While USC safety Taylor Mays’ 40-yard dash time became a source of discussion Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the subject is coming into clearer focus.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock spoke to representatives from six different teams that all had Mays running between 4.31 and 4.35 seconds. NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, on the Lucas Oil Field where the event was taking place, had another scout putting Mays at 4.33. So that’s seven out seven hand-held times that were recorded much lower than Mays’ official electronic time.

It was originally reported that Mays had an unofficial time of 4.24 seconds on his first run and 4.34 seconds on his second run, but he was later credited with an official time of 4.43 seconds.

The difference suggests that Mays’ actual 40-yard dashes were closer to the unofficial times than the official time.

The official times are usually slower than the unofficial times recorded by NFL Network, which uses a person with a hand-held timer situated at the finish line. The official times are recorded electronically and take a while to process and get released. The electronic timing is more exact than the human hand-held timing, so the times produced electronically are the official ones.

On Tuesday, however, the electronic timing appeared to be off for not only Mays but at least one other defensive back. Rutgers CB Devin McCourty ran unofficial hand-held 40 times of 4.34 and 4.35, but his official electronic time came in at a much slower 4.48. The official times of all other top-10 performances among defensive backs were in line with their unofficial times.

Virginia's Chris Cook (15) and Florida's Joe Haden watch workouts during the combine. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — All of the defensive backs have completed their drills, every scout has left the building and many of the workout areas have been taken down: Consider the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine finished.

There were plenty of highlights on the field. From Clemson’s Jacoby Ford posting the second-fastest 40-yard dash time since 2000, when official times were first recorded, to Arkansas’ Mitch Petrus tying the record for bench press reps with 45 (since 2000) to Chris Cook reaching the 11-foot plateau in the broad jump, this was certainly a combine to remember.

The excitement was not contained just to the workouts, however. There was also plenty going on at the media center. Whether it was NFL news such as Redskins coach Mike Shanahan announcing the team would tender Jason Campbell or draft news such as Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant saying a hamstring injury would prevent him from participating in workouts, the action was non-stop.

Light-hearted entertainment was also prevalent throughout the event. There was Oklahoma DT Gerald McCoy joking that he would kill Sooners teammate Sam Bradford when they meet in the pros and Rex Ryan helping out the public address announcer.

And of course, who could forget about Tim Tebow-mania.

So much went on that everything couldn’t possibly be recounted in this blog, but hopefully you enjoyed the NFL Network/NFL.com coverage, and if you missed any of the action, catch it being re-aired on the NFL Network or watch an encore presentation of NFL.com/Live.

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — Taylor Mays‘ eye-popping time in the 40-yard dash has raised his profile in the eyes of many evaluators and could launch the USC safety into the middle of the draft’s first round.

While most expected Mays to post sensational numbers during the workout, the sight of watching him blaze the turf (his 4.43-second 40 was the fastest time for defensive backs at the combine) has forced many scouts to re-examine their opinions. An athlete of Mays’ ability is a rare find at safety, and some teams, over the next month and a half, will attempt to convince themselves that they can maximize his talent.

Mays must convince evaluators that he can regain the stellar form he displayed during his junior season at USC, which will hold its pro day on March 31. If he is successful in stating his case, he could hear his name called by the middle of the first round.

– Bucky Brooks

INDIANAPOLIS — There is no mistaking that the defensive backs are working out Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. With the defensive linemen and linebackers performing Monday, the chatter was at a minimum.

Boy does that seem like a long time ago. This class of defensive backs are certainly living up to the mouthy reputation of their position group.

The defensive backs were separated into two groups for the final receiving drill on Tuesday, with the group that has the most drops being forced to do push ups. Queue the trash talk.

Any time a prospect failed to secure a pass, it was quickly followed by loud hooting and hollering from the opposing group’s prospects, who took joy in ribbing the competition.

In the end it came down to Wake Forest’s Brandon Ghee to make the catch for his team to avoid push ups. He had been one of the more vocal participants, as a few of the scouts in attendance had noted, and seemed certain he would come down with the ball.

Instead, the pigskin slipped right through his hands, and the rest of his group was forced to do push ups, while the other group unleashed a collective “OHHHHHHHH!”

Ghee may have run the second-fastest 40-yard dash among all defensive backs in 4.45 seconds, but his peers are unlikely to let him forget that late drop any time soon.

