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Becton turns on the speed at the NFL Scouting Combine

Fred Jeter | 3/6/2020, 6 a.m.
Mekhi Becton has long attracted attention with his mountain of a frame. Now he’s drawing raves for his speed, too.
Mekhi Becton

Mekhi Becton has long attracted attention with his mountain of a frame.

Now he’s drawing raves for his speed, too.

The former Highland Springs High School and University of Louisville offensive lineman turned heads at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis.

Measured at the Combine at 6-foot-7 and 364 pounds, Becton covered the electronically timed 40-yard dash in a take-notice 5.1 seconds.

That’s the fastest clocking in the 40-yard dash in Combine history for a man weighing 350-plus. Becton’s 5.1 was the fifth fastest time overall among this year’s offensive lineman prospects, many being 50 to 75 pounds lighter than the former Springer.

After passing up his senior year at Louisville to enter the NFL draft, Becton also impressed with a surprisingly low 17 percent body fat and 36-inch arms.

Known as the “Big Ticket,” Becton won the ACC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy last fall and was a first-team, All-ACC pick for the Cardinals.

Becton’s NFL stock is rising.

According to the NFL.com mock draft, he may be the fourth overall pick after Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio

State University defensive lineman Chase Young and Ohio State defensive back Jeff Okudah. The New York Giants have the fourth pick.

Highland Springs High has a storied history of its former athletes reaching the NFL.

Among those preceding Becton are Waddey Harvey (1969-70), Greg Taylor (1982), Ron Burton (1987-90), Brian Washington (1988-1996), Jim Davis (2005-07), Victor “Macho” Harris (2009-11) and Marcus Burley (2013-17).

Another athlete stirring up a breeze in Indianapolis was former University of Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III, who ran the fifth fastest 40 yards — 4.27 seconds — in Combine annals.

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Ruggs passed on his senior season in Tuscaloosa to enter the NFL draft.

The only faster Combine times than Ruggs’ have been John Ross (a record 4.22 seconds in 2018), Chris Johnson, Dri Archer and Marquise Goodwin.

The NFL has used electronic timing since 1999. Prior to that, Auburn University’s Bo Jackson ran the fastest hand-time 40 yards in a stunning 4.12.

Of the approximate 330 players invited to the workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium, only one, Alex Taylor, hails from an HBCU.

Taylor is a 6-foot-8, 308-pound offensive lineman from South Carolina State University.

The 2020 NFL Draft will be April 23 through 25 in Las Vegas.