Usually, it's NC State's defensive linemen that show up on Bruce Feldman of The Athletic's much-anticipated annual list of college football's top athletic freaks.
In the preseason prior to the 2017 campaign, former Wolfpack defensive end Kentavius Street represented NC State on Feldman’s list. Street was No. 3 after being electronically timed by strength and conditioning coach Dantonio "Thunder" Burnette's staff with 40-yard dashes of 4.58 and 4.62 seconds and possessing a 40-inch vertical leap while bench pressing 475 pounds.
Street also went viral with his 700-pound squat:
In 2018 and 2019, former former NC State defensive end James Smith-Williams was on the Freaks List. He was No. 27 in 2018 and then vaulted to No. 3 a year later. Smith-Williams justified that billing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in the spring of 2020.
There, Smith-Williams’ 40-yard dash time of 4.60 seconds at nearly 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds was the fastest of all defensive linemen in attendance. He was also 10th in the vertical at his position (32.0 inches) and tied for fourth in broad jump (123.0 inches). Smith-Williams tied for seventh among D-linemen with 28 bench press reps.
Last year, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, ahead of what proved to be an All-American season, checked in at No. 32 nationally for Feldman. McNeill would be drafted in the third round by the Detroit Lions.
For the fifth straight year, Brunette has a Wolfpack player on the list. For the first time, however, it is multiple players and they are both offensive linemen instead of being on the defensive front.
Sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu checked in at No. 58. Feldman called Ekwonu the "most dominant O-lineman in college football."
Feldman noted that Burnette believes Ekwonu, who is 6-foot-4, 327 pounds, will run a faster 40-yard dash than former NC State first-round center Garrett Bradbury, now a starter with the Minnesota Vikings, did at the NFL Combine. Bradbury was clocked at 4.92 seconds. Ekwonu has been timed as fast as 18 MPH on the GPA at practice and has a 30-inch vertical leap.
Redshirt freshman guard Dylan McMahon is at No. 73. Feldman stated that the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder compares favorably to redshirt junior center Grant Gibson on the o-line for the Pack. Gibson himself was also considered for the list. Feldman noted that Gibson bench presses 440 pounds and squats 610 pounds.
"We’ll go with the 300-pound McMahon, the younger brother of former FSU stalwart Ryan McMahon, a four-year starter for the Noles at center," Feldman wrote. "The younger McMahon vertical jumped 31.5 inches and power cleaned 385. He also benched 385 and squatted 570."
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