Monday, July 15, 2019

Bruce Feldman's Freak List

In a recent column for The Athletic, college football analyst Bruce Feldman produced his annual list of the most freakishly athletic players in college football. I'm listing the players here. Feldman writes about the freaky traits of each of the players in his column. It's eye-widening stuff. I highly recommend checking it out.

Bruce Feldman’s 2019 college football Freaks List

1. Tristan Wirfs, Iowa, offensive tackle
2. Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma, defensive tackle
3. James Smith-Williams, N.C. State, defensive line
4. Isaiah Simmons, Clemson, linebacker
5. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin, running back
6. Jayson Oweh, Penn State, defensive end
7. Micah Parsons, Penn State, linebacker
8. Sewo Olonilua, TCU, running back
9. Marcelino Ball, Indiana, defensive back
10. Julian Okwara, Notre Dame, defensive end
11. Daniel Faalele, Minnesota, offensive tackle
12. Anthony Schwartz, Auburn, wide receiver
13. Jeff Gladney, TCU, cornerback
14. Kyler Gordon, Washington, cornerback
15. Jalen Virgil, Appalachian State, wide receiver
16. AJ Dillon, Boston College, running back
17. Rondale Moore, Purdue, wide receiver-kick returner
18. Henry Ruggs, Alabama, wide receiver
19. Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne, safety
20. Sadarius Hutcherson, South Carolina, offensive line
21. Jalen Reagor, TCU, wide receiver
22. Osa Odighizuwa, UCLA, defensive end
23. LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan, running back
24. Prince Tega Wanogho, Auburn, offensive tackle
25. Levonta Taylor, Florida State, cornerback
26. Kenneth Ruff, Syracuse, defensive tackle
27. Laviska Shenault Jr., Colorado, wide receiver
28. Garrett Marino, UAB, defensive line
29. Jabari Zuniga, Florida, defensive line
30. Kary Vincent, LSU, defensive back
31. Julius Welschof, Michigan, defensive end
32. Ashtyn Davis, Cal, safety
33. Jordan Fehr, Appalachian State, inside linebacker
34. C.J. Henderson, Florida, cornerback
35. Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech, cornerback
36. Otito Ogbonnia, UCLA, defensive end
37. Troy Pride, Notre Dame, cornerback
38. Myles Hartsfield, Ole Miss, defensive back
39. James Wiggins, Cincinnati, safety
40. Miles Pate, Western Kentucky, offensive tackle
41. Will McDonald, Iowa State, linebacker
42. John Molchon, Boise State, offensive guard
43. Simon Stepaniak, Indiana, offensive guard
44. Spencer Brown, UAB, running back
45: Gage Cervenka, Clemson, offensive line
46. Roger Cray, Western Kentucky, defensive back
47: Kylin Hill, Mississippi State, running back
48: Baylor Cupp, Texas A&M, tight end
49. Otto Zaccardo, Syracuse, running back
50. Antwan Davis, Ball State, wide receiver

I love that the offensive line is represented well (3 in the top-20) on this list.

Offensive line freaks:
1. Tristan Wirfs, Iowa, offensive tackle
11. Daniel Faalele, Minnesota, offensive tackle
20. Sadarius Hutcherson, South Carolina, offensive line
24. Prince Tega Wanogho, Auburn, offensive tackle
40. Miles Pate, Western Kentucky, offensive tackle
42. John Molchon, Boise State, offensive guard
43. Simon Stepaniak, Indiana, offensive guard
45: Gage Cervenka, Clemson, offensive line

Daniel Faalele is an astonishing 6'9" and 400 pounds.

Feldman's 32nd freak, Cal's Ashtyn Davis has competed in both football and track (he was an All-American hurdler) the last three years. This will be his first year of playing only football. He's bigger and hopefully still as fast. Davis is a former walk-on. He's improved each year as Cal's defense has improved under head coach Justin Wilcox. The Golden Bear secondary is one of the best in the country with an abundance of future NFL players. Davis should be one of them. Go Bears!

As a Cal fan, it wasn't fun to see and read out about these players on the UCLA defensive line.

UCLA's defensive line:
22. Osa Odighizuwa, UCLA, defensive end
36. Otito Ogbonnia, UCLA, defensive end

Feldman writes this about Ogbonnia: "The massive Texan at 6-4 330 is the most explosive and talented of a gifted crop of young Bruin D-linemen." A 6-4 and 330 pound defensive lineman being referred to as "the most explosive and talented of a gifted crop of young Bruin D-linemen" doesn't sound fun for an opposing offense. Hopefully, Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense will keep these two freaky players, and the rest of the Bruins defense, winded.

19. Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne, safety

In addition to his appreciation of offensive linemen, it's great to see Feldman embrace freaky players from the itty-bitty schools.

Just to get in a college football frame of mind, check out Bruce Feldman's informative and entertaining freaky column at The Athletic.

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