Ohio State receivers show off their speed
![Ohio State's Parris Campbell tied for the fastest time in the 40-yard dash among receivers at the NFL combine with a time of 4.31 seconds. [Michael Conroy/The Associated Press]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/2019/03/02/NBUX/ghows-OH-8323dd5a-36ca-5714-e053-0100007f93d8-6da4139b.jpeg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
INDIANAPOLIS — Tenths of a second in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine can cost or earn prospects barrelfuls of money.
Speed is perhaps the league’s most prized asset. For Ohio State’s receivers, their performance Saturday in the 40 could be summed up by one word — cha-ching.
The three Buckeyes receivers finished in the top eight at their position in that sprint. Parris Campbell tied for the fastest time with Massachusetts’ Andy Isabella in 4.31 seconds. Terry McLaurin finished fifth in 4.36 and Johnnie Dixon was eighth in 4.41.
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Campbell’s time is not assured of being the fastest at the combine. Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield is a record-setting track star. He will run Monday.
“We’re all competitive,” McLaurin said Friday. “That’s what Ohio State breeds. We do all this combine testing at Ohio State. We’re competing against each other. We’re trying to beat our own times.
“But I want to beat Parris. He wants to beat me. Kendall wants to be the fastest. Johnnie (Dixon) wants to be the fastest. We’ve been kind of trading times back and forth. It’s going to be closer than people think.”
Last year, Campbell took umbrage when he was excluded from a list of college football’s fastest players that included Sheffield. Campbell checked into the hotel for OSU training camp last August wearing a T-shirt with a screenshot of that list.
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“I’ve still got it,” he said. “That was something that I honestly took to heart at first. Throughout the season, it kind of faded away as a joke or whatever, but that's still in the back of my head for sure.”
Buckeyes receivers excelled in other drills, as well. Campbell finished tied for first in the 20-yard shuttle (4.03 seconds), third in the broad jump (11 feet, 3 inches) and fifth in the vertical jump (40 inches).
McLaurin was sixth in the 20-yard shuttle (4.15 seconds).
Dulin helps cause
Reynoldsburg native Ashton Dulin, who represents Malone University’s now-discontinued football program, also performed well. He ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds, 11th among receivers.
Haskins hampered
Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., who’s not known for his speed, had a 40 time of 5.04 seconds. NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport tweeted that Haskins was bothered by leg cramps before running.
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