My annual college football Freaks List has proven to be a great exercise to get primed for the upcoming season. The calls, texts and information I get from sources is invaluable. Most players who end up on our Freaks List I’ve usually heard of before, but I’d be lying if I said I knew about all of them.
Some of the most insightful nuggets of my Freaks research come from my conversations with NFL scouts. Jim Nagy and his Senior Bowl staff have been particularly helpful. I often end up making calls about guys who will be on the draft radar but might barely miss my final top 100 (or in this case, 101).
Many of these prospects don’t have the same resources to help develop as the major-college guys do, but they’re still pretty freaky athletes who I suspect you’ll hear a lot more about in the run-up to the NFL Draft.
One of the biggest revelations this summer was Thomas Perry, a Division III offensive lineman from Middlebury College in Vermont. Perry is a molecular biology and biochemistry double major who holds a 3.96 GPA and made first-team All-New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in 2023. He turned heads at this year’s OL Masterminds summit, hosted by O-line guru Duke Manyweather.
When NFL scouts put on lower-level tape they expect to see a dominant player and Middlebury LG Thomas Perry’s tape is littered with man-amongst-boys reps like this one.
Scary to think what he’ll do to poor D3 kids after spending summer with @BigDuke50. 😬
🧵4/4… pic.twitter.com/fWsGa837Qx
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) August 3, 2024
The 6-foot-2 3/4, 316-pound Perry, whose arms measure 32 inches, is a powerhouse. This offseason he completed 34 reps of 225 pounds on the bench. Head coach Doug Mandigo told me Perry did two reps of 485 and benched 380 pounds for 12 reps. Perry also squatted 575 pounds for two reps.
Perry’s speed and agility numbers are respectable. He recorded a 29.3-inch vertical jump and broad jumped 9-1 1/2. He had a laser-timed 5.37-second 40-yard dash and a 1.85-second 10-yard split. He had a hand-timed 5.16 at a Holy Cross combine. His short shuttle was even more impressive at 4.59.
Manyweather invited Perry down to Texas to train with him all July. Perry had used Manyweather’s O-line training app to add polish to his game, but spending five weeks in Texas working hands-on with the coach who has become a trusted resource to many of the NFL’s best offensive linemen presented a unique opportunity for the Division III star.
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In an environment with NFL linemen and major-college stars, Perry more than held his own, Manyweather said.
“Tom is a very smart, and physically, he’s very put together,” Manyweather told The Athletic. He compared Perry to former West Virginia standout Zach Frazier, who went 51st overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Like Frazier, Perry was a high school wrestler. Both won state titles.
“When he walks into a room, just like Zach Frazier, he’s broad shoulders, big chest, real yoked up,” Manyweather said. “Tom’s physically impressive. He’s a very quick processor. He picks up on things very fast. He’s very athletic. He’s just a guy who happens to be playing Division III football.”
Expect to hear his name a lot more as we get closer to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Other small-school freaky players who almost made our list and deserve some love:
Jordan Fuller, Holy Cross, running back
The FCS scoring leader at 11.4 points per game, Fuller already holds the Crusaders career record for rushing touchdowns with 40 (in 34 games). The 6-0, 235-pound bruiser squatted 660 pounds this offseason, benched 350 and had a 4.22 short shuttle to go with a 36-inch vertical jump. The son of Holy Cross Hall of Famer Jerome Fuller, Jordan ran a laser-timed 4.68-second 40.
ShunDerrick Powell, Central Arkansas, running back
I mentioned Powell in the Freaks List while spotlighting his teammate David Walker, but this guy deserves all the attention he gets. The 5-8, 180-pound back had offers from multiple Group of 5 programs coming out of high school but began his career in the FCS at North Alabama. While there, he was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award — which goes to the FCS Offensive Player of the Year — after leading the Atlantic Sun Conference in rushing with 1,508 yards and 18 touchdowns. He ran for 1,009 yards at Central Arkansas last year, but it’s his testing and timing numbers this offseason that got our attention. He broad-jumped 11-5 and hit 41 inches in the vertical. He also ran a 4.38 40, squatted 600 pounds and power cleaned 335.
Powell has a lot of juice, and you could see it in this zig-zagging run he made last season against Oklahoma State:
The leading rusher on the FCS level: Central Arkansas RB ShunDerrick Powell pic.twitter.com/mSnJ4KJFm0
— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) October 7, 2023
Javin Whatley, Chattanooga, receiver
“Nunu” is only 5-9, 169, but he earned second-team All-America honors after making 55 catches for 977 yards with nine touchdowns in 2023. His 54-yard catch-and-run at Alabama last November was the longest pass play allowed by the Tide in a year. The former high school QB has been clocked at better than 22 mph in game situations, has squatted 455 and benched 275.
SLANT CITY 👉
Javin Whatley hauls it in over the middle & goes 54 yards down to the ALA10.
📺 SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/bMv0NEFxLR
— Chattanooga Football (@GoMocsFB) November 18, 2023
Carter Runyon, Towson, tight end
He made second-team All-America last year after leading the team in receptions (43), receiving yards (549) and receiving touchdowns (four). The 6-6, 235-pound Runyon is a transfer from Division III Shenandoah University. This offseason Runyon hit a max velocity of 21 mph. He also bench pressed 365 pounds, cleaned 335 and squatted 500.
Brody Grebe, Montana State, defensive end
The 6-3, 250-pound senior, a two-time All-Big Sky first teamer, was named third-team All-America after producing a team-high 13.5 tackles for loss, with a team-high 10 sacks, in 2023. A former all-state basketball player who rushed for 1,441 yards and totaled 31 touchdowns in high school, Grebe recorded a 40-inch vertical this offseason, bench pressed 350 pounds and squatted 560. MSU doesn’t usually run 40s, but the staff thinks he will run in the 4.5-second range. Grebe has already graduated with his engineering degree and is interested in graduate school to explore ways to more efficiently provide water for ranches such as the one he grew up on in Northeast Montana.
(Photo of Jordan Fuller: Alan Arsenault / USA Today)
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 21:59:00
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