Feldman's Freaks List

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman released his annual "Freaks" list. While not topping the list again, Michigan has some representation near the top. A notable former recruit leads all "freaks" by Feldman's estimation.

1. Nyckoles Harbor, South Carolina, wide receiver
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State, wide receiver
3. Kingsley Suamataia, BYU, offensive lineman
4. Jordan Burch, Oregon, defensive lineman
5. Francis Mauigoa, Miami, offensive tackle

6. Kris Jenkins, Michigan, defensive tackle
The Wolverines defensive line under Jim Harbaugh and strength coach Ben Herbert has been a gold mine for the Freaks List, and Jenkins is next in line. The former three-star recruit, the son of former NFL star Kris Jenkins, arrived in Ann Arbor at 257 pounds, and he played last season in the mid-280s. He made 54 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and had 20 QB pressures. According to PFF, he led all defensive linemen in the country in run stops. But people inside the Michigan program think he’s now ready to take a huge step forward as an impact guy. He’s up to 307 pounds and is more powerful and explosive than ever. He did 32 reps of 225 on the bench and did 760 pounds on the combo twist. Only last year’s top Freak, Mazi Smith, some 30 pounds heavier, did more slinging around 800 pounds.

Jenkins recently did a Turkish get-up with a 170-pound dumbbell — the heaviest Herbert has ever witnessed. Jenkins does pull-ups with a 100-pound weight strapped to his waist. He also moves incredibly well for being a 300-plus pounder, running a 7.16 3-cone, a 4.33 shuttle, broad-jumping 9-8 and vertical-jumping 34 inches.

Jenkins’ shuttle and 3-cone times are both almost two-tenths of a second faster than the quickest interior defensive lineman did at this year’s NFL combine. His broad jump would be tied for the best. His vertical jump would be second-best, and only Smith topped his number on the bench press.

“He’s the mutant of all mutants,” Harbaugh tells The Athletic. “He just keeps going and going. He’s No. 1 in our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). He’s over 300. He’s the poster child for enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Watch him become a top-10 pick.”

7. Chris Braswell, Alabama, outside linebacker
8. Thor Griffith, Harvard, defensive tackle
9. Chop Robinson, Penn State, defensive end
10. Rylie Mills, Notre Dame, defensive lineman

Other notables:

12. Amorion Walker, Michigan, cornerback
A former three-star recruit from Louisiana, Walker played five games at wideout and one at defensive back as a true freshman in 2022, but he’s made an eye-catching transformation since arriving at Michigan at 156 pounds. Now, he’s 6-3 1/4, 180 pounds and has crazy athleticism. This offseason he blazed through the 3-cone drill in a stunning 6.10 seconds.

“It’s the fastest time I have ever seen and likely the fastest I will ever see,” strength coach Ben Herbert says. That time is almost a full half-second faster than the fastest time recorded at the combine last spring (Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 6.57). It would also blow away the combine record of 6.42 set 12 years ago by Oregon’s Jeff Maehl.

Walker’s 3.89 shuttle would’ve been tops at the combine as well. Smith-Njigba ran a 3.93 with Brandin Cooks’ 3.81 in 2014 the record. And there’s more: Walker vertical-jumped 42 1/2 inches. He did 11-4 in the broad jump and he clocked a 4.34 40, and he did it out of a two-point stance.

And my personal favorite. Despite having played in 14 total games of mop up time mostly through his four year Michigan career. Juice Welschof finds himself on the Freaks list for the 3rd? out of 4 years now.

24. Julius Welschof, Charlotte, defensive end
The former champion moguls skier from Germany — who first got our attention when we heard he could do backflips on his skis and walk 50 yards on his hands — made this list several times in his career at Michigan. This offseason he followed former Wolverines assistant Biff Poggi to Charlotte, and they’re both hoping he has a big finale in the AAC. The 6-6, 265-pound Welschof, who vertical-jumped 34 1/2 inches and had a 4.19 shuttle at Michigan, broad-jumped 10-4 this offseason and went over 21 MPH on the GPS.

Plus a couple more familiar faces down the list.

50. Alex Orji, Michigan, quarterback
There’s a bunch of other Wolverines we could’ve included in here in this spot: Blake Corum, who does 30 reps of 225 on the bench and also clocked a 6.39 3-cone and a 3.89 shuttle; Zak Zinter, who at 6-6, 325, vertical-jumped 33 inches and had a 4.44 shuttle; or Mike Sainristil, who had a 40-inch vertical and bounded up the reactive plyo stairs in 2.26 seconds, but Orji was who several teammates pointed to as their top Freak.

The 6-3, 237-pound sophomore quarterback ranks No. 1 on the team in its cumulative KPI score, which is made up of 48 Key Performance Indicators they use to track frame analysis: flexibility/mobility; strength/power; and agility/speed. Orji vertical-jumped 41 inches and did 2.34 in the reactive plyo stairs; broad-jumped 10-6; and did 3.97 in the shuttle and 6.65 in the 3-cone. On the field, the Texas native ran for two touchdowns and completed one pass in mop-up duty in 2022

73. Roman Wilson, Michigan, wide receiver
A former “Fastest Man” at The Opening as a high school recruit, having clocked a 4.37 40, the 6-0, 193-pound senior wows the coaches with his ability to accelerate, decelerate and control his body. This offseason, Wilson clocked a 4.33 40 out of a two-point stance; ran a sizzling 6.20 3-cone drill that was only upstaged by teammate Amorion Walker. But then again, Wilson topped everyone with a 3.77 shuttle time, and also had a terrific 10.76 60-yard shuttle and flew up the Wolverines’ reactive plyo stairs in 2.22 seconds, also best in the program. On the field, Wilson caught 25 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns and added two more rushing touchdowns.

Always an entertaining column. Probably not the world's best predictor of college production or NFL talent, but I don't think it's really trying to do that. Check it out if you have a sub.