– Jason Feller

Florida's Joe Haden enjoyed his time at the combine and was pleased with his workouts. (Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Florida cornerback Joe Haden just spoke with NFL.com and expressed happiness with how his time at the NFL Scouting Combine turned out.

He told Scott Hanson and Bucky Brooks on NFL.com/Live that he enjoyed meeting with teams, and was pleased with all his workouts — with one significant exception.

Unofficially, Haden was clocked with a 4.57-second 40-yard dash in his first run, and a 4.60 time in his other run. Those numbers do not befit someone most analysts predict will be the first defensive back taken in the draft, and who is Mike Mayock’s top-rated cornerback.

Haden’s official 40-yard dash time is unavailable, because he did not finish among the top 10 among defensive backs.

Florida’s pro day is on March 17, and Haden vowed to perform better then, saying he has run as fast as 4.34 seconds in Gainesville. He also downplayed the importance of the 40, saying that his tape proves he has no problem covering the fastest receivers in the country.

As for who Haden would like to emulate in the pros, he was firm and immediate in his answer: Jets CB Darrelle Revis. He likens his own man coverage skills to the All-Pro Revis, and if he can come anywhere close to matching Revis’ productivity, whichever team drafts him will be very happy.

– Jason Feller

The USC safety was officially clocked with a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, placing him tied for ninth overall among all participants at the NFL Scouting Combine, behind wide receivers Jacoby Ford, Taylor Price, Emmanuel Sanders and Golden Tate, running backs Jahvid Best and C.J. Spiller, tight end Dorin Dickerson and specialist Trindon Holliday.

The official times are usually slower than the unofficial times recorded by NFL Network, which uses a person with a hand-held timer situated right at the finish line. The official times are recorded electronically and take a while to process and get released. The electronic timing is more exact than the human hand-held timing, so the times produced electronically are the official ones. It’s not certain why there was such a large discrepancy in Mays’ two times.

Chris Johnson has the fastest 40 time at the combine since 2000, when official times were first recorded. Deion Sanders is believed to have recorded the combine’s only sub-4.2-second 40, in 1989 when he entered the draft out of Florida State. But Sanders’ unofficial times vary, depending on which scout’s hand-held stopwatch you believe.

Despite Mays’ slower time, he still made a statement by being the fastest defensive back at the combine, and he also posted an impressive 41-inch vertical jump, third only to Fresno State’s A.J. Jefferson and Tennessee’s Eric Berry.

Mays is Mike Mayock’s third-ranked safety, behind Texas’ Earl Thomas and Berry.

Top 10 official 40-yard dash times at this year’s combine:

• 4.28: Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson
• 4.34: Trindon Holliday, return specialist, Louisiana State
• 4.35: Jahvid Best, RB, California
• 4.37: C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
• 4.40: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh
• 4.41: Taylor Price, WR, Ohio
• 4:41: Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Southern Methodist
• 4.42: Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
• 4.43: Brandon Banks, WR, Kansas State
• 4.43: Taylor Mays, S, Southern California
• 4.43: Ben Tate, RB, Auburn
• 4.43: Kyle Williams, WR, Arizona State

Top official 40-yard dash times since 2000, when official times were first recorded.:

• 4.24: Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina (2008)
• 4.28: Jerome Mathis, WR, Hampton (2005)
• 4.28: Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson (2010)
• 4.29: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee State (2008)
• 4.29: Stanford Routt, CB, Houston (2005)
• 4.29: Fabian Washington, CB, Nebraska (2005)
• 4:30: Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland (2009)
• 4.30: Yamon Figurs, WR, Kansas State (2007)
• 4.30: Darrent Williams, CB, Oklahoma State (2005)
• 4.31: Tyvon Branch, CB, Connecticut (2008)
• 4.31: Justin King, CB, Penn State (2008)
• 4.31: Jonathan Joseph, CB, South Carolina (2006)
• 4.31: Aaron Lockett, WR, Kansas State (2002)
• 4.31: Santana Moss, WR, Miami (Fla.) (2001)

• Complete list of top combine performances

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — The competition just went up a notch here at the NFL Scouting Combine, as two of the top safeties just posted a couple of eye-popping numbers.

USC safety Taylor Mays was clocked with an unofficial 4.24-second 40-yard dash. If that number holds, it would tie Chris Johnson for the fastest 40 time in the combine since 2000, when official results were first recorded.

