1. Mazi Smith, Michigan, defensive tackle
His former teammate,
Aidan Hutchinson,
almost was our top guy in 2021, but this year a Wolverine is the No. 1 Freak in college football. The 6-foot-3, 337-pound senior has rare power and agility. So rare, in fact, it’s hard to find the right superlative to begin with. But let’s start with this: Smith does 22 reps on the bench press, but that’s with 325 (not 225). He close-grip benched 550 pounds. He vertical-jumps 33 inches. He broad-jumped 9-4 1/2. Smith, who had 37 tackles last season, has clocked a 4.41 shuttle time, which would’ve tied the best by any defensive tackle at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and it would’ve been better than any defensive tackle weighing 310 pounds or more in the past decade. His 6.95 3-cone time would’ve been by far the fastest among defensive tackles in Indianapolis. The fastest was 7.33. Smith’s 60-yard shuttle time is 11.90.
The
Wolverines do a reactive plyo stairs test, which is a series of seven 26-inch high stairs that players attempt to jump up as fast as possible. The team record is 2.21 seconds. Smith did it in 2.82. To better gauge just how impressive that is, Hutchinson, some 60 pounds lighter than Smith, did it in 2.57.
Even more remarkable: The Wolverines also do a workout on their combo-twist machine, which is designed to show a player’s ability to rotate an opponent but also their ability to resist being rotated in the trenches. Smith had the machine completely tapped out. There was only enough room for 300 pounds on each side of the machine for a 600-pound max.
“For Mazi, it wasn’t even challenging,” says one of the Wolverine strength coaches. A staffer called the manufacturer to see if there was a way to extend it, then ultimately contacted a private company to build custom extenders for the combo-twist, which made it capable of loading up to 800 pounds to accommodate Smith.
“Mazi’s rotational strength is ridiculous,” said longtime Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert, who said Smith is the strongest defensive lineman he’s seen in 25 years in the business. “He is an incredible combination of rare traits packaged into one player. He is just ridiculously strong and powerful.”
There has been a ridiculous run of wideout talent in Columbus the past decade, and Harrison, the son of Colts great Marvin Harrison, is probably the Freakiest athlete of the entire group. Harrison is a big dude at 6-3 1/2, 206 pounds. He benched 380 pounds this offseason, doing 22 reps at 225. He clocked a blistering 3.94 pro shuttle time and did 10-9 on the broad jump. He also topped out at 23 mph on the GPS. As a freshman in 2021, he caught 11 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns but finished with a flourish, catching six passes, including three touchdowns, in the Rose Bowl win over
Utah.
Murphy made 43 tackles, a team-high 14.0 tackles for loss, and a team-best seven sacks in 2021. The 6-5, 275-pound junior is viewed by NFL scouts as a “significantly better player” than former Tiger Clelin Ferrell, who went fourth overall in the 2019 draft. Murphy bench-presses 405 pounds, power-cleans 335 and deadlifts 505. He also has vertical-jumped 35 inches, broad-jumped 10 feet and consistently clocked in the high 4.5s in the 40, according to Clemson coaches.
The Miami transfer bounced around last year, playing 152 snaps on defense as an outside linebacker (11 tackles, 2 TFLs), 98 on offense as a tight end, and 18 on special teams. But don’t be shocked if he emerges as a big force on Dan Lanning’s defense. Johnson had a dominant showing in the
Ducks’ spring game, making five TFLs and four sacks. Those numbers are as jaw-dropping as the results the 6-4, 275-pounder has produced in the Oregon training program, posting a blazing 22.88 mph on the GPS to go with a 455-pound bench and 655-pound sumo deadlift.
The former high school basketball and track star has lived up to the hopes of the Iowa State staff when it recruited McDonald, a 2021 first-team All-American. He tied for the Big 12 lead in sacks for the second straight season with 11.5, breaking his own single-season school record, to go with his 14 TFLs and five forced fumbles.
“He’s an elite athlete who can do backflips standing still and has videos jumping over cars. All of that along with sacking the QB,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said of the 6-3, 236-pound edge rusher. Campbell expects McDonald will vertical-jump 42 or 43 inches when he goes to the combine and should broad jump around 11 feet.
(Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
In 2021, he made the freshman All-SEC team, which he punctuated with a terrific showing on the biggest stage, making six tackles and a game-sealing 79-yard interception return for touchdown in the College Football Playoff Championship Game against
Alabama. Ringo’s combination of size and freakish explosiveness is reminiscent of another SEC Freak DB, Patrick Peterson. The 6-2, 215-pound Ringo, a World Class junior sprinter from Arizona who ran a 10.43 100- and 21.18 200-meter time, is a legitimate 4.3 40 guy and consistently clocks in the high-22 mph range on the GPS.
