Who are Penn State's 'freak' athletes? Dwight Galt ranks top Nittany Lions

Dwight Galt is keenly aware of what’s happening at the NFL Combine each year.

The Nittany Lions’ assistant athletic director for performance enhancement, now in his eighth year at Penn State, has been at least partly responsible for some of the program’s recent standouts. Competing in the pro shuttle, 40-yard dash, broad jump, and the event’s other standardized drills, the Nittany Lions often find themselves at the top, or near it, of the best performers positionally every February.

It’s no accident.

A football strength and conditioning coach dating back to his start at Maryland in 1989, Galt has taken delight in the process of shepherding athletes from good to great to elite through their college careers.

“This has been a big thing for me for 30 years,” Galt said. “This is an area that, way back in the early 90s when I was at Maryland when I was doing all the NFL pro prep training, it became really important to me and I loved it. I had a blast doing it.

“I really got a lot of satisfaction in seeing our guys do really well in these areas, and it's just grown from there. It's been a part of this profession and it's been really neat for me. It’s fun.”

In the process, Galt has also consistently placed his pupils at the top of another list specifically suited for college football.

The brainchild of reporter Bruce Feldman, now of The Athletic, his college football “freaks” list offers an annual introduction to the game’s most uniquely gifted athletes. And dating back to Galt’s arrival at Penn State in 2014, the Nittany Lions have found themselves as fixtures among the absolute best athletes in the game.

Beginning with defensive tackle Anthony Zettel ahead of the 2015 season, Penn State landed Saquon Barkley on the list twice, put Odafe (Jayson) Oweh and Micah Parsons at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, in 2019, doubled back for both in 2020, adding Journey Brown to the mix at No. 15 and Jaquan Brisker at No. 46, and this year put another pair of Nittany Lions into the expanded list of the game’s 100 top freak athletes.

With Brisker checking in at No. 76 ahead of his super senior season with the Nittany Lions and junior linebacker Brandon Smith making his first appearance on the list at No. 32, we wondered:

What would a Penn State-specific “freaks” list look like to Galt this year?

Given Galt’s access to an exhaustive set of strength and conditioning data and his unique insight into the growth and development of the program’s players, a rare staff member with virtually year-round, daily interaction, few at Penn State would have a better understanding.

Reliably game to highlight the tireless efforts of the program’s top athletes and performers in the weight room, Galt graciously offered his insights, and personal rankings, into the Nittany Lions who stand out the most this year.

About the list:

At Penn State, the program has two numbers that it uses to measure comparative strength among all its athletes.

The first is called the strength index, which comes directly from the world of powerlifting. A formula that combines the weights lifted in the bench press, the clean, and the squat, it then utilizes a bodyweight coefficient to produce a final output number.

For younger players, the strength index number typically ranges from 500 to 550. At 650-and-above, a player is considered an elite strength-power athlete. Anything over 700 would be rare, limited to two or three players in the program per year. Rarer still, the generational talents, players who go on to dominate multiple combine categories, can crack the 800 threshold on the index.

In Galt’s tenure, that group is limited to Saquon Barkley and Vernon Davis.

A second measurable Penn State uses is called a “T-score,” giving values ranging from 0 to 100 for each event including the weight components, plus the vertical and broad jumps, the 40-yard dash, the pro shuttle, and more.

“If you're Superman, you're gonna get 100 in every one, and when you divide it by the number of events, your score would be 100,” Galt said. “In that measure, 75 is a really good number for us. So if you can get a 75, that is the elite college player/probable NFL guy. That's really our best measure, to take the whole thing. That's the measure that really best defines a freak.”

Barkley’s T-score? 91.

“He’s the closest we’ve ever come to Superman.”

And now, the list:

Penn State’s third-year tight end might not win any of the combine events when his shot at the NFL eventually arrives.

But as a redshirt sophomore, the transformation Strange has made since his arrival into the Nittany Lion program has warranted his inclusion here. Coming in at 217 pounds, Strange has evolved from an undersized receiver with limited strength and conditioning experience through his high school career at Parkersburg High in West Virginia.