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks heard one scout put Mays at 4.33, but even with that time Mays would become the second-fastest participant at this year’s combine. Clemson RB Jacoby Ford ran an official 4.28 40 on Sunday.

Just seconds after Mays posted his amazing 40 time, Tennessee’s Eric Berry had his own sensational moment.

The man considered to be Mike Mayock’s second-rated safety had an unofficial 43-inch vertical jump, which would place him among the best defensive backs of all time in that event, and third only to fellow safety A.J. Jefferson from Fresno State, who unofficially jumped 44 inches a few minutes ago, and Pittsburgh TE Dorin Dickerson, who recorded an official 43 1/2-inch jump in this year’s combine.

Mays, who unlike many other prospects loudly grunts his way through the entire run, was clocked at an unofficial 4.34 seconds in his second 40-yard dash.

Not to be undone, Mayock’s top-rated safety, Texas’ Earl Thomas, ran an unofficial 4.4-second 40-yard dash in his second run.

Check out all of the combine’s top performers in our combine tracker.

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s not quite the same as returning an interception for a touchdown to seal a Super Bowl championship, like Tracy Porter did for the Saints nearly a month ago, but nailing a drill at the NFL Scouting Combine is still worth smiling about.

While many of the group 11 cornerbacks emerged from the vertical jump station frustrated or disappointed that they couldn’t quite get that extra inch or two, Florida junior Major Wright let loose a series of fist pumps at the conclusion of his second jump.

Wright, the last prospect of the entire group to do the vertical jump, had reached his goal. The 5-foot-11 1/2 playmaker finished his three-year college career with eight interceptions and a touchdown, so he knows what it feels like to make a big play. And that is exactly what he did Tuesday. He demonstrated his impressive hops by leaping into the air and pushing over a dozen or so pegs.

It was unofficially a 35-inch vertical, one of the better unofficial heights of the session. No wonder Wright could not contain himself as he walked down the sideline following the jump with a broad grin and the clear expression that only accomplishment can bring.

– Jason Feller

Joe Haden's 40 time was slower than expected. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL Scouting Combine did not start out the way Florida’s Joe Haden probably would have liked. The player many consider to be the best defensive back in the draft, including NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, who has him ranked first among all cornerbacks, posted one of the slower unofficial times in the 40-yard dash.

He was unofficially clocked at 4.57 in his first run and 4.60 in his second run, numbers that are not typically associated with the very best defensive backs.

That said, NFL.com analyst and former pro scout Bucky Brooks cautioned against reading too much into the slow 40 time, because Haden’s tape and credentials are so impressive.

Brooks did note, however, that the time will force scouts to re-evaluate Haden’s college tape and look to make sure he did not struggle with speedy receivers in the Southeastern Conference.

On the other side of the equation, Wake Forest’s Brandon Ghee blazed an unofficial 4.37 40-yard dash, the fastest among all group 10 defensive backs. Tennessee’s Eric Berry unofficially came in second with a 4.40.

– Jason Feller

Javier Arenas watches his group of defensive backs work out from the sideline after tweaking his right hamstring in the 40-yard dash. (Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas, who came into the NFL Scouting Combine hoping to enhance his draft stock after an All-American season, tweaked his right hamstring on his first 40-yard dash run and is out for the remainder of the drills.

He pulled up as he crossed the finish line, and immediately went to the training table with a trainer just a few yards from the NFL.com/Live table.

Arenas could not help from shaking his head repeatedly as he watched the other cornerbacks run their 40s, and dejectedly waited for the trainer to come back with a wrap for his ailing hamstring.

After having the sleeve put around his upper right leg, he limped across the field to the benches on the other sideline and sat alone on the end of the bench.

A few other cornerbacks went up to him to see how he was doing, he explained the situation, and on the bench he will remain until all of the Group 10 prospects complete their drills.

Arenas told NFL.com’s Steve Wyche that he will be ready to work out at Alabama’s pro day on March 10. See a full schedule of all the pro day workouts.

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — With the defensive backs showcasing their speed and quickness on the field right now at the NFL Scouting Combine, it’s worth reflecting on what the power players accomplished in their workouts.

Arkansas offensive lineman Mitch Petrus, who matched a combine record with 45 reps on Friday, set the pace in the bench press, with Georgia’s Jeffrey Owens (44), East Carolina’s Linval Joseph (39), Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung (35), UNLV’s Joe Hawley (35), Notre Dame’s Eric Olsen (35) and Washington’s Donald Butler rounding out the top five.

