Even before his All-American junior season, everybody in Baton Rouge knew that LSU linebacker Devin White was going to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. The two-time team MVP and six-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week is, without a doubt, one of the best players to ever play at Louisiana State University. With a program as established as LSU, that's saying a lot.
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The gifted athlete was expected to dominate when he showed up at Lucas Oil Stadium for the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. What happened, however, is White put on a show for the ages and solidified himself as one of the best players in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Over the weekend, the pride of Springhill, Louisiana flashed back to his days as a two-way player at North Webster High School when he ran for 5,031 yards and 81 touchdowns as a running back. At the combine, White ran a 4.42 second 40-yard dash time, the fastest of any inside linebacker. For perspective, White put up a better time than former LSU stars Odell Beckham Jr., Derrius Guice, Tyrann Mathieu and Leonard Fournette.
Afterwards, White was moved to tears when telling his family about his record performance.
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The two-time All-American finished his LSU football career with 286 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, nine passes defended and four forced fumbles in only three seasons. After declaring for the draft, White made his case to be a top-10 pick when April's draft rolls around by putting up one of the best combines by any inside linebacker in the two decades.
White tied Illinois' Martez Wilson (2011) for the fastest 40-yard dash by an inside linebacker since the 2000 NFL Combine. Among the other inside linebackers, White recorded the third-highest vertical jump at 39.5 inches, ran the 3-cone drill at 7.07 seconds (eighth-fastest), completed the 20-yard shuttle in 4.17 seconds (seventh-fastest), and put up 22 reps at the 225-pound bench press (12th-most).
Need more convincing that the LSU Tigers are a factory of professional football talent? Listen to the sales pitch White gave for the university after finishing his work out in Indianapolis.
"If you're getting recruiting for a school right now, and LSU is not [number] one on your list, then you're not ready to be a pro," White said.
The 240-pound tackling machine is going to be selected in the first few picks of the 2019 NFL Draft, and his defensive teammate Greedy Williams is going to be right there next to him. On Monday, Williams ran 4.37 40-yard dash, which was tied for the second-fastest among cornerbacks at the combine.
Just so you know, White is almost 50 pounds heavier than Williams and nearly just as fast. Imagine that coming at you as an opposing player...
