combine.
Dwight Phillips, who won gold in the Long Jump at the 2004 Summer Olympics, serves as IMG’s Combine Speed Coordinator. He believes that Boom has what it takes to run a 40-Yard Dash somewhere in the 4.2s at the Combine.
“Boom’s an extremely hard worker. He has it in his mind that he wants to run 4.2 in the 40-Yard Dash. He does overtime work so he can accomplish that goal. I think it’s very realistic that Boom can run a 4.2. He recently ran a 4.3 at our mock combine, so by the time we reach the real Combine, it’s very achievable,” Philips told STACK.
Since 2006, only six players have run a time in the 4.2s at the Combine. One of them was Chris Johnson, whose 4.24 at the 2008 NFL Combine stands as the all-time record.
But the 40-Yard Dash isn’t the only event where Williams has a chance to shine. Scott Gadeken, IMG’s Head of Physical Conditioning, believes Williams will also post blazing times in the agility drills. “He’s going to be in the top one or two in most of the agility drills as well. We clocked him at a sub-4.00 in the 20-Yard Shuttle. He’s going to be in the mid 6.00s on his L-drill. He’s super strong with a low center of gravity and a strong lower body. He’s going to turn a lot of heads and put up some great numbers,” Gadeken told STACK.
For reference, just two running backs have run a sub-4.00 20-Yard Shuttle since the 2006 NFL Combine. Williams isn’t the biggest back—he’s listed at 5-foot-9, 196 pounds on UK’s website—but a spectacular showing at the Combine should do wonders for his draft stock.
RELATED: How to Ace the 20-Yard Shuttle Test
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Kentucky RB Boom Williams Ran a 4.28 40-Yard Dash in 9th Grade. Now He’s Poised to Demolish The NFL Combine
Stanley “Boom” Williams burst onto the national recruiting scene as a 9th grader.
A native of Monroe, Georgia, Williams balled out as a freshman at Apalachee High School. That garnered him enough attention to earn an invite to the University of Georgia’s “Dawg Night” football camp, an annual event held in June. There, Williams wowed UGA coaches with an incredible 4.28 40-Yard Dash (hand-timed).
“I ran a 4.28. I think that really started me off [right], and then coach Mark Richt gave me an offer and that was my first offer. To be able to have that speed and show that speed was very big; it was a great chance and a great experience for me,” Williams told STACK.
Williams went on to collect offers from programs like Clemson, Auburn, LSU, Wisconsin and West Virginia before settling on Kentucky, where he contributed right away as a returner and all-purpose back. Last season, he exploded for 1,170 rushing yards on just 171 attempts (a 6.8 yards-per-carry average) before deciding to forgo his senior year and declare for the NFL Draft.
STACK recently visited with Williams at IMG Academy and the buzz was undeniable. This guy could be the star of the 2017 NFL Combine.
Dwight Phillips, who won gold in the Long Jump at the 2004 Summer Olympics, serves as IMG’s Combine Speed Coordinator. He believes that Boom has what it takes to run a 40-Yard Dash somewhere in the 4.2s at the Combine.
“Boom’s an extremely hard worker. He has it in his mind that he wants to run 4.2 in the 40-Yard Dash. He does overtime work so he can accomplish that goal. I think it’s very realistic that Boom can run a 4.2. He recently ran a 4.3 at our mock combine, so by the time we reach the real Combine, it’s very achievable,” Philips told STACK.
Since 2006, only six players have run a time in the 4.2s at the Combine. One of them was Chris Johnson, whose 4.24 at the 2008 NFL Combine stands as the all-time record.
But the 40-Yard Dash isn’t the only event where Williams has a chance to shine. Scott Gadeken, IMG’s Head of Physical Conditioning, believes Williams will also post blazing times in the agility drills. “He’s going to be in the top one or two in most of the agility drills as well. We clocked him at a sub-4.00 in the 20-Yard Shuttle. He’s going to be in the mid 6.00s on his L-drill. He’s super strong with a low center of gravity and a strong lower body. He’s going to turn a lot of heads and put up some great numbers,” Gadeken told STACK.
For reference, just two running backs have run a sub-4.00 20-Yard Shuttle since the 2006 NFL Combine. Williams isn’t the biggest back—he’s listed at 5-foot-9, 196 pounds on UK’s website—but a spectacular showing at the Combine should do wonders for his draft stock.
RELATED: How to Ace the 20-Yard Shuttle Test