The Penn State Nittany Lions dominated the 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Combine. Saquon Barkley was as impressive as many hoped he would be, Mike Gesicki led the charge in a vast majority of the drills at tight end, and cornerback Grant Haley showed out with speed and quickness.
The fastest player on the Penn State docket, however, was the safety whom few expected to make such a profound impact: Troy Apke.
Troy Apke starts out the safeties with a 4.35 (!!) pic.twitter.com/Bfyi9uaLI3
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) March 5, 2018
Apke was a dominant force at the Scouting Combine, posting a 41.0″ vertical jump and ranking fourth amongst safeties in the broad jump. The key to his success wasn’t just his explosiveness, but his rare blend of speed and quickness, as well.
Apke ran the fastest 40 of any safety in this draft class, checking in with an absurd time of 4.34 seconds—0.06 seconds faster than any other player at his position.
Apke also ranked No. 1 amongst safeties in the three cone drill and 20-yard shuttle. In other words: Apke is the single most athletic safety in this draft class, with speed, agility, and leaping ability all taken into account.
How that translates to game film will be debated between now and the 2018 NFL Draft, but the working theory is that Apke will be drafted.