One of the few perks of being a Raiders fan over the years
has been getting to see a host of NFL players that have ridiculous
straight-line speed. And when I
say ridiculous, I mean record-setting, 40-yard-dash-destroying, blinding
quickness. Guys like Fabian
Washington(4.29), Stanford Routt(4.29), Jacoby Ford(4.27), Darren
McFadden(4.27), and even Bo Jackson’s seemingly impossible 4.12. Al Davis was known to have a sometimes
foolish penchant for ignoring football pedigree for unbelievable quickness,
exemplified by him picking unheralded Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey,
over much safer picks at the WR position, like Crabtree, or Maclin. Point being made, the Raiders have had
some goddamn fast dudes come through their squads over the past 20+ years. Next point being made, the most amazing
accelerations coming from the Silver and Black, from this Raiders fan’s eyes,
were put down by none other that James Jett.
Jett’s name may be recognizable to some casual NFL fans due
to the stories associated with his gold medal-winning stint with the US Men’s
Olympic 4x100 relay at the 1992 Olympics in Spain. Also noted in the NFL for his blinding ability to get down
fields, and sometimes-questionable hands, Jett was a fan favorite to many
Raiders fans. He put up his best
season in 1997, starting all 16 games while scoring 12 touchdowns, and putting
up an average of 17.5 yards per catch.
But to truly appreciate Jett’s speed, things must be put into
perspective.
A simple internet perusal of West Virginia’s all-time high
school track records show the state-native Jett still in first place in the
100m dash, despite his 10.34(Hand Timed) being run in 1989, much earlier than
most standing sprint track records in the state. A local boy made good, Jett parlayed his successes in
football and on the track at Jefferson High School into a football scholarship
and a starting spot at WR as a freshman for the West Virginia
Mountaineers. Interestingly
enough, Jett was the only freshman to start that year on offense or defense for
the Mountaineers in their 1989 Gator Bowl matchup with Clemson
While catching passes from the epically named Major Harris
garnered Jett some acclaim, it was burning on the rubber where he began to make
a name for himself.
Jett earned All-American honors for his track feats on seven
different occasions, and also accomplished a great deal for the United States
during his time at WVU. One of the
more outstanding speed measurements in his life was Jett running alongside
American sprint legend Carl Lewis in the prelims to the 1992 Olympic games, a
100 meter dash in which Jett finished ahead of Lewis. While Jett didn’t qualify for the 100 finals, he was a
member of the 4x100 team that ran in Barcelona as well, getting the US to the
finals, than graciously giving his spot over to Carl Lewis, who eventually ran
the Americans to a Gold Medal, which Jett also received, for running in the
qualifiers for the final. Also, he recorded the fastest 200 meter time in the
United States in 1992, posting a 19.91, further validating his sprint
potential. His best ever 100 time
was 10.08, which is fast by any stretch of the imagination as well.
"Football was always in the back of my mind,"
Most collegiate, gold-medal winning sprinters don’t envision
themselves catching touchdowns in the NFL, especially with such a bright future
in sprinting at such an early age.
But Jett was a 4-year starter for the Mountaineers at wide receiver, and
his speed prevented huge problems for any poor soul that had to try and run
with him on a deep pattern. While
his best collegiate season only saw him catch 31 balls, for 652 yards, Jett was
also a threat on kick returns, carries out of the backfield, and the occasional
pass! Despite not being drafted in
1993, Al Davis saw a flash in the pan, and signed him as an undrafted
rookie. Impressively enough, Jett
validated Davis’ belief by posting a league-best 23.2 yards per catch average
in his first NFL season.
Jett joined the Raiders at WR at a time when their receiving
corps was significantly depleted due to injury, when fresh bodies to run routes
were at a premium, being that Daryl Hobbs, Charles Jordan, and Olanda Truitt
were unable to practice with the quarterbacks due to injuries. “I'm really out there just trying to
show them what I got. We have a
couple guys down right now, so I am getting more reps." said Jett of his
first tryout with the Raiders. He
first saw reps as the third receiver, then eventually worked his way into the
WR rotation at the third spot throughout the preseason, when the Raiders
started to get their usual suspects at WR back from injury. Raiders scout Jon Kingdon had said
regarding Jett "He was a sort of undersized guy. We knew he had good
speed, but there was a question about his hands” Facing steep odds, up against a receiving core featuring the
likes of Tim Brown, Alexander Wright, veterans James Lofton and Willie Gault,
along with fellow speedsters Raghib Ismail and Sam Graddy, as well as Darryl
Hobbs and Charles Jordan trying to make the team, Jett had an uphill path to
work his way onto an NFL field.
But work he did, after overcoming a couple dropped passes in
his NFL, Jett saw his first NFL action in the Raiders second regular season
game. He caught a touchdown in his
fourth game, and opened the eyes of the nation by turning a 12-yard out pattern
into a 74-yard scamper to the endzone against the hated Denver Broncos. He cememted his status as a speedster
by winning the NFL’s fastest man competition comfortably, vs. the likes of
Jason Sehorn and Raghib and Qadry Ismail.
Unfortunately, that epic video is no longer on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLYR-wgeBTw
