Future Hall of Famers duke it out for title of NFL's Fastest Man in 1988 | NBC Sports

each nfl team nominated its two fastest players then our panel of football experts narrowed that list down to our eight competitors that are here today the first round pairings were determined by a random drawing number one see daryl green drew mark duper and herschel walker will meet vance johnson rod woodson drew ricky natiel and number two seed woolly golf faces haywood jeffries 20 000 will be awarded to today's winner along with the honor of being the nfl's fastest man now it's time for our first race between daryl green of the redskins and mark duper of the dolphins let's go to ahmad at the starting line all right all the talking everything's gone now we got to get down and just do it darrel how you feeling i feel pretty good uh the weather kind of sold us settled a little bit uh i am concerned about this guy next to me because he wasn't here the first two years and uh i know what he can do on the football field i really you know i was at the track me matter of fact when they won the ncaa he's on the relay but i haven't seen him in a while he's older than i am you've been in the league when you're alone yourself i got one thing going for me all right the classic confrontation wide receiver against defensive back mark how you feeling you fit well um i feel i feel real good about this race that uh i know derek can run and uh i know he can play football and he said i'm older than him it's only one year so uh i don't think that's gonna make a difference all right there's two things you know about him and the third thing we'll find out right now and that is if daryl can beat him in the 60s the rules of the event are simple it's a single elimination tournament do or die and only the winner advances today's competitors are running on one of the finest grass tracks in the united states so no one here can blame the track for slow times the first two competitors are at the block for the start of today's first race daryl green on the right mark duper on the left official starter tom richards has the gun raised for the start it's a fair start mike duper first out of the blocks but here comes daryl greene with those long smooth powerful strides he cruises to the first win here in this competition and 6.15 incredible time timmy yeah it's a good time for green uh duper on the left got out of the blocks fairly well as you mentioned the mod but he seems to be a little bit out of shape and this was really a breather for derek reem in the first heat those nice smooth strides of daryl green really powers him home jimmy's got both of them you know dude this is a little bit embarrassing to me because i just saw how bad daryl beat you and i can't remember back to how badly you used to beat me when we played together well you know daryl's a good surprise and uh i mean you got to give him the best well he's a he's a great brother and uh i felt that uh he told me i've been practicing but i think he really practiced a little bit better but he had that psych job going real early didn't he got me he crews through the right step from him you haven't been running in about a year away from where but you look like you're in top four well i i ran the best i could all right good luck the rest of the way congratulations come on the track's just starting to heat up coming up the first round continues as herschel walker faces the broncos vance johnson number four seed rod woodson takes on ricky natiel number two seed willie gulp meets the oilers haywood jeffries we're back at boonefield in palm desert california for the nfl's fastest man competition today's second match our number three seed herschel walker against the broncos vance johnson ahmad vance there is no question that you are one of the fastest men in the national football league you've been coming here for three straight years this year are you intent on being the fastest man in the nfl i keep i keep losing to the winner so you know if i lose i'm sure herschel walker is going to win the whole thing but i think it's going to be just a great challenge to go out here and participate again and being in the top eight it's an honor in itself all right personally i know how those competitive juices flow on you i know you're ready you fit well i hope so i tell you it's warm weather and uh like i said this is a challenge the lord has put so many challenges in everyone's life you got to take them head-on and i think i'm ready i know one challenge i wouldn't like to have is to be a defensive back and have to tackle herschel you've got that right ahmad we're ready for heat number two and both of these athletes have a great deal of track experience of course i probably could have tackled them had i wanted to but that's another story altogether herschel walker always quick out of the blocks lance johnson knows that and he'll have to get a good start here in order to compete with hershey hershey you're right about that his compact size belies the fact that he has such a great start a fair start herschel out of the blocks very quick vance johnson right with him at 20 yards at 30 yards herschel starting to pull away herschel walker advances to our next round and van johnson did quite well in this race coming out of the blocks they were even for the first 20 yards or so johnson as you mentioned needed to get that very quick start watch the lead that johnson has much further out in front than hershey was as a result he gets the quicker start herschel's got to make up a great deal of time herschel walker about 30 yards out starts to power at that point he shows everybody here that he definitely has closing speed also jimmy seems like you had a bad start hershel oh yes i did i came up i thought it was going to be a slow gun tell you what it wasn't bad it wasn't bad at all you happy with the time well yes i am because uh i won the race that's what i want to do is try to get a win and i got it advanced it's unusual that a running back this big could run that fast i'll tell you know what i can tell by listening to that power coming up behind me when i first got out of the blocks it was going to be over quick you know he has a real strong finish and