Tennessee football fans really want Christian Coleman to play for the Volunteers after his 4.12 40-time. But that speed doesn’t mean he could play.
It is so cliche to say, but it seems like we have to always say it. A 40-time does not always translate to football talent. And that should be the case for Christian Coleman as well.
In case you haven’t heard, the Vols track and field star clocked in a ridiculously fast 4.12 40-time on Monday.
Tennessee’s track and field Twitter page put up the video on it.
And of course, that started a tweet in jest from Butch Jones about Coleman playing football.
Coleman eventually responded, noting that he’s not going to play football again, even though he was an all-state high school football talent.
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But it didn’t stop fans from wanting it.
Well, to all fans, we say stop! So Christian Coleman runs a very fast 40-time. Does he have good footwork? How does he handle angles? Can he do this all in pads and cleats?
These are the questions you ask when it comes to football speed.
We have one name for you all to remember before you get too excited about this: Leonard Scott. Scott was a speedy track star who spend four years as a kick returner and receiver for the Vols from 1999 to 2002.
He was part of the 2002 track national championship team with Justin Gatlin.
But in four years as a wide receiver, he only had more than 100 receiving yards in a season once: his freshman year. And in four years as a kick returner, he had one touchdown. It was his freshman year against the Georgia Bulldogs when the game was already in hand.
And three of his career six touchdowns came during his freshman year.
He became good for one big play a season after that.
So no, Christian Coleman’s 40-time means nothing to me, and it shouldn’t to you.
Maybe it was enough to make him an all-state high school football player. But it shows nothing for what he can do at the college level, so let’s just stop with the idea that it means he could be productive in football.
Vols fans should stick to rooting for him to star in track and field and become an elite Olympic athlete. There’s way more in it for him to go that route than the football route.