Welschof has been on our radar since before he arrived at Michigan. European super scout Brandon Collier has been buzzing about him and his Freakish ability for years. Back then, Welschof was a 6-6, 220-pound former champion moguls skier from Germany doing backflips on his skis and walking 50 yards on his hands. Since arriving in Ann Arbor, Welschof has dazzled his teammates with his athleticism. Asked what the most impressive thing he’s ever seen Welschof do, standout cornerback
DJ Turner said it’s an ankle mobility test that measures the flexibility in their lower legs.
“Usually people get like 12 inches. I was like 13 or 14. He got 23 inches,” Turner said. “Stuff that he can do sometimes just doesn’t make sense — like what?!? How can he do that?”
Technically, Welschof measured 22 inches on his right leg and 23 on his left. “From his skiing background with how his lower limbs function, he has tremendous range of motion,” Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert said. “His ankle mobility is ridiculous.”
That’s just the start of it. “Juice,” who has leaned down 22 pounds to 268, broad-jumps 10-5 consistently and vertical-jumped 34 1/2 inches this offseason. His 40 was 4.66. The most amazing numbers posted by former Wolverine Freak Aidan Hutchinson were his shuttle times. Hutchinson did 6.73 in the 3-cone drill in Indy (sixth fastest among all players there). Hutchinson clocked a 6.54 last offseason in Ann Arbor. Herbert said Welschof ran a 6.76 this offseason. He’s also done a 4.19 in the 20-yard shuttle — only Hutchinson’s 4.15 was faster among D-linemen and linebackers in Indy. Hutchinson was the first athlete Herbert ever witnessed do a “Turkish Get-Up” with 135 pounds and no collars (to lock on the plates) in a quarter-century working in college weight rooms. This offseason, Welschof did it with a 160-pound dumbbell “like it was effortless.”
He’s made 165 tackles and six sacks in his career for the Tigers, and he’s determined to bounce back from missing part of last season and the spring with a leg injury. Folks inside the Auburn program say he is aptly nicknamed “The Freak.” The 6-1, 225-pounder bench-presses 435 pound and has been clocked in the 40 at 4.32.
He’s a bit undersized at 6 feet, 282 pounds, but man, is the Miami native disruptive. This was a great find by Panthers defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who has deep ties around South
Florida. In 2021, Kancey earned first-team All-ACC honors after producing 13 TFLs and seven sacks. Pat Narduzzi says Kancey reminds him of Panthers legend Aaron Donald, and while that is pretty hefty talk, no doubt this guy is special too. Narduzzi told
The Athletic this month that Kancey has been clocked running a 4.69 40. Kancey also has vertical-jumped 31 1/2 inches and bench pressed 425.
He’s not the headliner of the Tide backers in what is a remarkably talented group, but coaches say Braswell (13 tackles in 2021) is the biggest Freak. At 6-3, 243, he squats 705 pounds and power-cleaned 405 pounds this offseason. He also vertical-jumped 38.5 inches.
11. Zack *****, Old Dominion, tight end
Penn State has had a bunch of gifted tight ends and a few who ended up leaving to flourish at other programs. *****, a former high school track star who was a state champion in hurdles, has blossomed at Old Dominion. In 2021, he won first-team All-Conference USA honors and was second in the country among tight ends with 73 receptions to go with 692 yards. At 6-8 1/4, 251 pounds, ***** is an eye-popping blend of great size and athleticism. This offseason he clocked a 4.57 40 to go with his 40-inch vertical and 10-8 broad jump. His explosiveness is also reflected in a 365-pound clean.
12. Maason Smith, LSU, defensive lineman
The former five-star recruit is one of the most gifted players in college football. The 6-5, 300-pound sophomore won Freshman All-America honors after posting five TFLs and four sacks in 2021 despite missing three games due to injury. In his debut performance in Tiger Stadium, Smith had six tackles, 3.5 TFLs and three sacks in a win over McNeese State. Expect a lot more from him this season for the Tigers. In the offseason, Smith hit 19.5 mph on the GPS and can touch 11 feet in his standing vertical jump.
What a gem Army found at Connecticut’s Cheshire Academy in Carter, at the time a two-star tight end prospect. Now a 6-7, 260-pound senior with a 6-10 wingspan, Carter piled up 18.5 TFLs, 15.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2021. Carter’s length is only more amazing when factoring in that he also blazed a 4.2 in his pro agility test this offseason. Army coaches say that when Carter’s doing change of direction work in the summer, he finishes in the top three with their skill guys. They also say his reaction time and processing speed is unmatched.
