According to NFL.com, Troy Apke is projected to go in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. If that doesn’t work out, he could possibly latch onto a team as a free agent. Apke is a one-year starter from Penn State who might be projected to be a special teams player than safety at the next level.
Apke still managed to turn some heads at the NFL Combine on Monday afternoon, namely because his best skill caught everyone by surprise. Back in his high school days, Apke was quite the sprinter, and he managed to throw down a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. It was originally listed as a 4.35-second sprint, but was eventually adjusted to take off a fraction of a second.
It was one of the fastest times we saw at the combine this year, and no one was more surprised about it than NFL Network analyst and former speed demon Deion Sanders. Why? Well, we’ll let Sanders explain … kind of.
“He can RUN run!” 😳@DeionSanders was VERY impressed with @Traps_5’s 4.35u 40-yard dash 😂
📺: #NFLCombine LIVE on NFL Network https://t.co/zlFMQUGp92
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 5, 2018
Sanders never exactly touches on his reason for being so surprised — he must have thought Apke was a real lunch pail kind of guy with deceptive speed — and when Mike Mayock asked him about his reaction, Sanders was rather coy.
“You know why I’m surprised,” Sanders said. “I can’t say it on TV, but he can run run.”
Sanders was so impressed that he went over to Apke to give him a hug. Who knows what Apke’s NFL career will look like, but for now, the bar for the coolest moment to happen during his time as a pro was set rather high.