uh like i said down there i think he'll win the whole thing all right good race the broncos ricky natiel takes on number four seed rod woodson from the pittsburgh steelers in our next race ahmad's on the track with ricky all right ricky within a year you established two things in the national football league one but you're one of the best receivers in the league and two now here one of the fastest receivers you feel any pressure no doubt there's some pressure especially in times we want to get some guys like that out here today and as you can hear my boss you can tell you're as fresh as i'm just kind of anxious to get it on the way all right man all right rod you guys could hook up at some time during the year saying that your defensive back and he's a wide receiver but you have a lot of experience coming out of these box you must be pretty confident no no no i thought i would but uh i'm watching times and uh does it seem like uh come out the block so i've got no difference actually got the best start came back i'm nervous all right man you might be nervous but i guarantee you he'll run plenty fast okay we're ready for heat number three rod woodson the only other defensive back in the competition besides of course daryl green was a four-time big ten hurdling champion in college so we expect a good race for him rod woodson is the man with the young legs here in this competition and i think he has the experience edge here because of his world-class hurdling he's come out of the blocks a few more times in ricky nation it's a fair start woodson has the lead round of the blocks and it looks like woodson is going to go on and win this heat and advance to the next round of this competition woodson could be a factor here jimmy brad it looked like all that uh track experience helped well i don't know i looked at my time a bit too good that's kind of slow so uh i don't know 635 that he can run candy oh no doubt i knew he was a great runner um while he's holding out he's over seeds running so i knew i was up against a great guy okay just had the luck of the draw i guess two rookies going at it congratulations good race the final heat in round one features number two seed willie galt from the chicago bears versus the oilers haywood jeffries ahmad all right willie this is your third year and i know how much this means to you to try to win this competition how you feeling this year coming in i feel good i'm in good shape i'm probably in better shape than i've been in the last two years but uh right here it doesn't make a difference you have to get out and running i talked about the stages of the race to start and the 30 yards and my legs are longer so i have to get out and really run all right i hope you get a good start that's been your nemesis in the past a bad start along with me being a jinx every time i pick him he loses so this time i pick him to lose he'll win wait a minute i didn't mean to say that um how you feeling i'm feeling pretty good huh now jerry glanville actually we had ernest gibbons out here and jerry glanville said you had the wrong guy this is the fastest guy on our team now you're here oh that's a that's a great privilege to uphold i hope i can do it but you know every man's for himself so i'm gonna try to come out here and do the best i can i can all right good luck to both of you guys willie galt has advanced to the semifinals for the past two years but he has never won this competition something he'd dearly like to do this is as serious as i've ever seen him here in the last couple of years that he's been here i think he's intent on winning the crown of nfl's fastest man but first you'll have to get by haywood jefferson it's a fair start and willie galt coming out low out of the blocks takes a lead in this race haywood jeffries will have to come on strong he doesn't will he galt wins it and moves on to our next round jeffreys has the same problem most big men have long legs trouble getting out of the blocks a while to get started and golf's quick start proved to be the margin of victory jimmy [Music] congratulations a good race 636 you happy with the time it's okay it's not great but the wind wind's the most important thing so you know what surprised me more the 40-yard dash time was a 4-7-3 that's not really the fastest is it hayward oh no you know i just didn't have enough time to really practice for it but i thought i did all right just to come out for the first time how'd the rookie do well it did great but the 40 time is not reflective of a great 40 times because it's electric so what you have to do is take off 2.4 but he did real good he came out with me i just accelerated through 30 yards more better than he did but that was it you got this down to his science good luck the rest of the way so form his hell all four seeds advance to the semifinals when we come back it'll be daryl green versus herschel walker and willie galt against rod woodson we're back at the college of the desert in palm desert california for the semifinal matchups in today's nfl's fastest man competition [Music] daryl green now here's a guy that we talked about wearing the the crown of nfl's fastest man proudly dale green comes in this year and the way he's running already he may win it again yeah he's out to prove it he's got the fastest time thus far 615 is awfully quick it's an interesting race though going against hershel walker remember herschel was the number one seed a year ago he's got that great explosion the great speed he's the only running back in the competition and you know where the competitor daryl green is he does not want to lose to the only running back here all right let's talk about another defensive back rod woodson now he's the youngest legs in the competition a world-class hurdler and he looks awful strong willa goldwater have his hands full right two world-class hurdlers willie galt and ron woodson when you look at this matchup i guess you've got to give a slight edge to willy gold because of his experience but nothing more because woodson as he showed in his first heat has great explosion and speed you want to pick any of them okay let's see 1987 champion ron brown is spectator today ron the record holder in this event a winning