Before Thursday, 10 Auburn alumni had run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine faster than 4.4 seconds in this century – four cornerbacks, three wide receivers and three running backs.

On Thursday, Owen Pappoe joined the group of Auburn players to run the combine’s 40 at faster than 4.4 seconds – and he’s a linebacker. And on Thursday, Pappoe was the fastest linebacker on the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium with a 4.39-second clocking in the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Pappoe became the third linebacker since 2000 to run the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine faster than 4.4 seconds, joining UCF’s Shaquem Griffin at 4.38 in 2018 and Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons at 4.39 in 2020.

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Among the linebackers, Clemson’s Trenton Simpson recorded the second-fastest 40 time at 4.43 seconds, with Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah next on the list at 4.47 seconds.

Three other players from Alabama colleges ran with the linebackers on Thursday. Auburn’s Derick Hall had a 4.55-second showing, Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. ran a 4.60 and the Crimson Tide’s Henry To’oTo’o clocked a 4.62.

Auburn linebacker Eku Leota and Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders, who played at Alabama in 2020 and 2021, did not run.

Three other SEC linebackers ran on Thursday with Tennessee’s Jeremy Banks and Vanderbilt’s Anfernee Orji at 4.53 and Mississippi State’s Tyrus Wheat at 4.65.

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In the other measurable drills on Thursday, the leaders among the linebackers included:

Vertical jump: Vanderbilt’s Anfernee Orji got the highest off the ground among the linebackers at 38.5 inches. Tennessee’s Jeremy Banks and Iowa’s Jack Campbell came up an inch short of Orji’s effort.

Broad jump: Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah cleared the most ground among the linebackers at 129 inches – or 10 feet, 9 inches. Abdullah jumped 1 inch farther than Iowa’s Jack Campbell and 2 inches farther than Tennessee’s Jeremy Banks and Auburn’s Derick Hall.

Three-cone drill: Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell smoked the field with a 6.74-second showing. Vanderbilt linebacker Anfernee Orji was next-best at 7.00, with Georgia Tech linebacker Charlie Thomas third-best at 7.09 seconds.

The drill is designed to measure a player’s ability to change directions. 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.

Shuttle run: Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell paced this drill, too, with a 4.24-second clocking. Georgia Tech linebacker Charlie Thomas was the runner-up at 4.34 seconds. Army edge rusher Andre Carter II came in third in 4.36.

The drill is designed to test lateral quickness. It’s sometimes called the 5-10-5. From a middle starting position, the player runs 5 yards to his right, touches a line, turns and runs 10 yards to the left and touches a line, then runs back to the starting spot.

There were 34 linebackers at the combine this year.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.