Butler and Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon were the only non-linemen to enter the top 15 in bench press.

That performance capped a strong overall workout from Weatherspoon, who finished among the top performers in the vertical jump, the 40-yard dash and the 60-yard shuttle. He also attracted attention with his long white tights, and exuberant personality.

Top 10 in reps in the bench press:

• 45: Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas
• 44: Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia
• 39: Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina
• 38: Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State
• 35: Joe Hawley, G, UNLV
• 35: Eric Olsen, C, Notre Dame
• 35: Donald Butler, LB, Washington
• 34: Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland
• 34: Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia
• 34: Brian Price, DT, UCLA
• 34: Torell Troup, DT, Central Florida
• 34: Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — There was no mistaking the message. When Tennessee safety Eric Berry asked Vols defensive coordinator, and former long-time Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, if he should enter the draft, the answer was pretty simple.

“He told me I’d be a fool to go back,” Berry said at his news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday before a laughing press corps.

Berry, who is expected to go in the top half of the first round, does have an important reason for going pro, after all. His father needs to have heart surgery, and Berry wants to help him out.

“I’d really just like him to sit down and enjoy life a little bit, and not have to (work two jobs)” Berry said. “So I just entered the draft to make that situation better.”

His father has worked for years painting and installing insulation. Berry thought back on being his dad’s painting assistant as a kid, making $5.50 an hour.

“He said I was cheap labor. … I mean, I worked for that $5.50. Don’t get me wrong,” Berry said.

Berry figures to be slightly more expensive labor in a few months.

– Jason Feller

Dekoda Watson posted one of the fastest 40-yard dash times during workouts Monday. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Mississippi State’s Jamar Chaney and Florida State’s Dekoda Watson posted the fastest official 40-yard dash times Monday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

One of the combine’s most highly touted linebackers, Alabama’s Rolando McClain, withdrew from the workout with a hamstring injury, but the linebackers who did participate did not disappoint.

Nine linebackers in all cracked the 4.7 threshold in the 40, and there weren’t as many drops in the pass coverage drills as one might expect.

Continuing a trend through all position groups, however, not a single linebacker put up a better unofficial time in his second run. Whether it be the time between runs, or fatigue from earlier workouts, one thing is for sure: If a prospect doesn’t put up a good time in his first run, it’s unlikely to get much better.

– Jason Feller

INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia DT Geno Atkins stared at a camera following his first 40-yard dash and made a celebratory gesture. Later, after his short shuttle run, he again looked into a camera, this time flashing a broad smile.

Seven years ago, that never would have happened. The NFL Scouting Combine used to be shrouded in secrecy because nobody could see inside the stadium. That changed when NFL Network began airing the event live in 2004.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, who admitted he initially opposed network filming the drills, credited the coverage with improving the event.

“The exposure’s good for the league, and it’s also good for the players,” Colbert said. “The players become very competitive in this environment with all the media attention and the network broadcasting it.”

All the attention might have helped increase player participation. Former NFL executive and current NFL.com contributor Gil Brandt pointed out a time in 1996 when the first nine running backs declined to do the 40-yard dash, prompting scouts to give a rousing standing ovation to Texas A&M’s Leeland McElroy, the 10th running back, when he completed his run.

– Jason Feller

The NFL Scouting Combine has become more of a team sport than an individual contest. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — One strange aspect of the NFL Scouting Combine is how it turns a team sport into an individual battle for prestige, draft placement and money — lots of money.

But don’t tell that to the prospects working out at Lucas Oil Stadium.

During drills Sunday, every receiver in attendance celebrated a great catch and constantly dispensed encouragement.

The same thing is happening Monday with the defensive linemen. In addition to the loud grunting and booming coach instructions that fill the stadium, there’s a medley of cheers and exhortations. These guys aren’t teammates, but they act like it.

“Whooo baby, way to go!” “Yeah, good work!” “You’re good, you’re good!” Those are just examples of some of the things the players scream to each other on the field.

Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy was asked about this phenomenon. Why support the other athletes if they’re your competition?

“When I was watching the combine earlier, I was trying to get behind them even more, like, ‘C’mon, man, catch the ball,’” McCoy said. “I love athletes. I’m a supporter of all athletes because I am one. I know how hard I worked to get here, and I’m pretty sure other people worked just as hard.”

– Jason Feller