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.
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.”
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.”
Benching 375 with a 6’5 frame and no doubt a condor-like wingspan is truly impressive. Not to mention the lack of emphasis on max strength. I’ve always experienced a very pronounced bleed from OL’s and MB heaves, and sprinting of course, down to my bench press.
James, is Baldwin a naturally lanky guy or did he arrive with a fair amount of size? Calvin Johnson was of similar size at this stage and I believe he plays at around 240 these days, with no apparent loss of speed or agility.
He arrived very lanky, yet strong, up top; however, his thighs look like those of a quarter horse. His thigh development is even more impressive considering he never trained his legs in the weight room before arriving here; and you’ve already seen that I don’t have him do too much in the weight room for his legs other than auxiliary work. All his ‘resistance’ training for legs came in the form of hill sprints and T&F practice.
Currently, his physique is very impressive. He’s in the mid 230s right now.
While he’ll always have a lanky appearance up top, due to his lever lengths, he’s all lean tissue and his total body strength and power potential is freaky.
I feel it’s not safe for wr’s to carry that much weight on there frames with all the running/cutting that is required at the position. Take a look at all the wr’s who tried to play at that weight = INJURIES.
Trust me in that the training I have him perform is not directed to bulk him up; and at 6’5 he has more than enough lever length to spread around a few pounds here or there.
James, do you have Baldwin squat? I only ask because it was often nearly impossible for the taller guys to achieve the proper positions due to extremely long femurs etc.
Belt squats is similar to what Vermeil did with the Bulls I believe. If I’m not mistaken he rigged a little tower with a hole in between for the weight.
"To clarify, the one who belt squats does so because his femurs are so long, relative to his torso
Both very fast, incredible vertical and horizontal jumping ability and neither squat. To add to the variability, one belt squats and the other performs a single leg squat with the rear foot elevated. The one who belt squats perform dumbbell floor presses and the one who single leg squats performs bench presses".
I’m right at 6’2. I have never had any issues with squatting although after my surgery I cap the depth at 90 degrees to avoid even the possibility of posterior pelvic tilt.
I had a teammate at BU who had issues squatting at 5’11 because of the extreme length of his femurs.