Sports Illustrated Compiles Official 2026 Combine Testing for Every FCS Prospect

Sports Illustrated compiled the official testing numbers for every FCS player who ran drills at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, and five names dominated the FCS ledger: Bryce Lance, Cole Payton, Charles Demmings, Kaleb Proctor, and Jalen Walthall. Bryce Lance boomed in measurable testing with a 4.34-second 40, a 1.49 10-yard split, a 41.5-inch vertical, and an 11-foot-1 broad jump; RantSports and SI report he “earned a combine-best 99 athleticism score among wide receivers,” and his RAS of 9.98 ranks seventh out of 3,844 receivers since 1987.

Charles Demmings of Stephen F. Austin matched the eye-popping explosiveness with a 4.41 40, a 42-inch vertical, and an 11-foot broad jump. RantSports notes his estimated athleticism score of 88 “ranked No. 1 among cornerbacks,” and his RAS of 9.97 places him 10th among 2,779 cornerbacks measured since 1987. TheAnalyst, drawing on PFF data, adds Demmings logged 1,731 career snaps with nine interceptions and a school-record 35 pass breakups, marrying production to athletic profile.

North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton turned in one of the most historically notable QB combine performances. SI and RantSports list Payton at a 4.56 40 with a 1.57 10-yard split, a 40-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad jump; RantSports highlights that “his vertical ranks third all-time among quarterbacks at the combine, and his broad jump ranks second all-time.” Payton’s estimated athleticism score of 83 ranked fourth among quarterbacks at the event. Combine-measured size is listed at 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds in SI and RantSports, while pre-combine prospect lists show 6-2½ and 229 pounds; TheAnalyst and Herosports project Payton in the mid rounds, generally the 4th-5th round range.

Southeastern Louisiana’s Kaleb Proctor posted position-speed that jumped off the chart for interior defenders: a 4.79 40 that ranked second among defensive tackles, a 1.69 10-yard split, a 33-inch vertical and a 9-foot-5 broad jump, with a 4.71 shuttle listed as No. 2 at his position. RantSports records an estimated athleticism score of 83 and a RAS of 9.51 that ranks 101st of 2,046 defensive tackles since 1987, and notes Proctor “reached 20.95 mph in the 40-yard dash, tied for the second-fastest top speed by a defensive tackle since 2023.” Sources use both DL and DT when listing Proctor.

Incarnate Word receiver Jalen Walthall’s SI profile lists him at 6-foot-1, 191 pounds with a 31 1/4-inch arm and 9-inch hands. He ran a 4.57 40, a 1.59 10-yard split, a 35-inch vertical and a 10-foot-11 broad jump; his estimated athleticism score of 62 ranked 44th among receivers and his RAS of 6.78 sits 1,239th of 3,844 receivers since 1987. SI notes several drill entries for Walthall as N/A, including 3-cone and bench press.

Beyond the FCS cohort, SI’s combine compilation and a tweet excerpt highlighted the broader athleticism leaders, noting Jeff Caldwell alongside Bryce Lance atop NGS athleticism lists and calling out Kenyon Sadiq as the tenth prospect this decade with a 95+ athleticism score and an 80+ production score. The combine numbers for these five FCS prospects now feed directly into TheAnalyst and Herosports draft boards that project Lance as a third to fourth round prospect and Payton in the mid rounds, giving NFL evaluators concrete, compareable data when weighing small-school production against measurable upside.