Bruce Feldman's CFB Freaks list: Most noteworthy things from 2024 ranking

As everyone releases their preseason top 25 rankings ahead of the college football season, there's another preseason ranking that's become just as intriguing.

FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman released his 20th edition of the Freaks List on Tuesday, ranking the top 101 players in college football by their athletic feats. In the list for The Athletic, Feldman compiles the rankings with suggestions from all around the football world, getting insight from coaches, scouts and many more. 

Here are five takeaways from the 2024 list. 

Nyck Harbor makes history

The South Carolina wide receiver became the first player to earn the No. 1 spot on Feldman's list in back-to-back years in the 20 years he's been making the list. Harbor certainly had a compelling case for that honor. In high school, the 6-foot-5, 242-pound receiver ran a 10.22 100-meter dash and 20.63 in the 200-meter dash in high school.

Harbor improved both marks during his freshman year at South Carolina, running a 10.1 in the 100-meter dash and a 20.20 in the 200-meter dash. For reference, Harbor's mark in the 100-meter dash would've fallen in the middle of the pack in the preliminary heats at the event in the Summer Olympics.

That speed hasn't translated into much success on the gridiron just yet for Harbor in the college game. He had 12 receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown in 2023, starting in five games. But there seems to be a good amount of promise for Harbor, who was the 15th recruit in the Class of 2023 by 247 Sports.

Travis Hunter debuts at No. 2 

Colorado's two-way star wasn't on Feldman's list ahead of his first FBS season in 2023. This year Hunter only trails a 6-5 receiver with Olympic sprinter speed. 

Hunter took the college football world by storm last year when he played nearly every offensive and defensive snap in the first few games of the season. As he finished the year averaging 115 snaps per game, Hunter was still effective. He had 57 receptions for 731 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver. The majority of his snaps came at corner, where he had three interceptions and five pass breakups.

On top of putting up strong numbers at both positions, Feldman noted that Hunter's speed is still top form late in games. In his interception against TCU, Hunter had a closing speed of 6.9 yards per second, which is the second-fastest time ever recorded in the Reel Analytics database, according to Feldman.

With the highly-quality production Hunter had in 2023, he's been viewed as a possible dark horse candidate for the Heisman in 2024 and a possible top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Highly touted Ohio State freshman Jeremiah Smith cracks top 10

The top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2024 was ranked seventh in Feldman's list. Smith, who's listed at 6-3 and 218 pounds, has already "wowed" his coaches at Ohio State through athletic testing during the offseason, according to Feldman. His max speed was recently recorded at 23.39 mph while he had a 355-pound bench press to go with a 530-pound squat, a 10-10 broad jump and a 36-inch vertical jump. 

FOX Sports gambling expert and "Big Noon Kickoff" analyst Chris "The Bear" Fallica has also heard similar things about Smith in his first practices at Ohio State.

"I think Smith is a total freak and I think he has an opportunity to be super, super special," Fallia said on the most recent episode of the "Bear Bets" podcast. "I've heard people who've seen him at Ohio State say he could start for teams in the NFL right now and be a top-10 or five pick."

Smith was one of three Ohio State players to make the 101-man list. Sonny Styles came in at No. 19 following a season with 53 tackles and two sacks. Styles was actually a safety last season and is moving to linebacker for 2024. The 6-4, 240-pound defensive stud has recently recorded a 10-11 broad jump and squatted 600 pounds, according to Feldman.

Guard Donovan Jackson was the third Buckeye on the list, coming in at No. 26. While Jackson has notable strength (490-pound bench press, 610-pound squat), the 6-4, 320-pound guard has recorded a 1.59 10-yard split, according to Feldman. That would be the fastest ever for an offensive lineman in at the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Michigan's Kenneth Grant, Alex Orji high on the list

As Michigan re-emerged as a title contender over the last few seasons, it typically had a handful of highly-ranked players on Feldman's Freaks List. That remains the case after Jim Harbaugh and highly-regarded director of strength and conditioning Ben Herbert left this offseason.

Grant was the highest-ranked Wolverine on Feldman's list, coming in at No. 3. The 6-3, 350-pound defensive tackle has run a sub-5.0 since he's been at Ann Arbor. Ahead of his junior season, Grant pressed a 115-pound dumbbell 34 times on his right side and had a 29-inch vertical jump along with doing a Turkish get-up with a 150-pound dumbbell, according to Feldman. 

"Watching KG move is like a work of art," Michigan's director of strength and conditioning Justin Tress told Feldman. "He plays and trains violent and explosive."

Grant was a key part of Michigan's standout defensive tackle rotation from last season, which was a major reason why it won a national title. He had 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Elsewhere on the list, Michigan might be replacing J.J. McCarthy with another athletic standout. Orji came in 13th on Feldman's list. The 6-3, 238-pound quarterback was the top-ranked Wolverine on the team's Key Performance Indicators this offseason, according to Feldman. While Orji put up impressive numbers in testing, Truss told Feldman that the thing the quarterback did that impressed him the most was his ability to stay balanced in the "SlackBlocks" exercise. In the exercise, Orji kept his balance while picking up a popcorn kernel multiple times. 

Orji is in the midst of a competition to become Michigan's starting quarterback. He ran for 86 yards and a touchdown as it primary backup last season. 

Star cornerback Will Johnson also made the list, coming in at No. 28. The Defensive MVP of Michigan's title game win recorded a 6.57 time in the 3 cone drill this offseason, which would've been the quickest among all corners at the NFL combine in 2024, according to Feldman. Johnson has been viewed as a possible top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Tight end Marlin Klein was also on the list, coming in at No. 90. 

Multiple Penn State stars also make their way onto the list

As players from Penn State's highly-regarded 2022 recruiting class enter their junior season, a pair of key stars from that group made Feldman's list. Edge rusher Abdul Carter was ranked 13th while running back Nick Singleton was placed 29th.

Carter, who's listed at 6-3 and 254 pounds, ran a 4.48 40-yard dash and recorded a 600-pound squat this offseason, according to Feldman. Carter might be the next star edge rusher to come out of Penn State under head coach James Franklin after 48 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble as a sophomore. 

Singleton, meanwhile, ran a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash this offseason, but he also set a record with his strength. He squatted 655 pounds, setting a program record for the most weight squatted by a running back, according to Feldman. That mark was previously held by Saquon Barkley.

Defensive lineman Zane Durant was also included on Feldman's list, coming in at No. 18. He reportedly recorded a 660-pound squat, a program record for defensive lineman. 

Gabriel Nwosu was the only kicker or punter to make the list. Nwosu, who is a kicker and punter, was placed at No. 91 as he can bench press 365 pounds and run a 4.86 40 at 6-6 and 280 pounds, according to Feldman. 

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