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University of Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant boosted his draft stock at the NFL Combine when he ran a 4.38 40. Trufant said he was motivated by some who said he’d run around the 4.5-second range and that we was stiff. The brother of NFL players Marcus and Isaiah Trufant, Desmond may now find himself being drafted in the first round.
Desmond Trufant joined KJR in Seattle with Mitch Levy to discuss his 4.38-second 40 time at the NFL Combine, the fastest time he had run before that, the combine process, being motivated by some of his doubters, the interview process and where he wants to play next year.
How did you run a 4.38-second 40?:
“I just did what I’ve been doing. I wasn’t surprised. I was expecting to come into the combine and perform great. UW prepared me well. We did combines at UW my four years there, so I already knew what I was going to do.”
What was the fastest you had ever been clocked before then?:
“Well, I was told I ran a 4.31. I guess it came out 4.38, but I was told by my agent 4.31. My fastest at UW was a 4.33.” Would all your teammates say you were the fastest on the team?: “You know, actually I’m not the fastest. I’d probably be the second-fastest. Greg Ducre is definitely the fastest on the team. He’s in the 4.2s. … He’s got that perfect track star, track form. He’s definitely the fastest.”
Tell us about the rest of the combine. Which part of the process were you most proud of?:
“I think I just felt I was consistent with everything. I was close to the top 10 in pretty much all my categories. That’s what I wanted to come in and do, not be great at one thing and bad at another thing. I wanted to be consistently good at everything.”
On being motivated by hearing or reading doubters:
“I heard people thought I couldn’t really run. I heard people saying I was a 4.5 or high 4.5 guy and that I was stiff and things like that. Those things have been natural to me my whole life, so I just knew once I got the opportunity, I was just going to open everybody’s eyes. I just used it to my advantage.”
Is it cool to get some good publicity now?:
“Oh yeah, definitely, but I never take it personal. Everybody has their own opinion, but at the end of the day, as long as I do what I do, everybody’s going to be on my side.”
On the process of interviewing with teams:
“They ask you everything. They just try to find out as much as possible about every prospect that they’re interested in. I did a lot of interviews. They all went well. I’m just looking forward to the pro day and the draft now.” What was the weirdest question?: “Honestly I really didn’t get too many weird questions. I heard from some guys that a couple of the scouts asked them if they liked girls and things like that. … It was mostly about football with me.”
Where would you like to play next year?:
“I’ll play anywhere, to be honest. … I just want to go as high as I can. Whichever team I go to, I’m going to be happy with it, but you know, I felt over the past couple months I’ve proved that I’m one of the elite corners in this class, so I just want to go as high as I can.”
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