14. Bryan Bresee, Clemson, defensive tackle
At 6-5, 310 pounds, Bresee jumps off the tape for NFL scouts. The former five-star was a third-team All-ACC selection (15 tackles, three TFLs) despite being limited to four games due to a torn ACL in late September. Bresee benched 435 pounds, power-cleaned 330 and deadlifted 585. He has vertical-jumped 30 inches, but the most impressive number is him clocking in the high 4.7s in the 40.
15. Andrei Iosivas, Princeton, wide receiver
One of the best players in the Ivy League also is one of the top track athletes in the country. On the field, the 6-3, 205-pound Hawaiian — his name is pronounced “Yoshi-vas” — had 41 catches for 703 yards. In track, he finished fourth in the country in the heptathlon and ran the fastest 60 in NCAA heptathlon history (6.71). Iosivas bench pressed 370 pounds this month and has vertical-jumped 39 inches. His 60-yard dash time would, by his own estimation, translate into a 4.2-something 40, but he points out that it was also out of the blocks and on a track, so maybe not. His position coach, Brian Flinn, predicts when Iosivas goes through the draft process and performs those tests he will “destroy them all. He trains year-around on how to start and sprint.” Iosivas bought a Jugs machine when he was quarantined during COVID to keep honing his skills.
The new Horned Frogs staff loved what it saw from him this spring, and pro scouts really like him, too. Horton was good last year with nine TFLs and four sacks, but expect him to be a lot better in 2022. At 6-4, 279, Horton, a high school safety who also excelled in basketball and as a high jumper, vertical-jumped 38 inches and broad-jumped 10-0. He also clocked a 4.55 40 and has power-cleaned 400 and squatted 700 pounds.
17. Gabe Hall, Baylor, defensive lineman
The Bears have a few D-linemen (App Ika, Jaxon Players) who also could merit a spot here, but it’s the 6-6, 295-pound Hall who is the biggest Freak. The former high school shot putter, who had six sacks and seven TFLs in 2021, bench pressed 500 pounds, power-cleans 465 pounds, did 750 pounds on the trap bar deadlift and squatted 650 (the BU strength staff stopped him or else Hall’s probably lifting a lot more). He also hit 18.2 mph on the GPS.
18. Braelon Allen, Wisconsin, running back
The latest bruising
Badgers running back, Allen had a breakout 2021, leading Wisconsin and ranking third in the Big Ten with 1,268 rushing yards. He ran for at least 100 yards in eight games, including a streak of seven consecutive 100-yard games – the longest by a freshman in school history. The 6-2, 235-pounder is already exceptionally powerful, power-cleaning 406 pounds, back-squatting 610 and bench-pressing 365 pounds. In addition, his 10-yard split also is freakishly fast for such a big back, going 1.49 seconds. Allen doesn’t even turn 19 until after this season’s over in late January.
A first-team All-Big Ten pick, Moss (39 tackles, four interceptions) is one of the big reasons why Iowa’s defense is so stingy. The 6-1, 193-pounder was an excellent hurdler in high school, and that high-level athleticism has only been enhanced from four years in Iowa City. Moss has vertical-jumped 42 inches and broad-jumped 10-8. We’re told he has clocked the fastest short shuttle time for DBs in Kirk Ferentz’s two decades-plus at Iowa, blazing through it in 3.85 seconds. That would’ve been almost a full tenth of a second faster than anyone at this year’s combine, with Sam Houston State’s Zyon McCollum going 3.94. In fact, no one in Indy has even cracked 3.90 since Washington’s Kevin King did 3.89 in 2017.
White was a devastating player for Old Dominion in 2019, making 19 TFLs. He was 265 then. He transferred to Tech, but then suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him. He’s now 6-4, 290 and primed to be a problem for ACC teams. White has hit 21 mph despite being almost 300 pounds. He also has vertical-jumped 32 inches and done 38 reps of 225 on the bench press.
“We’re really excited to see him,” Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins said.
21. Je’Quan Burton, FAU, wide receiver
The former walk-on, who began his career at Southern
Illinois before going to Iowa Central, has been a solid contributor to the
Owlsoffense, catching 27 passes for 483 yards and three touchdowns. But it’s his exploits in the strength and conditioning part, so far, that are really turning heads. The 185-pound wideout bench-presses 345 and power-cleans 345. Even more remarkable: He vertical-jumped 45 inches this offseason and broad jumped 11-5. He ran a fully automated timed (FAT) 40 in 4.36 seconds. So don’t be shocked if he proves to be more of a big-play weapon for FAU this fall.
theathletic.com
