Gophers show speed at NFL Combine; current squad has it, too

One reason the Gophers have been a better defensive team in recent years is their team speed. It showed again at the NFL Combine, where Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Eric Murray and De'Vondre Campbell all turned in impressive displays for the stopwatch.

Campbell posted the third-fastest 40-yard dash time among linebackers: 4.58 seconds.

Boddy-Calhoun ran a 4.47, the 12th best time among cornerbacks.

Murray ran a 4.49, and also had the fifth best time among cornerbacks in the 20-yard shuttle: 4.05.

Note: Click the above links to see their full NFL.com draft profiles.

Those three will all attend the annual Gophers Pro Day on Monday, along with Brian Bobek, Theiren Cockran, Antonio Johnson, KJ Maye, Peter Mortell, Miles Thomas and Rodrick Williams.

At last year's Gophers Pro Day, Cedric Thompson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds, boosting his stock after not being invited to the Combine. The Miami Dolphins drafted him in the fifth round.

"I think we are right there," he said. "We can run in the secondary again and at linebacker overall, it will probably be our best speed overall at linebacker when you look at the whole group. That is what we recruit and with the way people spread the field, you have to be able to run nowadays. I feel very comfortable with our athleticism and how well we run and that."

Senior cornerback Jalen Myrick is the team's fastest player.