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The Week 1 countdown is at 23 days. How optimistic are you about your team? Share your thoughts in the annual Hope-o-Meter survey.
Freaks List
Which school has the most jaw-dropping athletes?
Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks List dropped this week. It includes the first-ever repeat No. 1 — South Carolina WR Nyck Harbor, a 242-pound track All-American — followed by the 100 other most freakish athletes in the college game. We’ll have a lot of fun breaking down this list — and looking back to it during the season — but let’s start today by spotlighting a couple of its biggest members:
The tallest: Jordan Burch, Oregon DL, 6-5 1/8, 295 pounds: The 1/8 of an inch makes him the tallest Freak on the list. Dan Lanning told Bruce that Burke has “done a great job this offseason changing his body,” which includes putting on 13 pounds of muscle.
The biggest: Kenneth Grant, Michigan DT, 6-3, 350 pounds: Grant anchored Michigan’s defense en route to a national championship in 2023. Check out this video of him flying up Michigan’s reactive plyo stairs test, and keep in mind these seven stairs are each 26 inches high:
Freakiest school(s): Michigan and Penn State are tied with four honorees a piece. Grant ranks the highest, No. 3 on Bruce’s list, followed by fellow Wolverines Alex Orji (CB, No. 13) and Will Johnson (CB, No. 28). Penn State’s highest-rated player is DE Abdul Carter, who ranks No. 12 and can vertical jump 33.5 inches, power clean 350 pounds, bench press 375 and squat 600. Other Nittany Lions include Zane Durant (DL, No. 18) and Nick Singleton (RB, No. 29).
Quote quiz: Here’s a Freak-worthy quote from a head coach on one of his players included in Bruce’s list:
“This kid is a manchild,” the coach said. “He’s explosive. He’s (former Alabama star-turned-first rounder who was No. 11 on the 2016 Freaks List) Daron Payne. He’s a nose tackle, but he’s light and so twitchy.”
Can you guess the player? I’ll give you three choices. You can find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
Burgergate Revelations
The real story of Harbaugh’s legendary sandwich
Yesterday, the NCAA gave former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh a four-year show-cause order and a one-season suspension in connection to violations of the COVID-19 recruiting dead period in 2021 (a.k.a. Burgergate). Of course, Harbaugh is now with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, so the penalties represent more of a formality than anything.
So what really happened in the case everyone knows about but few really understand? Wolverines beat writer Austin Meek answered that exact question today.
In his story, Austin gets to the bottom of the mysterious bacon cheeseburger (ordered for BREAKFAST) that seemingly pinned Harbaugh as guilty for breaking the NCAA’s COVID-19 no-contact rule with recruits. The tale has often turned to Ann Arbor’s Brown Jug restaurant as the scene of the crime … but after getting in contact with the father of the recruit who attended this outing with Harbaugh, Austin learned the Brown Jug has nothing to do with this. A different restaurant has been hiding behind the scenes all along …
Yes, this is all a real story. You can read all the juicy (no pun intended) details here.
Ivan Apfel / Getty Images
Pitbull Stadium
Not the first CFB stadium with a fun name
Earlier this week, Florida International (or should we call it Worldwide?) University signed a five-year deal to rename its football stadium after recording artist Pitbull. Pitbull — a.k.a. Mr. 305 (a nod to Miami’s original area code) — is expected to pay FIU $1.2 million per year over the next five years to name the Panthers’ home “Pitbull Stadium.” As an added bonus, Pitbull will create an FIU anthem, too!
With a stadium name as epic as Pitbull Stadium, I thought I’d investigate the other most unique stadium names in college football. Here are just a few. If you’d like to nominate any deserving of consideration, feel free to email me (JBardahl@TheAthletic.com) or tweet me (@JaynaBardahl). Spoiler: None of the 10-plus Memorial Stadiums will ever make the list.
- Strawberry Stadium, Southeastern Louisiana: In 1937, then-Governor Richard Leche initially planned to name the stadium after himself, but opted to honor local strawberry farmers with the name instead, according to the school magazine.
- Kibbie Dome, Idaho: The legendary Kibbie Dome is known for its quirks. TCU coach Sonny Dykes told ESPN a few years back that when he coached Louisiana Tech and played in the glorious shed, 6,000 people sounded like 60,000. The 16,000-seat stadium was the smallest in the FBS before the Vandals moved back to FCS in 2017.
- The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, Northern Arizona: The stadium name really comes from former university president J. Lawrence Walkup, but I still appreciate the way “Walkup Skydome” sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Quick Snaps
The Until Saturday podcast previews all things Big Ten. Is Ohio State or Oregon the true No. 1? Listen here.
Which team would win in a Texas vs. Oregon matchup? What about Alabama vs. Penn State? The Athletic predicts the results of a hypothetical Big Ten vs. SEC challenge. (Can we make this an actual thing?)
Which teams should be panicking on the recruiting trail? Antonio Morales brings back the panic index from a scale of acceptance (Colorado) to painful (Florida).
Quote quiz answer: “This kid is a manchild,” said Maryland coach Mike Locksley on DT Jordan Phillips.
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(Top photo of Grant: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
