Missouri wide receiver Will Franklin said he never had any doubt that he’d run a 4.3-second 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine on Sunday. He just didn’t know what part of the 4.3’s.

“I told you it would be the 4.3’s somewhere,” said Franklin, who ran a 4.37. “I knew it. There was never a doubt.”

So confident was Franklin about his time that he didn’t even bother to seek it out from the various scouts with stopwatches around the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Franklin said Athlete’s Performance Institute teammates, Steve Slaton (West Virginia), Limas Sweed (Texas), Darius Reynard (Virginia Tech) told him his time as he was heading off the field.

It capped a great day for Franklin who also performed well in the on-field drills that included catching and route running. Franklin said several scouts commented on his route running and his ability to catch the ball with his hands rather than his body.

“That was a big concern because he was sort of sloppy in his routes at Mizzou,” said Russ Lande Jr., former scout for the Cleveland Browns and Rams and current NFL expert for Sporting News, who said he didn’t get a chance to watch Franklin run routes at the Combine.

“If he ran good routes here, at least it would show that he was able to be coached and improved from the end of the season until now.”

Franklin said he invested so much physical and mental energy into the 40 that he decided to forgo the other events at the Combine. He’ll do the cone drill, shuttles, and bench press at Missouri’s Pro Day on March 6.

“I got fatigued after the 40 and the position drills and just standing around the building,” Franklin said. “I didn’t feel like I would have been able to give my best. It got pretty cold in that building. After awhile, after you ran, your body started to chill down and there were so many people in front of you and between and I didn’t think I was going to be able to give my best performance.”

Franklin’s time tied for second among all receivers, but Franklin at 215 pounds, was the heaviest of all the receivers to run 4.37 or better.

“I definitely feel like I helped myself, especially with the 40,” Franklin said. “I ran a real blazing time at a heavy weight. I’ve never been at 215. I showed that I can run at 215 and have a fast time.

“During the course of interviews I had with teams, they weren’t really worried about my field play. It was pretty much what I run and my knowledge of the game. I proved all that this weekend, meeting with teams and the questions that they asked. When I ran a pretty good time, the rest is history.”