time of 6.95 daryl in the first race it looked like you were very loose cruised a little bit and still ran 6.15 how are you feeling now going to the semis well i'm glad to be you know to have won the first race and you know in this races anybody can win you got to take it one step at a time glad we're not running a hundred because i know hersh was stronger than 100 and he hasn't a 60. all right hershey you know one of the good things about this kind of competition is that it gets on right away i mean right now we're in the semifinals you're going against a a former winner dale greene yes and that's an even bigger challenge and uh you know challenges are made so you can go out and give your very best and uh this is going to be a race it's going to be quick it's going to be fast and you know i'm going to try to hang in there and try to pull it out all right it's 104 degrees out here in palm desert it's getting ready to be a little bit hotter right here on this track it sure is a mod daryl and herschel not the only anxious people on the field herschel's wife cindy is nervously awaiting to start with daryl green's wife jewel and that's daughter jurel while we had a moment ahmad had a chance to speak with last year's champion ron brown all right thanks jimmy ronnie had a time like this do you miss it a little bit oh i missed a lot i missed the competition you know i was looking forward to being out here unfortunately things didn't work out that way but uh i'm out here lending my support and it looks good they're running well everybody looks good how about daryl green who don't let me put names in your mouth who would you pick at this time you've seen the first couple of races who would you pick well darrell's gonna be hard to beat today uh he looks like a favor he has the fastest time going into the next qualifying time heats but uh i don't know it's gonna be tough i mean gold looks good too galt wants it this year too and so that's going to be interesting it's really been interested in him for three years he's come out here and wanted to win the thing and one year dale beats him the next year you beat him i think this year might be his year it might be his year and it's really hard to say but uh if anybody could pull a double off dale green can pull it off all right man good luck team congratulations on everything and good luck thank you very much okay ready for our first semi-final the number one seed daryl green is on the right number three herschel walker on the left the winner goes to the final the losers sentenced to two more weeks of training it's a fair start and herschel walker is first off the block but here comes dale greene with that long smooth powerful stride daryl green wins it he's yet to be beaten here in this competition one of the most anticipated races of the day herschel walker gets out of the blocks very quickly we mentioned the big man but he can get out of the blocks daryl green however at about 30 yards begins to pull away when you talk about power here it's not only the big man but watch daryl green as he powers through that finish line jimmy urscher you seem to have a great start that time but daryl koch from the back oh yes i did i got off to a real good story that was something that uh you know i wanted to do you know the six is a race that you have to get a good start and i knew with a speaker like daryl i wanted to get a good start on it 6 12. you got to be happy with the time there yeah i really appreciate that i think i'm a track expert because i told him star was dynamic but i had him as a scouting report that he would start slow and finish strong work the other way around i'm just thankful to god i advanced all right good luck in the final our second semi-final race pits the veteran wooly gold against the upstart rookie rod woodson let's go to a mod willie the competition is heated up how you feeling feel good feel good i just have to get out and run and not worry about my technique or form and just run right what about your start last time a little bit better than last year a little bit better but uh it still wasn't as good as it could be all right you're going against a young man over here with fresh legs also a world-class hurdler how you feeling rodney nervous still nervous yeah i should use some sure or something you've been going against bullet guard are you a little bit in awe of this guy over here yeah i've been watching since i've been in uh college for now and uh i've been admiring because he was a world-class hurdler also so uh i'm nervous all right all right good luck to you have a good race should be a good one have you ever seen a more serious willie gall to mine no i haven't and i think he's going to have to be more than serious he's going to have to be fast here to get by right woodson it would be embarrassing uh from wooly gold standpoint to be beat by a rookie in this kind of a competition well you know rookies can run too and i think willie realizes that it's a fair start and rod woodson is out very well willie galt will have to go if he's going to catch him he's not going to catch him rod woodson wins it he moves into the finals a fine race by rod woodson woodson despite being a very large tall man comes out of the blocks extremely well as opposed to haywood jeffries we noticed before watch him on the left coming out very quickly willie golf got a fairly good start however they're dead even at this point and the strength of woodson propels manhattan to get the win well jimmy you know in a 60-yard race one mistake and it's all over with and that's what happened to willie gault he got a slow start coming out of the blocks and all of a sudden rod woodson gets a good start and powers home to the victory rod woodson a rookie here in this competition moves to the finals willie you came out of the blocks a little bit late again well you know i have to get all the credit to right he had a great race he came out of blocks technically sound i just didn't come out today but it's no problem i'm still glad i thank god for it hey you got to be happy rod the first you're in this competition and you're going against wooly gold oh definitely yeah you got to come out here you got to run i was scared of death