This is the blog post covering it....
UNC's Bruce Carter heads 'Freaks' list
Bruce Feldman
ESPN Insider
Bruce Carter (No. 54) loves the McDonald's menu but is also quite -- quite -- an athlete.
Of all the lists I've done on this blog over the past few years (and I do one every Wednesday these days), none generates as much feedback as the annual "Freaks" list. This top 10 spotlights the top workout warriors or players who often dazzle their teammates and coaches by the numbers they can put up in the weight room, on the track or in some other "wow" capacity of athleticism. And thanks to the help of many coaches, players and sports information directors around the country, we have the 2010 edition.
1. Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina Tar Heels
This defense is overflowing with freaks (Mel Kiper thinks so too), but it's Carter -- a three-year starter at OLB who has led the nation with five blocked kicks -- who merits top freak status this year. He's part of the country's fastest linebacking corps. Carter's workout numbers are every bit as impressive as his football stats. He has set UNC linebacker records in the power clear (374) and the vertical jump (40.5 inches). The 238-pounder has also been clocked at 4.39 in the 40 and bench-presses 440. Asked which of the testing numbers he's most proud of, Carter says it's his power clean, which is tied for tops on the team with DE Robert Quinn and Zach Pianalto. "It measures the explosiveness the most," said the former high school quarterback. Perhaps the biggest freak quality of all about Carter goes back to this: We got to talking about his eating habits when I interviewed him.
"How strict are you about diet?" I asked.
"Well, not very. I eat a lot of McDonald's and fast foods, but I do work out real hard."
"Like how much McDonald's?"
"Almost every day. I usually get three double cheeseburgers, medium fries, large tea and a six-piece McNuggets. I don't think eating healthy as far as eating salads and that stuff really works for me."
Apparently that McFeast does, though.
2. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU Tigers
Wonder why a lot of folks think Peterson is the best cornerback in the country? Get a load of the numbers he produced in the Tigers' spring testing: He went 11 feet and one inch in the broad jump (second on the team), 39 inches in the vertical (second on the team) and squatted 535 pounds (second on the team). Oh, and he also ran two 4.37 laser-timed 40s, according to LSU strength coach Tommy Moffitt. "And he weighed 220 pounds when he did that," Moffitt said. "He's 6-foot-1 and some change. The guy is a freak. Freak. Honestly, this guy would outrun [former LSU sprint champ] Trindon [Holliday] in the 40. In the 100, it wouldn't be close, and Trindon would probably get him in the 60, but in the 40, Patrick's gonna win. Trindon would be so mad if he heard me say that."
3. Allen Bailey, DE, Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Three-hundred-pound football players simply aren't put together like Bailey, who has become a fixture on this list. It also doesn't hurt that he has such a Bunyanesque background; he once killed an alligator with a shovel. Bailey led UM in sacks (seven) and TFLs (11) last season despite bouncing between tackle and end. I asked his pal DeMarcus Van Dyke, a starting CB at Miami: What's the most impressive thing he's seen Bailey do?
"I've been his roommate for three years. Our freshman year, he picked me up by my feet with one hand and hung me upside down," said VanDyke, who added that he's also witnessed Bailey power-clean 400 pounds, vertical 39 inches and run a 4.65 40.
4. Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State Beavers
The former rugby star is the definition of the term "powerhouse." There's YouTube footage of him cranking out 44 reps at 225 pounds; watch that right here. OSU strength coach Bryan Miller recently told colleague Ted Miller he thinks Paea could pump out 50 reps at 225 at next year's NFL combine.
When I visited Corvallis two months ago, Paea said he used to not be anywhere near this strong. He said his bench max in high school was 205. He's not sure exactly what he could max out at now, but knows it would be over 500 pounds. "My goal is a lot of reps," he said. "I did 25 [reps] at 315 in the winter. I also told them not to record any more."
5. Nate Solder, OT, Colorado Buffaloes
It's been a tough road for Buffs coach Dan Hawkins, especially since many of his highly touted recruits have fizzled in Boulder. But don't blame Solder, an unheralded prospect, who has really developed. Solder's measurables, according to CU strength and conditioning, are awe-inspiring. At 6-foot-8, 305 pounds, he has only 6.5 percent body fat. He power-cleans 415 for three reps, hang-cleans 473 for three reps and has been clocked in the 40 in 4.91 seconds. He also has vertical-jumped 32 inches.
"At 6-8, Nate bends as well as anyone on the team," said CU strength coach Jeff Pitman.
6. Jeff Demps, RB, Florida Gators
Not just the fastest man in college football, Demps is also officially the fastest man in college. And so what if his winning time at the NCAA outdoor 100 meters race was "wind-aided"? Anything under 10 seconds -- wind-aided or not -- is getting you a spot on this list. All Demps has done since arriving in Gainesville is win five national championship rings.
