Fastest Wisconsin Badgers 40-Yard Dash Times at NFL Combine of the Last 20 Years

The Wisconsin Badgers have two players participating at the NFL combine this week in Indianapolis, looking to show of their athletic tools to raise their NFL Draft stock.

Vinny Anthony and Mason Reiger will take the field this week at Lucas Oil Stadium, running drills in front of NFL scouts to try and stand out among their peers.

They will be next in a long line of Wisconsin participants at the combine, many of whom have stood out for their speed on the gridiron.

Fastest Badgers at the Combine

Wisconsin Badgers CB Scott Starks (2) was a track star who dominated at the NFL combine | Joe Koshollek / Journal Sentinel files, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Over the last 20 years, the Badgers' fastest runner in the 40-yard dash was cornerback Scott Starks in 2005.

He ran track at Wisconsin, so it wasn't as surprising when he clocked a blazing 4.37-second run, which was tied for the 11th-fastest time of that year.

He went on to be a third-round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he had a five-year playing career.

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The second-fastest Badger in the 40-yard dash was safety Dezmen Southward in 2014.

He was one one-hundredth of a second slower than Starks at 4.38 seconds.

Southward also went on to be a third-round pick, spending a few seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before a brief stint with the Carolina Panthers.

Wisconsin fans might think of Jonathan Taylor as being the fastest-running Badgers alumnus, but he ranks third on the list with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash in 2020.

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor was one of the fastest Badgers runners of the modern era. | RICK WOOD/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

He was the fastest running back in that draft class and tied for the seventh-fastest player overall.

Cornerback Natrell Jamerson was the only other UW player to clock a 4.4 or under in the 40-yard dash at the combine.

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It's worth noting that running back Braelon Allen did not run the drill at the combine during his pre-draft process.

Vinny Anthony has good speed at the wide receiver position, but he didn't jump out as the type of player who is going to set records at the combine.

Mason Reiger has also has good speed for an edge rusher, but a player of his size would have to be a freak of nature to post 40-yard dash times that match defensive backs and ball-carriers.