Among the (very few) subtler moments from the now-legendary “Club Shay Shay” interview with Shannon Sharpe is Katt Williams’ claim that he can run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash. Even Sharpe, a former NFL tight end, pushed back at that claim.
Never one to sit idly by on accusations of lies, Williams was shortly after filmed bolting down a basketball court like the World’s Fastest Smurf, prompting a conversation on the topic between Sharpe and his “Nightcap” co-host Chad Ochocinco.
Williams’ speed claims became a little more substantive Friday, when he ran a 4.97 40-yard dash at an NFL Pro Day event Sports Academy at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Jared Verse — a Florida State University defensive lineman expected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – timed the run and shared the video.
That 4.97 is not as fast as what he claimed on “Club Shay Shay,” but it’s still damn fast for Williams and inclines folks to believe the words coming out of his mouth, even if is foolishness from time to time.
Some context for the uninitiated: The 40-yard dash is a significant determiner of a football player’s speed and acceleration – scouting and recruitment for college ball and the NFL are largely determined by the speed of a player’s wheels, which are often evaluated at the annual NFL Scouting Combine, which just ended last week.
Those tenths and hundredths of a second matter and can influence everything about the direction of an NFL player’s career.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy actually broke the NFL Combine 40-yard-dash record last week with a 4.21. Retired quarterback and NFL G.O.A.T. Tom Brady, 46, made news a couple weeks ago for running a 5.18 – which is faster than his 2000 combine speed.
In contrast, Williams is 52, has never been a professional athlete, smokes a bunch of weed by his own admission and is in a period of his life in which his knees should be hanging out at a retirement community in Boca Raton – but can…
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