When you think of the month of August in regard to college football, the first thing that pops in your head is Bruce Feldman's Freaks List . Each year, he compiles the top 100 athletes going into the college football season.
Having started the list in 2005, this marks the 20th edition of the Freaks List and there have been some impressive names to grace the list. Last year, South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor was the top player on the list and he graced it again this year. However, that isn't the most impressive aspect of the list.
The Michigan Wolverines defensive line has dominated the list over the years. The likes of Mazi Smith, Aidan Hutchinson and Rashan Gary have made the list and that lineage continues with nose tackle Kenneth Grant. He didn't just make the list, but finished third with an impressive data set.
As a sophomore, he helped anchor the nation’s No. 1 defense for the national champion Wolverines, making 29 tackles, 5.0 for loss, with 3.5 sacks; six quarterback hurries, five pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery. When Grant arrived in Ann Arbor as a three-star recruit from Indiana, Jim Harbaugh raved about the then-360-pounder running a sub-5.0 40. Anyone doubting Grant’s speed (a max of 18.75 mph on the GPS) only needed to see him run down Penn State running back Kaytron Allen in the open field last year. His ability to fly up Michigan’s reactive plyo stairs test, a series of seven 26-inch-high stairs that players attempt to jump up as fast as possible, is truly freakish. This offseason, Grant pressed a 115-pound dumbbell 34 times on his right and 27 times on his left. He vertical-jumped 29 inches and did a Turkish get-up with a 150-pound dumbbell.
“Watching KG move is like a work of art,” said Justin Tress, Michigan’s director of strength and conditioning. “He plays and trains violent and explosive.”
Grant isn’t the only freak this year on the Wolverines’ defensive line. Junior Mason Graham, a disruptive force at 6-3 and 315 pounds who was first-team all-conference in 2023, clocked a 4.69 in the 20-yard shuttle and could do the Turkish get-up with a 150-pound dumbbell.
These are incredible feats for Grant. First off, the strength is incredible. Pressing a 115-pound dumbbell 34 times is phenomenal. It's much easier to benchpress because the weight is spread out and a dumbbell is concentrated.
That's not even the most impressive feat from Grant. At 360 lbs, he was clocked at 18.75 mph by GPS tracking. You would expect an edge rusher or a three-technique to get these kind of numbers. A nose tackle? It's absurd.
If Grant can take a positive step this season and play consistent football, he can make waves in the NFL Draft process.
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