John Ross is the NFL’s new fastest player and he’s a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ross, the Bengals’ Round 1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, spoke with SB Nation about his record-breaking 40-yard dash time at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine, in which he recorded a 4.22 second time.
“I get to the line, and it’s like everything gets quiet,” Ross said, explaining the moments before he took off. “I just take off and I finish and in my head I was like, ‘that was slow.’”
Of course, it was not slow at all as Ross broke the record previously set by running back Chris Johnson (4.24 seconds).
In the above video, (which, if you aren’t seeing you can click here to view) SB Nation spoke with Ross’ cousin, high school coach, grandmother and more important figures in his life to hear about his road to the NFL.
His college coach spoke about the amount of pressure that was on Ross as a young superstar, who was relied on to put six points on the board whenever the ball was in his hands.
Ross received his first college offers at 14-years-old from UCLA and Washington, and once he visited Washington, the decision was essentially made.
Ross also talked about his ACL tear in 2015 during a Washington spring practice. “It was heartbreaking,” Ross said. “My trainers told me it was an opportunity to change my life.” He now believes that ACL tear was the best thing that ever happened to him.
“He grew a lot and I think the ACL helped,” Ross’ cousin said of the injury.
Unfortunately, Ross currently had surgery after the combine to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. He’s expected to be fully healthy and ready to play by the time the 2017 NFL season rolls around.
Welcome to Cincinnati, John Ross. It sounds like the Bengals have a great new weapon on offense!