uh i'm just happy i'm in the finals we've got two db's in the finals so uh got to give us some credit now i think we're a little bit faster than people think we are you were nervous coming in but now you're talking some nonsense to a wide receiver well i'm still nervous believe me i'm scared still all right good luck in the finals thank you so our final match-up is set between rod woodson and daryl green we'll be back with more from palm desert california for the past several days our athletes and their families have been relaxing at our host hotel the beautiful desert princess resort now it's time for the finals of the subaru nfl's fastest man at the college of the desert jimmy we started with eight we're down to two now in the first heat of the semifinals i don't think it was an upset with daryl green beating herschel walker no i don't think so either daryl green now he seems to be getting faster every time 6 12 with this race and you've got to wonder can he continue in this heat to get better and better going against woodson now there's a surprise of this matchup thus far beating willie galt an upset yeah that was an upset but he's not only blowing some smoke during the race but before him so he's not as nervous as he tries to make out to be well he'll have to get his nerves together and get his speed ready if he's going to beat dale green and as we enter this race the finalists are fortunate to have their own cheering section i'm sure daryl's wife jewell is hoping for a second win in this competition once again in a position to become the fastest man in the nfl in the last two races you're getting faster and faster how you feel going into this one i really had some doubts in the beginning but i thank god that he sustained me to get to this point and then rod defensive back i mean i feel kind of proud about that though because it's too defensive defensive backs beating these wide receivers and uh i want to be the first uh uh guy to win this thing twice you appear to be getting stronger even with this heat and the conditions here you're getting stronger every race well i do think that that me personally this heat or something had something to do with our running today but i am i do feel like i did get stronger but uh it's gonna be a good race right here i think too all right rod has been nervous every single race and you've won every single race but now you're going against a man who's already won this title once how you feeling now nervous more nervous than the last time i've been off the soft and dry this time though so i don't think i'm sweating no it's just nervous but it's a good pleasure to be here against him uh two dvs uh beat uh five receivers and a running back so uh we gotta be happy and uh give it our best we're gonna see all right good luck to you guys we will find out who the fastest man in the national football league is in a matter of seconds daryl green once again in the finals this time going up against a newcomer rod woodson who surprised many by beating willie galt in the semifinals and all the pressure in this race is on rod woodson because dale greene has won each and every race and gotten faster with each run it's a clean start and dale green is out of the blocks like a shot at 30 yards he starts to accelerate and it's that long smooth fluid stride that powers daryl green to victory he is the subaru nfl's fastest man daryl green got a great start never trailed from the very beginning in fact i think it was a little bit too good of a start almost a rolling start out of the blocks there you see he does move before the gun is up it was not caught by the starter and so it is a fair start as you mentioned but from the very beginning daryl green out of the blocks he did not trail the entire 60 yard this start reminds me of ben johnson's start last year when he set the world record same sort of a rolling motion daryl congratulations the second time the nfl's fastest man hey man it feels great i thank god for it getting older uh missed it last year won it again i like to win it every year any more special this time than it was two years ago yeah i think every time you win it it's it's more special i think that i've come a long way as a person and an individual but god brought me all the way from texas a university two super bowls you've also come a long way as far as the family's concerned the last time we were together this little girl wasn't here was she sure wasn't but she's strong and 22 month old strong congratulations ron no problem for you either a rookie coming here for the first time the runner-up fifteen thousand dollars richard you gotta be happy definitely i'm a young guy here uh i'm gonna i'm gonna check his legs out see if he got in his legs because uh he moves a little too fast football player i asked you this the last time you were here what are you gonna do with the twenty thousand dollars you said it was gonna be for education now what are you gonna do with the 20 well we're hoping for a new baby soon so that's the case we'll just do a whole nother trust fund we'll just keep this going and next year we'll just keep keep it up it'll be great daryl green won the first competition two years ago last year he was injured mystery comes back strong and wins it in a time of 6.10 seconds along with the title he also picks up a nice check for 20 000 rod woodson picks up 15 000 for second once again daryl green is the fastest man in the national football league but we had a good field here and you know this event is really starting to come on yeah it really is the more and more you go to nfl games every year and whoever ran in the race is recognized and especially the winner this year when daryl green goes and plays football every week there'll be a wide receiver to say how am i going to beat the nfl's fastest man it's the psychological effect of winning this event and guys all around the league want to get in this competition i was in chicago and william the refrigerator said he should have been at 375 why not all right we've had fun we hope you've enjoyed it so from palm desert california i'm ahmad rashad along with jimmy cephalo thanks so long [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: NBC Sports

