WTKA/Sam Webb: Funchess is fastest player on team
Haterz commence the hating. Per a snippet of an interview that will be used for the 2014 preview magazine of the The Wolverine, Funchess himself said he has currently been timed as the fastest player on the team. Measured in at 6'4" (and I believe he said 3/4, but wasn't clear... and don't know how to write six-four-and-three-quarter inches numerically), 235 lbs., hand timed at 4.33. The hand-timing was done by the coaches, I believe Wellman, though that was implied and not explicitly stated.
Raymon Taylor is the second fastest. He said something like "Jay-Lu" was the third, which actually sounded like Jayru on the audio. My assumption is that was Jourdan Lewis, but could have that totally wrong.
Sam intimated that Dennis Norfleet - to those who this news may cause to haz a sad - is likely the fastest in a 20-yard window.
Bonus WR coach tweet:
Told u. Keep it coming, the negativity, the doubting!! Because within the walls of Schembechler WE BELIEVE!! #gunslingers
Everyone is missing the point.
4.33 doesn't matter, hand timed doesn't matter.
The fact that he's faster than everyone else on the team despite 6'4 235lbs is the point. In other words, he is a match-up nightmare for defensive backs and linebackers alike.
So we should take your word, random internet guy, over the player's and the coaches'? That makes sense, I'll stop buying the hype, and I'll keep it real from now on. Thanks for setting me straight, random guy who knows more than the player and coaches.
Almost every high school, college, and even some middle schools have some sort of access and capability of laser timing these 40s.
It's 2014. I can't believe that every high school prospect isn't gaged on his laser timed 40. Not to mention, college players.
If Funchess is in fact that fast, take it to the track. Then come out and say he ran what he ran.
To me, the laser-timing can be kind of a crap-shoot as well... the clock starts at first movement, not at a gun or anything like that.
In my heyday, there was a system that had you put your thumb on a button and the clock started when you released it. The whole 40-time obsession is so overrated. How fast a guy is in full pads can be different from how fast he is in a singlet. Denard's 40 was rather underwhelming for how fast he seemed on the field.
/my2cents
Yes, I definitely agree that 40 times are way over-hyped. Like you said - some guys are faster on the field than they 40 time suggests, and others are slower. And it completely ignores agility and it's not like guys run a perfectly straight 40 very often on the field.
That said, all things being equal, you'd like your players to have the fastest 40 as possible.
For those talking about dropped passes, I believe Funchess is well aware of this. When he talked with Sam he discussed being "the guy" on this team, and the fact that he's never really been that before. He's been the guy behind the guy. Or the guy to the side of him, or hovering around or above or below the guy. Even in high school, Burbridge was the primary target. Obviously last year it was Gallon. He recognizes the need to step it up.
is not accurate how can anyone say he was faster than everyone else?
At the best they can say his inaccurate time is faster than everyone ele's inaccurate time.
If Funchess can get rid of his occasional 'dropsies', he's going to be a 1st rounder. His combo of size and athleticism will have people drooling over him at the combine
players, I am very happy with that. Should be an interesting and exciting fall.
Only at MGoBlog can something good/exciting come out about the team and have so many people compaining about it or claiming it's not true. We are a weird fanbase.
Not only did Funchess actually run a 6.33, but he's really only 5-10 and 175.
Did I do that right?
So Funchess is really Drew Dileo?
Shhhhh... it's the only way Drew could get another year of eligibility. Devin Funchess doesn't actually exist. He's a myth, an archetype, a phantasm.
I was about to after reading this awful thread.
Also only at MGoBlog can something good/exciting happen and the thread takes about 10 minutes to devolve into people pooping on Al Borges.
You can find several of them in here.
but there was an ancient technique to determine a faster player that don't involve fancy new-fangled things like lasers or stopwatches. It was called a simple "race." I can't say for sure, but I imagine they happen pretty often at or after practices.
Exactly, I'm sure "fastest guy on the team" is a title athletes tend to take pretty seriously and the guy that holds it probably gets challenged to race all the time.
First one player will try to be faster, then another, and another. Pretty soon it will be like an arms race, with every player trying to be the fastest. With all the arguing we will be doing as the intellectuals remind us that hand-timing is inaccurate, and players combine times will rely on luck, we'll miss the football season. Sam Webb will have to leave town, every phone call will sound like Phil.
Combine results (or Pro-day on his jumps)
Height: 6'4.625"
Weight: 231 lbs
40: 4.56
Vert: 38.5"
Broad: 10'3"
Those numbers seem both realistic and pretty ideal for a guy like Funchess. If he gets the consistency with his hands down, he canbe an All-American type WR in college just as Mike Williams was.
FWIW, Mike Williams stats were
2002: 81 Rec, 1265 Yards, 14 TDs
2003: 95 Rec, 1314 Yards, 16 TDs
If Funchess is like Mike Williams, it better be the USC Trojans version and not the Detroit Lions version.
That's why he posted the USC stats. And if that's true, that's pretty damn good.
I would be suprise if Funchess runs under 4.50 but if he does I expect big numbers this year.
or we're a slow ass team.
Edit: I hope it's the first option.
Whether it's to push the other fast players on the team to run harder next time or to give Funch more confidence and make him try to hold the team title of "fastest 40" I don't care, but I like it. I'm geeked to see what an entire season of playing WR will do for Funch's all aound game.
Wtf I know Peppers is the fastest on the team but Funchess being second is a good thing if he really ran a 4.33 40
They probably should have taken Peppers' high school time and applied it to their results from actual practice with the players who are actually there.
comparing hand timed 40s to hand timed 40s does not prove who is fastest on the team. if they all line up and race, then you will see who the fastest is.
but - at least it shows funchess is ONE of the fastest on the team, and for how big he is that is very good for us if it translates onto the field.
if only he could catch the ball :*(
From what I've seen, Funch is not a 4.3 guy. Then again, he's really big so he covers a lot of ground but looks not as fast doing it. Something tells me that Jabrill Peppers will ultimately be the fastest player on the team, but I do wonder what Dymonte Thomas runs. He always appeared super quick on film.
Does this mean he gets the #1 jersey?
MGoThread since the season ended. Is Funchess the fastest kid on the team? Probably not, but he was a TE last year. One would think speed would be the biggest hindrance to his conversion to pure WR. Evidently not a problem. Funchess is fast (and is big and can jump and will hopefully start catching). Speed is good in football.
Don't have enough points to start a thread, but this should wet everyon'e thirst for info out of the Fort.
Nuf said.
someone explain the 40 times thing to me because i never paid attention to it. do they run multiple times and then find the average of their run's? or is it just the single fastest time?