Despite his amazing track pedigree, he has decided not to compete at the upcoming USA Track and Field Championships. Instead, Demps is focusing on conditioning for football and attending classes, according to UF spokesman Sean Cartell.
7. Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia Mountaineers
He's got a very, very long résumé of stunning runs on YouTube stretching back to his high school days. The 5-7, 176-pound Devine is a spectacular talent with heart-stopping change of direction and explosiveness. "Nobody has his change of direction," proclaims WVU coach Bill Stewart. "Nobody -- nobody! -- has his burst. Nobody has his strength. I don't care if they're 5-foot-11, 210 pounds. This guy is phenomenal. His bench is well in the 400s. His squat is well in the 500s. He is the strongest pound-for-pound football player we have ever had. This guy is a foot-ball player." (Ed's note: Emphasis was the coach's.)
8. John Simon, DL, Ohio State Buckeyes
Youngstown, Ohio, has produced more than its share of tough football guys. The 6-2, 270-pound Simon is the latest in an impressive line. The book on this guy, in only his second year in the program, is really something. Simon's work ethic and motor have been wowing the staff from the moment he arrived at OSU. The pace he sets in the weight room is insane, we're told; what takes most players two hours to do, he'll do in 30 minutes. He can already do 40 reps at 225 and has run an electronic 4.8 in the 40. "He's the only D-lineman we have with a six-pack," reports a staffer. Buckeyes strength coach Jeff Uhlenhake was an All-American at OSU in the '80s and spent 10 years in the NFL. "John Simon is the best total-package workout guy I've ever been around, in college, in the pros, as a coach, anybody," Uhlenhake said. "He is amazing."
9. Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh Panthers
The Panthers have produced some superb receivers in the past decade, most notably Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant. Neither of those guys, as gifted and productive as they are, were the specimen the 6-5, 228-pound Baldwin is. The junior benches 360, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 and puts up the freak numbers with a 42-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump. More impressively, Baldwin is coming off a breakout season in which he caught 57 passes for 1,111 yards and eight TDs. Pitt veteran strength coach Buddy Morris, who was with the Panthers in the days of Hugh Green and some of those greats, has high praise for the big wideout. "What really stands out about him is that everything is just very natural for him," Morris said. "Things came very easy for Curtis Martin, Ruben Brown, and it's the same with Jonathan."
10a. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama Crimson Tide
The Tide has a devastating one-two punch in the backfield with Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and this rising star. Richardson proved to be quite a strongman before he ever set foot in Tuscaloosa, winning a state weightlifting title at Emmitt Smith's alma mater in Pensacola, Fla. In Tide strength coach Scott Cochran's program, Richardson has only become that much stronger. He already touts a 380-pound power clean, a 420-pound bench and squats 600 pounds to go with his exceptionally nimble feet.
10b. Ryan Bartholomew, C, Syracuse Orange
One of the few true bright sports around this program last season, Bartholomew started at both guard and center last season. SU coach Doug Marrone, an old line coach himself, has been around some phenomenal athletic centers and has an interesting perspective of Bartholomew. "He is such a gifted athlete," Marrone said. "He's a legit sub-5.0 flat guy. [Kevin] Mawae was an [eight]-time Pro Bowler. [Jeff] Faine was the highest-paid center in the NFL. He can run like Mawae, who can really run. [Bartholomew] has all the numbers. The other big number that he will have is the Wonderlic score. He's extremely intelligent."
Marrone isn't just impressed that his center has also benched 525, but at the understated way the kid handled it. "I'd be doing jumping jacks and might have a party with a cake on it that said '525' with dumbbells on it, if I did that," Marrone said. "He's just going about his business."
Just missed the cut: Robert Griffin, Baylor, QB; Dontay Moch, Nevada, DE; Zach Brown, UNC, OLB; Jake Locker, Washington, QB; Martez Wilson, Illinois, LB; Anthony Gray, So. Miss, DL; Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State, QB; Jordan Pendleton, BYU, LB; BJ Daniels, USF, QB; Jeff Fuller, A&M, WR; Michael Ford, LSU, RB; Ryan Mallett, Ark., QB; Luther Ambrose, ULM, WR; Ronnell Lewis, OU, LB; Zaviar Gooden, Mizzou, OLB; Tyron Carier, Houston, WR; Sam McGuffie, Rice, RB; Dontell Watkins, Utah State, WR; Dont'a Hightower, Bama, LB; Jeff Luc, FSU, LB; Brooks Reed, Arizona, DE and Damaris Johnson, Tulsa, WR.
