Jahdae Barron had a day for the books at the 2025 NFL Combine. The former Texas star defensive back and 2024 Jim Thorpe Award winner excelled as he sped through the 40-yard dash. However, Barron sat out for the rest of the day after completing the sprint drill and said it was a decision that he and his manager came to together.
Afterwards, the NFL Network interviewed the Longhorn legend and asked him how he prepared for the day beyond the usual workouts and drills.
Barron literally puts his goals around his mirror that he looks at every day, an idea for which he gives credit to none other than his mom. Stacey Dales, the NFL Network reporter, asked Barron to go into a little more detail about what exactly the visualization does for the young athlete.
"You have to do it; my mom tells me to do it so I can be committed to something, so I can hold myself to a standard," Barron said. "You have to be exact with your goals, you can't be off. You can't be a word off, you can't be anything off. Exactly what you want, you have to put it on there, and you have to look in the mirror every day and tell yourself that's what you want."
Well, it seemed like the visualization did pretty darn well for the Texas cornerback who earned the Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in college football.
At the Combine, Barron blew the roof off of expectations as he recorded a 4.39-second finish in the 40-yard dash, a 35-inch vertical jump, and a 10.25-foot broad jump. Overall, the NFL Network gave Barron a production score of 94 and an athleticism score of 82, putting his total score at 90, the second highest for a cornerback at the Combine.