Colonel_Reb
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<DIV =byLine id=byLineTag>By Greg Boeck, USA TODAY
<DIV =inside-copy>Dwayne Jarrett doesn't understand it.
He found the end zone 41 times during his three years at Southern California  the fourth-most for a receiver in NCAA history. But as the NFL draft approaches, all he has heard this spring are questions about his speed, or the perceived lack thereof.
"Jerry Rice ran a 4.5 40, and he's the best receiver in the game ever," says Jarrett. "For them to go off the 40 is crazy."
The question still lingers after Jarrett posted so-so 4.62 and 4.67 speeds in the 40-yard dash at USC's pro day March 28  more than a month after he skipped the drill at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Coincidentally, those are the exact times Rice clocked at the combine in 1985.
Fellow Trojan Steve Smith heard similar whispers about his speed  until he emphatically put any doubts to rest at the combine. That's where Jarrett's former sidekick ran into serious first-round consideration behind a pair of 4.44 40-yard dashes.
This is the tale of two Trojans. Make that three.
One is an acrobatic, record-setting, projected first-rounder who skipped the opportunity to run the 40 at the combine because of a strained groin, believing his "body of work" should speak for itself.
The other is an elusive, productive player who spent four years in the shadows of two star wide receivers and chose to run the 40 because, he says, he had something to prove.
"I saw the times they had me listed at, and a lot of people questioned that," says Smith. "I definitely wanted to show that I had speed."
The third member of this tale is former USC star wideout Mike Williams, Jarrett's once-heralded predecessor.
During interviews with NFL personnel at the combine, Jarrett and Smith were asked the inevitable question: Why haven't celebrated Southern California wide receivers made more of an impact in the NFL in the last few years?
They had the same answer: We're not Mike Williams.
After a failed effort to be included in the 2004 draft following his sophomore season and an unsuccessful attempt to restore his NCAA eligibility, Williams sat out 2004 and has struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL since the Detroit Lions made him the 10th pick of the 2005 draft. He has just 37 total catches and has often been inactive on game days despite being healthy. His weight (too much) and conditioning (too little) have been issues with the Detroit coaching staff.
"I told them the only thing we have in common is we went to the same school," Jarrett says of Williams.
Says Smith: "I'm my own player."
Although Jarrett is projected by some to be as low as the fifth receiver taken in the draft  behind Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, considered by many experts to be the most talented player in the entire draft, Robert Meachem of Tennessee, Ted Ginn Jr., of Ohio State and Dwayne Bowe of LSU  Jarrett says he's already proven himself as the No. 1 player at the position.
"Look at my body of work compared to the others," says Jarrett, a two-time All-American who accumulated 3,138 receiving yards and is the Pacific-10 conference's career touchdown reception leader.
"There is no comparison. The numbers don't lie."
He says his game film, not a stopwatch, tells his story: "I was consistent my three years. I broke every record. And I've been doing it with the best of the best."
At USC, Jarrett won one national title and lost only three games during his tenure. He says he's a winner and defends his speed.
"There's a difference in track speed in the 40 and football speed. I have great speed. A lot of people are doubting it, but my game speed is 100%."
Says Corey Coleman, Jarrett's business manager: "He's going to shock a lot of people, and then they'll have to eat crow. When the lights are on, and the money is on the line, there is no wide receiver in college football who was better."
Jarrett is built for the position  6-4, 219 pounds, athletic and agile. He thrives in the red zone. He's also a young talent  he doesn't turn 21 until September  who has learned to share the spotlight. At USC, he never was the featured player on a team of offensive stars that included Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and he never complained about it.
He's got a chip on his shoulder now, however.
"It's unfair to me, sometimes, the lack of respect I get," he says. "It's like I didn't do anything (in college). Like they threw away my film and just want to see the 40. It's all part of the game, though."
Jarrett prepared for the draft with a month of workouts at the Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., where he also hooked up with Leinart, now the Arizona Cardinals' starting quarterback, and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, an old friend, for on-the-field drills.
Fitzgerald has been Jarrett's role model since high school. "His body control is out of control," Jarrett says of the Pro Bowler.
On the flip side, Smith finished his four-year career at USC with 3,019 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was All-American last year but always played in the shadows of Williams and, later, Jarrett as a complementary receiver.
Smith admits it was difficult at times, "because I knew what I could bring to the table. But that made us that much better when somebody was hurt. We knew we had two guys who could carry us."
Smith is only 5-11¾ and 197 pounds but brings big-game experience to the table  46 in all, including three games where the national championship was at stake.
"I can be someone you can count on to make a play in the clutch," he says. "I want the ball; I thrive off that."
Like Jarrett, Smith has been preparing himself for the draft. He spent several weeks at a high-performance center in Davie, Fla., and focused on his speed and conditioning.
He's a hungry player whose stock rose at the combine. "I just want the opportunity," he says.
And it doesn't matter where. Smith played cornerback in high school.
"If things don't work out at wide receiver, I'm going to try cornerback," he says. "I feel I have the athletic ability to do it."
Who knows? Maybe some Sunday down the road, Batman and Robin  which is how Jarrett refers to himself and Smith  could face each other on the field.
____________________________________________________________ ____
First off, as the writer points out, Jerry Rice didn't run a 4.5, but a 4.62. Secondly, think about Mike Hass and countless other white receivers when reading this article. They could make the same arguments, but nobody raised an eyebrow when they weren't highly considered. New day, same old BS CS DS.
