Of all the football players from Alabama’s high schools and colleges who’ve tried to reach the pros, which one has had the best performance in the shuttle run at the annual NFL Scouting Combine?
A new group of players will have an opportunity to provide the answer to that question this week in Indianapolis, where the NFL Scouting Combine will be held for the 38th time.
For the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, players will arrive for testing and interviews in four groups and will be on the field from Thursday through Sunday.
The three-cone drill is one of the measurable workouts conducted at the combine. The three-cone drill is designed to gauge a player’s ability to change directions on the run.
With the cones in an L-shape, the player runs 5 yards to the middle cone and back, then runs around the middle cone, another 5 yards to the far cone and back around the L to the starting cone.
It’s also a drill that has less participation than it once did. At the 2024 combine, only two of the 27 players from Alabama high schools and colleges at the event tackled the three-cone drill.
But one of them -- Georgia cornerback and former American Christian Academy standout Kamari Lassiter -- ran the fastest three-cone drill at the NFL Scouting Combine last year at 6.62 seconds.
That also ranked as the third-fastest time in the drill for a player from an Alabama high school or college in the combine’s records.
Since 2000, the fastest three-cone drill turned in by a player from an Alabama high school or college took 6.48 seconds, which was accomplished by Auburn cornerback Carlos Rogers in 2005.
The combine’s fastest three-cone drill this century was run by Oklahoma defensive back Jordan Thomas, who recorded a 6.28-second showing in 2018.
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers and Detroit Lions tight end Tony Scheffler battle for the football during an NFL game on Sept. 16, 2021, in San Francisco.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Records from the early combines can be sketchy, but complete data is available starting with the 2000 event. These are the 10 fastest three-cone drills since that year by players from Alabama high schools and colleges:
1. Carlos Rogers, Auburn: 6.48 seconds
After the 2005 combine, the Washington Redskins drafted the cornerback with the ninth pick. Rogers started 123 games in 10 seasons and was a Pro Bowler in 2011. Rogers’ time is tied for the ninth-fastest at the combine.
2. Sherrod Martin, Troy: 6.60 seconds
After the 2009 combine, the Carolina Panthers drafted the safety in the second round. Martin played in 83 games, with 38 starts, in six NFL seasons.
3. Kamari Lassiter, American Christian Academy (Tuscaloosa): 6.62 seconds
After the 2024 combine, the Houston Texans drafted the Georgia cornerback in the second round. Lassiter started 14 regular-season games and two playoff contests and intercepted three passes as a rookie.
4. Julio Jones, Foley High School, Alabama: 6.66 seconds
After the 2011 combine, the Atlanta Falcons traded five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 6 choice to select the wide receiver. He went on to be an All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler seven times. Jones caught 914 passes for 13,703 yards and 66 touchdowns. A state champion in the long jump, triple jump and high jump at Foley, Jones recorded his combine performance with a broken bone in his foot.
5. Tim Carter, Auburn: 6.68 seconds
After the 2002 combine, the New York Giants drafted the wide receiver in the second round. He played in seven NFL seasons and had 81 receptions for 1,090 yards and four touchdowns.
5. Kevin Norwood, Alabama: 6.68 seconds
After the 2014 combine, the Seattle Seahawks drafted the wide receiver in the fourth round. He caught nine passes in his two NFL seasons, playing for the losing team in the Super Bowl in each campaign.
7. Zac Stacy, Bibb County High School: 6.70 seconds
After the 2013 combine, the St. Louis Rams drafted the Vanderbilt running back in the fifth round. He ran for 973 yards as a rookie, but his output dropped to 293 yards after the Rams added Tre Mason in 2014. Traded to the Jets in 2015, Stacy played in eight games before suffering a broken ankle. In 2019, Stacy played for the Memphis Express and became the first player in Alliance of American Football history to rush for 100 yards in a game.
8. Amari Cooper, Alabama: 6.71 seconds
After the 2015 combine, the Oakland Raiders drafted the wide receiver with the fourth pick. Cooper has earned five Pro Bowl invitations in 10 seasons while being traded three times. Cooper has recorded seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons on his way to career totals of 711 receptions for 10,033 yards and 64 touchdowns.
8. Cyrus Jones, Alabama: 6.71 seconds
After the 2016 combine, the New England Patriots selected the cornerback in the second round. He played in 10 games, with one start, for the Super Bowl champs as a rookie. A knee injury suffered in the preseason caused Jones to miss the 2017 campaign. He returned in 2018 as the Baltimore Ravens' punt returner, and he resumed that role in 2019. Denver obtained Jones off waivers on Nov. 13, 2019, but he did not play for the Broncos. Instead, Jones had heart surgery to repair a congenital abnormality.
10. Corey White, Samford: 6.72 seconds
After the 2012 combine, the New Orleans Saints drafted the cornerback in the fifth round. White played in 66 games, with 24 starts, for four teams in five seasons.
