The emotion — and everything that Mike Washington Jr. went through to get to the NFL combine in the first place — hit him after the 40-yard dash. He’d just run an unofficial 4.33 in February, a number that would soon become official and rank first among running backs. Sitting on the sideline, Washington, who went from the University at Buffalo to New Mexico State to Arkansas, covered his face with both hands as he started crying.
Washington recalled thinking, “I finally got my chance to prove everybody wrong.”
If there were ever any doubts, any lingering “but” questions because of his unique path, that sprint allowed people to think, “OK, s–t, there’s no more buts anymore,” Tony Sanchez, his head coach at New Mexico State, said.
The way Washington leveraged his way to becoming a lead running back in the SEC — and someone regarded by most as a top five back in the 2026 draft — has turned him into the modern college football success story. The way the 6-foot-2, 228-pound back maximized the combine captured the reason it exists in the first place.
