3 Two-Sport Stars Who Could Win adidas' 40-Yard Challenge

3 Two-Sport Stars Who Could Win adidas' 40-Yard Challenge

Adidas is offering to pay NFL draft prospects $1 million if they break the 40-yard dash record at the 2016 NFL Combine, the company announced on Tuesday. Th

Feb 10, 2016 by Taylor Dutch
3 Two-Sport Stars Who Could Win adidas' 40-Yard Challenge
Adidas is offering to pay NFL draft prospects $1 million if they break the 40-yard dash record at the 2016 NFL Combine, the company announced on Tuesday. The offer stands to those select athletes who are able to break the 4.24-second mark set by Chris Johnson in 2008.



The Arizona Cardinals’ running back utilized his strong track background to set the time eight years ago as he holds a 100m personal best of 10.38 and a 200m personal best of 21.30.

The next generation of football stars includes a handful of quality two-sport athletes that excel on the track as well as the gridiron. Should these athletes enter the 2016 NFL Draft, we could potentially have an assault on Johnson’s record and a big payday for one fast athlete.

Here are some of the two-sport NCAA athletes that have the raw speed for such a challenge.

Devon Allen (wide receiver/110m hurdler)


60m - 6.85 (altitude)
40 yard - 4.48
100m -10.48
110m hurdles - 13.16

Oregon’s sophomore wide receiver notched 41 receptions, 684 yards and seven touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season for the Ducks. That same year, he also became the second-fastest runner ever to win an NCAA title in the 110m hurdles. He continued his winning streak with a national title at the USATF Outdoor Championships where he beat seasoned veterans, and became the first athlete since Renaldo Nehemiah in 1979 to win both championships.



Track and football accolades aside, Allen is crazy fast and first showed glimpses of his speed at the 2012 Proving Ground Combine where he ran 4.54 in the 40 as a high school senior.



After sitting out from an ACL injury in 2015, Allen has already returned the track with a personal best of 7.74 in the 60m hurdles at the Razorback Invitational.

Adoree’ Jackson (cornerback/long jumper, sprinter)


60m - 6.78
40 yard - 4.44
100m - 10.48
Long jump - 7.91m

The USC utility player and track star racked up five touchdowns — two on kick returns, two on passes and one on an interception return — during the 2015 season. On the track, Jackson became a Pac-12 Champion with a long jump of 7.71m, and went on to finish fifth at the NCAA Championships with a personal best of 7.91m. He also helped contribute to the Trojans’ fourth-place finish in the 4x100m relay in Eugene, Ore.



Although Jackson announced he would focus solely on track in the spring of 2016, he could be a real threat to the 40-yard dash record if he entered the combine.

Kolby Listenbee (wide receiver/sprinter)


60m - 6.67
100m - 10.04
200m - 20.60
40 yard - 4.36

Texas Christian’s two-sport phenom solidified himself among the nations best sprinters last year when he finished seventh overall in the 100m at the NCAA Championships. His mark of 10.02 (+2.7) was a personal best under all conditions and ranked among the top 30 marks in the world in 2015. He also assisted the Horned Frogs with a runner-up finish in the 4x100m at the championships. On the football field, Listenbee finished the 2015 season with 30 catches for 597 yards and five touchdowns.