<DIV =inside-copy>Dwayne Jarrett doesn't understand it.
He found the end zone 41 times during his three years at Southern California  the fourth-most for a receiver in NCAA history. But as the NFL draft approaches, all he has heard this spring are questions about his speed, or the perceived lack thereof.
"Jerry Rice ran a 4.5 40, and he's the best receiver in the game ever," says Jarrett. "For them to go off the 40 is crazy."
The question still lingers after Jarrett posted so-so 4.62 and 4.67 speeds in the 40-yard dash at USC's pro day March 28  more than a month after he skipped the drill at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Coincidentally, those are the exact times Rice clocked at the combine in 1985.
Fellow Trojan Steve Smith heard similar whispers about his speed  until he emphatically put any doubts to rest at the combine. That's where Jarrett's former sidekick ran into serious first-round consideration behind a pair of 4.44 40-yard dashes.
This is the tale of two Trojans. Make that three.
One is an acrobatic, record-setting, projected first-rounder who skipped the opportunity to run the 40 at the combine because of a strained groin, believing his "body of work" should speak for itself.
The other is an elusive, productive player who spent four years in the shadows of two star wide receivers and chose to run the 40 because, he says, he had something to prove.
"I saw the times they had me listed at, and a lot of people questioned that," says Smith. "I definitely wanted to show that I had speed."
The third member of this tale is former USC star wideout Mike Williams, Jarrett's once-heralded predecessor.
During interviews with NFL personnel at the combine, Jarrett and Smith were asked the inevitable question: Why haven't celebrated Southern California wide receivers made more of an impact in the NFL in the last few years?
They had the same answer: We're not Mike Williams.
After a failed effort to be included in the 2004 draft following his sophomore season and an unsuccessful attempt to restore his NCAA eligibility, Williams sat out 2004 and has struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL since the Detroit Lions made him the 10th pick of the 2005 draft. He has just 37 total catches and has often been inactive on game days despite being healthy. His weight (too much) and conditioning (too little) have been issues with the Detroit coaching staff.
"I told them the only thing we have in common is we went to the same school," Jarrett says of Williams.
Says Smith: "I'm my own player."
Although Jarrett is projected by some to be as low as the fifth receiver taken in the draft  behind Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, considered by many experts to be the most talented player in the entire draft, Robert Meachem of Tennessee, Ted Ginn Jr., of Ohio State and Dwayne Bowe of LSU  Jarrett says he's already proven himself as the No. 1 player at the position.
"Look at my body of work compared to the others," says Jarrett, a two-time All-American who accumulated 3,138 receiving yards and is the Pacific-10 conference's career touchdown reception leader.
"There is no comparison. The numbers don't lie."
He says his game film, not a stopwatch, tells his story: "I was consistent my three years. I broke every record. And I've been doing it with the best of the best."
At USC, Jarrett won one national title and lost only three games during his tenure. He says he's a winner and defends his speed.
"There's a difference in track speed in the 40 and football speed. I have great speed. A lot of people are doubting it, but my game speed is 100%."
Says Corey Coleman, Jarrett's business manager: "He's going to shock a lot of people, and then they'll have to eat crow. When the lights are on, and the money is on the line, there is no wide receiver in college football who was better."
Jarrett is built for the position  6-4, 219 pounds, athletic and agile. He thrives in the red zone. He's also a young talent  he doesn't turn 21 until September  who has learned to share the spotlight. At USC, he never was the featured player on a team of offensive stars that included Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and he never complained about it.
He's got a chip on his shoulder now, however.
"It's unfair to me, sometimes, the lack of respect I get," he says. "It's like I didn't do anything (in college). Like they threw away my film and just want to see the 40. It's all part of the game, though."
Jarrett prepared for the draft with a month of workouts at the Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz., where he also hooked up with Leinart, now the Arizona Cardinals' starting quarterback, and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, an old friend, for on-the-field drills.
Fitzgerald has been Jarrett's role model since high school. "His body control is out of control," Jarrett says of the Pro Bowler.
On the flip side, Smith finished his four-year career at USC with 3,019 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was All-American last year but always played in the shadows of Williams and, later, Jarrett as a complementary receiver.
Smith admits it was difficult at times, "because I knew what I could bring to the table. But that made us that much better when somebody was hurt. We knew we had two guys who could carry us."
Smith is only 5-11¾ and 197 pounds but brings big-game experience to the table  46 in all, including three games where the national championship was at stake.
"I can be someone you can count on to make a play in the clutch," he says. "I want the ball; I thrive off that."
Like Jarrett, Smith has been preparing himself for the draft. He spent several weeks at a high-performance center in Davie, Fla., and focused on his speed and conditioning.
He's a hungry player whose stock rose at the combine. "I just want the opportunity," he says.
And it doesn't matter where. Smith played cornerback in high school.
"If things don't work out at wide receiver, I'm going to try cornerback," he says. "I feel I have the athletic ability to do it."
Who knows? Maybe some Sunday down the road, Batman and Robin  which is how Jarrett refers to himself and Smith  could face each other on the field.
____________________________________________________________ ____
First off, as the writer points out, Jerry Rice didn't run a 4.5, but a 4.62. Secondly, think about Mike Hass and countless other white receivers when reading this article. They could make the same arguments, but nobody raised an eyebrow when they weren't highly considered. New day, same old BS CS DS.
