Muhammad Ali's 16-year-old grandson is a 3-star football recruit who can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash

Thirty-four years after his last professional fight, Muhammad Ali's legacy lives on — not in the ring, but on the football field. His 16-year-old grandson, Biaggio Ali-Walsh, has developed into a three-star running back at national powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Nevada.

Bleacher Report did a video feature on Ali-Walsh, who already has scholarship offers from UNLV and Louisville, and his brother Nico.

Ali-Walsh ran for nearly 600 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 49 carries as a sophomore to help lead Bishop Gorman to its sixth-consecutive state championship.

Ali-Walsh told Bleacher Report he believes the biggest similarity between himself and his grandfather is speed. While Ali is widely regarded as one of the quickest boxers of all time, Ali-Walsh has developed into one of the fastest running backs in the country.

Ali-Walsh told Bleacher Report he can run a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. To put that in perspective, that time would have been the best among all running backs at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.

Sean Manuel, Ali-Walsh's coach at Bishop Gorman, told Bleacher Report that Ali-Walsh is one of the fastest kids he's ever seen.

 

“At running back when you have top-end speed it separates you to the elite category in the country. That’s what Biaggio has. He has one play breakaway speed, he has game-changing speed … Biaggio is one of the fastest kids in the country. He has one of the fastest 40-yard dashes in the United States of America. That’s how bad granddaddy was, went through a generation and stayed right onto the next set of boys that came through.”

 

Ali-Walsh isn't just fast — he also has the strength to break multiple tackles and keep running.

Ali-Walsh knows being the grandson of Ali will bring a lot of criticism and lofty expectations, which is why he says he tries to push himself even harder to succeed.

 

“I don’t want people to think ‘Oh he’s getting all of this because of his name.’ It just makes me want to prove myself, that I’m actually good at the sport, rather than just because of who I’m related to.”