possible, but consider the following:
1) Sam is returning from reconstructive knee surgery after he tore his right ACL vs Tennessee (he got chop blocked). but there have been high-profile players that came back from a torn ACL just fine: CB Antonio Cromartie, RB Willis Mcgahee, and RB Frank Gore all tore their ACLs while in college, and they all went on to have Pro Bowl careers in the NFL. also, RB Jamal Lewis, RB Edgerrin James, WR Jerry Rice, WR Braylon Edwards, and SS Roman Harper torn their ACLs while in the NFL, and each of them came back to become Pro Bowlers after their recovery
2) i don't put too much stock in 40 times other than those clocked at the NFL Combine and Pro Days in front of NFL scouts. as a recruit Rivals.com had Sam with a 4.44, but Scout.com had him with a 4.65 (also NFL Draft Scout lists Sam with a low of 4.44 sec and a high of 4.68 sec). sometimes Rivals has 40 times that are verified (like at a NIKE camp), but that's not the case with the unverified 4.44 they have listed for Sam, which was probably the number submitted by Sam's high school coach
3) someone who might be blazing fast as a recruit might lose their speed as their body develops and puts on muscle in college. for example, Terrance Toliver had a verified 4.47 forty as a recruit (did it at the Nike camp at Texas A&M). however, at the NFL Combine, he only ran a 4.52 (and then a 4.54 at LSU's Pro Day). On the flip side, when 1st Round pick Dwayne Bowe was a recruit, Rivals had him with a 4.53 unverified, but at LSU's Pro Day, he ran a 4.40. And then you have a guy like 1st Round pick Buster Davis who Rivals had with a 4.42 unverified as recruit, and then ran a 4.41 at LSU's Pro Day
4) a fast 10 yard dash is more important for DE than a fast 40 yard dash (except on special teams). just because you have a faster 40 yard dash then the next guy doesn't mean your 10 yard dash is faster. for example, DeMarcus Ware ran a 4.53 forty at his Pro Day and a 4.56 forty at the Combine, which was a much faster forty time than the 4.70 forty that Mario Williams had at the Combine. however, even though Williams had a much slower forty time, he had a faster time in the 10 yard dash: Williams ran a 1.60 ten yard dash at the Combine, while Ware only ran a 1.62 at the Combine
Click to expand...