Views: 649,860

Rating: 4.8853502 out of 5

Keywords: Olympic Sports, Olympics, nfl fastest man contest, dk metcalf, dk metcalf 100m, dk metcalf 40 time, darrell green, herschel walker, rod woodson, mark duper, nfl fastest man 1988, nfl fastest man competition, nfl fastest man 1986, darrell green vs herschel walker, darrell green vs rod woodson, nfl players running track

Id: tp6Z6bh5Hl4

Length: 23min 6sec (1386 seconds)

Published: Fri May 07 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/justanotherbombtrack]

Wow! A 6.15 / 60 yd for Darrell is crazy and that’s on grass. Hershell’s a freaking beast too!

[u/Empire137]

Be cool if they did a pro combine over a pro bowl game. Players always treat the pro bowl like a scrimmage, a combine might be more competitive.

[u/zimmie41]

Only if Darell Green returns to the game.

[u/CarlCaliente]

they did, nobody really cared

[u/Maverick916]

Just wanna give a quick shout out to Raheem Mostert. I put him against anyone on the league, even hill.

[u/Slowhand333]

If they brought it back my money would still be on Darrel Green😊

[u/Mushtaco1]

I think at this level, guys claim that they don't run for free.

[u/taebek1]

Selection panel included Paul Zimmerman. I miss that guy’s coverage. RIP Dr. Z.

[u/FounderBriefs]

If I were a pro DB in the NFL and Herschel Walker was running at me like that in a game, I would move right out of his way.