Four Michigan football players make annual ‘freaks list’
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman has published his annual ‘freaks list’ ($) and while Michigan football doesn’t have a player on top as it did last year in Mazi Smith, one of his closest teammates isn’t too far behind as a new inclusion.
In fact, Michigan football has more players on the list this year than in the past, with four drawing Feldman’s eye.
The highest rated is a player who is essentially called a freak internally in Ann Arbor — the man who they call ‘the mutant.’
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.”
‘The Mutant’ is one freak, but there’s another who gets similar hype internally — ‘The Unicorn.’
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.
Walker is battling for the second starting cornerback spot, and while transfer Josh Wallace is the early, odds-on favorite, the Wolverines would love nothing more than for Walker to realize his potential after moving him to defense from wide receiver this offseason.
The next player is one we’ve discussed as someone who doesn’t look at all like he plays the position he does because he’s so built.
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.
Built more like a linebacker than a quarterback, expect the Wolverines to find a role for Orji one way or another.
The final inclusion for the maize and blue is a starter who is looking for big things in 2023.
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.
Michigan football has always had a few players on the list, including last years No. 1 in Mazi Smith. As he has the past several years, former Wolverine defensive end Julius Welschof, who transferred to Charlotte this offseason, made the list yet again.
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