Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
2 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ball. Reporter Bruce Feldman, now of The Athletic, assembles his college football "freaks" list every summer, offering an annual introduction to the game's most uniquely gifted athletes. Dating back to Galt's arrival at Penn State in 2014, the Nittany Lions have found themselves as fixtures among the absolute best. Beginning with defensive tackle An- thony Zettel ahead of the 2015 season, Penn State has landed a succession of players on Feldman's list. Saquon Bark- ley made it twice, while Odafe (Jayson) Oweh and Micah Parsons were Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, in 2019. Oweh and Parsons returned in 2020, while Feldman added Journey Brown to the mix at No. 15 and Jaquan Brisker at No. 46. This year, the Nittany Lions were rep- resented in the expanded list of the game's 100 top freak athletes, with Brisker checking in at No. 76 ahead of his super senior season and junior linebacker Bran- don Smith landing at No. 32 in his first appearance. Given all the national acclaim that Penn Staters have received in recent years, we wondered: What would a Penn State- specific "freaks" list look like this year? That led us to Galt. With his access to an exhaustive set of strength and con- ditioning data and his unique insight into the team's growth and development trends, he's a rare staff member who has virtually year-round, daily interaction with players. It turned out Galt was game to discuss the efforts of the team's top athletes and performers in the weight room. Prior to the start of the season, he graciously of- fered his insights and personal rankings. Here, then, is a look at the players who have stood out the most this year: Penn State's 'Freaks' List 1) Jaquan Brisker Saf. | 6-1 | 200 Vertical: 38.5 inches Broad: 10 feet, 7 inches 40-yard dash: 4.30 seconds Shuttle: 3.98 seconds Clean: 325 pounds Bench: 400 pounds Squat: 500 pounds Strength Index: 700 When we interviewed Galt via Zoom, Brisker's 40-yard time prompted a dou- ble-take. "Did I hear 4.3 for the 40?" Galt was asked. "Four. Three. Oh." What's even more impressive, the su- per senior safety wasn't satisfied with that number. Hand-timed by three stop- watches, Brisker crossed the line in 4.28 and 4.29 on the first two clocks. The third? 4.33. "They averaged to 4.30," Galt said. "He's like, 'It's a 4.29!' I'm like, 'No, it's a 4.30.' He can run. We do speed drills. Ain't nobody touching him. Nobody." A preseason All-American, Brisker has vast potential as a strength-speed ath- lete. Galt said he believes that the veteran defensive back, whose late interception helped clinch a season-opening 16-10 victory at Wisconsin Sept. 4, has only begun to tap into that potential. But given that he already demonstrated his physi- cality and athleticism in his first two sea- sons at Penn State, the strength staff has left well enough alone. "We got Jaquan to 500 pounds [in the squat] and we could have gotten a lot more out of him," Galt said. "But why? Why would I want to put it on the back of a guy who is already so well-prepared and introduce those risk factors? So we've held him back in the weight room." 2) Brandon Smith OLB | 6-3 | 241 Vertical: 36.5 inches Broad: 11 feet, 0 inches 40-yard dash: 4.43 seconds Shuttle: 4.14 seconds Clean: 350 pounds Bench: 360 pounds Squat: 525 pounds Strength Index: 663 Listed by Feldman as college football's No. 32-ranked freak nationally, Smith takes the second spot on Galt's hand- picked list. And the comparisons, at least physically, are lofty at the beginning of his junior season. "You're talking now about national combine, elite stuff," Galt said, referenc- ing Smith's impressive testing numbers. "He's a baby Micah Parsons from this perspective." Despite his status as the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 39 overall prospect in the class of 2019, Smith did not show up on campus as a ready-made star. His ascent has demanded a tireless strength and conditioning work ethic. During the past two years, he has in- creased his weight from 230 to 241 pounds without diminishing his other testing numbers. In fact, just the opposite is true; he's added 6.5 inches to his vertical leap Junior linebacker Brandon Smith has posted the kind of testing numbers that mark him as a future standout at the NFL Combine. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS In addition to being one of Penn State's best pure ath- letes, fifth-year senior safety Jonathan Sutherland is a team leader, having been named a captain for the third year in a row. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER