TORONTO — Tevaughn Campbell picked a great time to run a personal-best 40-yard dash.
With personnel from all nine CFL teams looking on, the Regina Rams defensive back posted a national combine-record time of 4.355 seconds Sunday. The six-foot, 185-pound Campbell broke the mark of 4.41 seconds set earlier at Varsity Stadium by UNLV running back Shaquille Murray-Lawrence.
Campbell immediately proved it was no fluke, finishing his second run in 4.363 seconds. Then Campbell, the ’12 Canada West 60-metre track champion, had the lone interception in one-on-one drills between defensive backs and receivers.
"I wanted to show I’m a football player," Campbell said. "A lot of them ask, ‘Are you a track guy?’ I was really looking forward to the one-on-ones got the only interception, which I was pretty proud of.
"I trained all year for this, two-a-days with football and track, so I was hoping to put down a fast time. When I went to the interviews with all the coaches (Friday night) I told them 4.29 so I was disappointed I didn’t hit my goal but maybe another day I’ll try to get that."
Both Campbell and Murray-Lawrence set electronic 40-yard dash records, breaking the previous mark of 4.42 seconds held jointly by Shamawd Chambers and Kristopher Robertson. Steven Turner has the all-time standard of 4.31 seconds, set in ’09 when it was hand-timed.
The CFL adopted electronic timing in 2010.
Campbell certainly had incentive to perform well at the combine. In September he was ranked No. 18 on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s top-20 draft prospects list but didn’t make the one released in December.
Campbell believes his versatility would benefit any CFL team he joined, either as a draftee May 12 or free agent.
"They’re going to get a fast, aggressive player," the Toronto native said. "An all-around player who can play offence, defence and special teams."
Fifty draft-eligible players participated in the weekend combine. But the top two ranked draft prospects — offensive linemen Brett Boyko of UNLV and Alex Mateas of UConn — and No. 4 running back Tyler Varga of Yale, skipped it to concentrate on their respective pro days.
That left Western defensive lineman Daryl Waud, at No. 3 overall, as the top-ranked prospect.
"It would certainly be an advantage for us, for any team, to sit there and watch them and interact with them," Ottawa Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins said of the absentees. "Look, they’ve got to do what’s most important for them.
"I don’t hold it against them by any stretch."
With Boyko and Mateas absent, that left Calgary Dinos Sean McEwen (No. 6) and Sukh Chungh (No. 7) as the combine’s top-ranked offensive linemen. On Sunday, they anchored a solid overall performance by the unit in one-on-one drills.
"I think it was apparent across the board they really stood out," Waud said. "I think every defensive lineman is thinking, ‘I wish I had that one back, I wish I could do it again,’ but I thought (offensive linemen) really did well."
Waud admitted he felt the spotlight’s glare as the combine’s top-ranked player.
"A little bit, yeah," he said. "But at the end of the day I feel fairly happy about my test numbers.
"I wish I could’ve done better in the one-on-ones but I’m just going to get back to work to become a better football player."
Desjardins, who holds this year’s first-overall pick, said Waud is pretty good right now.
"He’s a solid football player who did well here," Desjardins said. "He’s a guy who’s going contribute to a CFL team."
The six-foot-four, 300-pound Chungh, participating in his third combine this month, felt he did enough this weekend to merit consideration as the No. 1 pick.
"If they watched the film from the one-on-ones and (look at) my numbers I think I showed my talents that I can be a high draft pick," he said.
Chungh said the offensive lineman at the combine took full advantage of the opportunities created by Boyko and Mateas not being there.
"It’s always nice when the spotlight is on you a little more," he said. "The group was a little smaller and many got looked at more closely and with finer detail."
Desjardins also heaped lavish praise upon McEwen and Chungh.
"They’re also solid football players who’ll play a long time (in CFL)," he said. "They proved their worth (Sunday) and even in the interviews."
