NFL scouting combine

Times staff writer Sam Farmer’s report Friday from Indianapolis, where many of the nation’s top professional football prospects are participating in the NFL scouting combine:

Fast company

The workout portion of the combine begins today, meaning some position groups will run 40-yard dashes. Despite being of debatable value in many cases -- how often is an offensive tackle going to run 40 yards? -- it remains the most-discussed testing drill.

After years of timing by hand, the league went to an electronic system in 1999. Before that, the facts could be a bit fuzzy. According to various reports, Bo Jackson covered the distance in 4.12 seconds in 1986, and Deion Sanders ran 4.28 in 1989.

Not surprisingly, two of the fastest players since 2000 -- Stanford Routt and Fabian Washington -- wound up with the Oakland Raiders, who have always felt the need for speed.

The fastest 40 times at the combine from 2000 to ‘07:

*--* 4.28 Jerome Mathis, WR, Hampton, 2005 4.29 Routt, CB, Houston, 2005 4.29 Washington, CB, Nebraska, 2005 4.30 Darrent Williams, CB, Okla. St., 2005 4.30 Yamon Figurs, WR, Kansas State, 2007 4.31 Aaron Lockett, WR, So. Carolina, 2002 4.31 Santana Moss, WR, Miami, 2001 *--*

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Quotable

Minnesota Coach Brad Childress on Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze, a first-round pick from USC in 2004, who is battling leukemia:

“If there’s anybody that I know that will be able to beat that disease, it’s Kenechi Udeze. I’m amazed at the rounds of chemo that he’s been through, how positive he is and how he’s hitting that every day. . . . As he told me the other day, he said, ‘Coach, this is nothing more than a cold. I’m going to beat this.’ So that’s his mentality.”

Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco, on why he’s not bench-pressing at the combine:

“I’m a quarterback, man, what do you want me to do? Do it one time?”

Michigan tackle Jake Long, flagged for holding only once in college, on whether he ever got away with one:

“Absolutely. I’ll admit that I hold. I’ll get my hands inside and hide it that I’m holding. I try to hide it so that the refs can’t see it.”

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, on his 2004 arrest for burglary and trespassing at the University of Colorado, when he walked into a female student’s dorm room uninvited and refused to leave:

“It’s not like what I did that night was innocent. I was drunk and I put myself in a bad situation.”

UCLA receiver Brandon Breazell, asked which NFL receiver he compares most favorably to:

“All the great ones.”

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Major coincidence

Like every player at the scouting combine, USC’s Matt Spanos, Keith Rivers and Terrell Thomas are determined to set themselves apart.

And they’re already off to a fine start.

According to the school’s 2007 media guide, Spanos is majoring in social science history, whereas Rivers and Thomas are public policy, management and planning majors.

The other nine Trojans here? Well, let’s just say they probably had similar class schedules:

*--* Pos. Player Major OT Sam Baker Sociology QB John David Booty Sociology TE Fred Davis Sociology DT Sedrick Ellis Sociology DE Lawrence Jackson Sociology OG Chilo Rachal Sociology T/G Drew Radovich Sociology RB Chauncey Washington Sociology LB Thomas Williams Sociology *--*

The entire roster is more diverse. The 2007 USC football media guide lists the majors of 40 juniors and seniors on scholarship -- five are public policy, management and planning majors; two are majoring in business administration; and one each in political science, social science economics, health promotion and disease prevention, American studies, international relations, history, and social science history.

There are 26 sociology majors.

“That’s our staple major for ‘SC guys now,” Radovich said. “There’s a bunch of us. It’s our choice, but it’s kind of an overlying theme for all of us.”

There’s a different “staple” in Westwood. Breazell, defensive end Bruce Davis and safeties Chris Horton and Dennis Keyes all are history majors.

Among the players in the UCLA 2007 football media guide, 59 declared majors. There are 26 majoring in history, 16 in political science, nine in sociology; two each in geography, psychology, and communications studies; and one each in media arts, philosophy, and business economics. Tight end Logan Paulsen counts twice because he’s majoring in both history and political science.

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Times staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.

sam.farmer@latimes.com