Alabama WR Henry Ruggs III clocked at amazing speed during touchdown run against South Carolina

Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III caught the eyes of a lot of college football fans this past Saturday as he outraced the entire South Carolina defense for an 81-yard touchdown in the Crimson Tides’ 47-23 victory over the Gamecocks.

It was quite apparent to everyone watching that Ruggs, a junior out of Montgomery, Ala., is fast. But how fast was he going on that run?

On Tuesday, Ruggs gave the answer: he had been clocked at 24.3 mph as he sprinted down the field at Williams-Brice Stadium. If you think that is crazy, Ruggs goes further, saying that that is just the third-fastest time he has been clocked at during his time at Alabama.

Let’s put that into some perspective here.

Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet as of today, holds the record at 27.8 mph. While we don’t hear what Ruggs’ fastest time is, the fact he is even in the same atmosphere as Bolt — while wearing pads, even — is crazy. With apologies to Michael Scott from “The Office,” who once was clocked running at 31 mph (with the assistance of a car just happening to pass by at the same time), I think we need to set up a race between Ruggs and the Lightning Bolt and see if the Tide player can actually beat him.

Watch the play for yourself below if you missed it on Saturday:

In case you didn't already know, HENRY RUGGS IS INCREDIBLY FAST. pic.twitter.com/BKdh50EJh3

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 14, 2019

Brian Stultz

Brian Stultz covers SEC football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. A graduate of Auburn University, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. You can follow him on Twitter @brianjstultz.