“He's improved tremendously,” Galt said, noting Strange’s particularly strong 10-foot-1-inch broad jump for his size. “I'm proud of him. Especially for a third-year guy, he's done one heck of a job.”

Not all that unlike Strange, Walker’s inclusion has much to do with the dramatic development he’s undertaken since his enrollment into the Nittany Lion program.

First notching a 556 on the strength index upon his arrival the redshirt junior from Waldorf, Md., is now in that “elite strength-speed athlete” tier with a strength index number of 661. Coming off his third-team All-Big Ten season in 2020, Walker’s return to the Nittany Lions sets up a ’21 campaign in which he’s expected to anchor the offensive line at left tackle and set himself up for a likely high-round draft selection next spring.

“He's done a tremendous job,” Galt noted, pointing out Walker’s strength gains. “He’s done a great job in a weight room. He cleans 350, benches 400, and squats 580. He's done a great job in there.

“You'll get 100-plus gains (in the index) at times, but it's a lot, so that's a good improvement. I'm proud of his progression.”

Inching up the list of Penn State’s “freak” athletes in the program this season, Sutherland’s inclusion at No. 3 might come as a surprise.

Already a fixture on the Nittany Lions’ special teams units through his first four years in the program, again named a captain ahead of the 2021 campaign, Sutherland is also a physical specimen.

At 205 pounds, his 4.48 40-yard dash, and 4.10 pro shuttle time all offer insight into Sutherland’s speed. But by also notching a 36-inch vertical, 9-foot-9-inch broad jump, a 335-pound clean, a 370-pound bench press, and a 550-pound squat, for his size, Sutherland is firmly entrenched as one of the program’s most explosive athletes.

And he’s done so throughout his Penn State career.

“Those are phenomenal numbers. That is really good,” Galt said. “His best index is 724. He's hit over 700 on his index in six test periods (over his four years at Penn State), so he's been very consistent. He's done a great job. Those are excellent numbers.”

Listed by Feldman as college football’s No. 32-ranked freak nationally, Smith takes the second spot on Galt’s hand-picked list.

And the comparisons for Smith, at least physically, are lofty ahead of his junior season with the Nittany Lions.

“You're talking now about national combine, elite stuff,” Galt said, referencing Smith’s impressive testing numbers. “He's a baby Micah Parsons from this perspective.”

Despite his status as a Rivals four-star prospect in the Class of 2019, named the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 39 overall prospect nationally, Smith’s ascent has demanded a tireless strength and conditioning work ethic.

Increasing his weight from 230 to 245 pounds, Smith’s testing numbers haven’t diminished amidst the gains. Just the opposite as he’s added 6.5 inches to his vertical, and now checks in with “combine elite” numbers in the shuttle, 40, and broad jump for his size and position.

For comparison’s sake, Smith’s current numbers would fall right in line with those of Vic Beasley at Clemson when he finished top-five at the combine in the 40 (4.53 seconds), broad jump (130.0 inches), and pro shuttle (4.15 seconds).

“These are all numbers that will be top-level combine numbers,” Galt said. “He's the real deal.”

Interviewing Galt via Zoom, Brisker’s 40-time demanded a double-take. A likely audio-glitch mishap.

“Did I hear 4.3 for the 40?” Galt was asked.

“Four. Three. Oh.”

What’s more impressive, Brisker wasn’t satisfied with the number. Hand-timed by three stopwatches, the Nittany Lions’ fifth-year safety crossed the line in 4.28 and 4.29 on the first two clocks.

The third? 4.33.

“They averaged to 4.30,” Galt said. “He's like, ’It's a 4.29! I'm like, no, it's a 4.30.’ He can run. We do speed drills; ain't nobody touching him. Nobody.”

Already a preseason All-American, Brisker’s potential as a strength-speed athlete matches that of his on-field performance.

Cementing himself as the program’s most dynamic performer, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound safety that will line up for the Nittany Lions this fall hasn’t reached the level at which Galt is sure Brisker is capable. Rather, already demonstrating the effectiveness of his physicality and athleticism through two seasons for the program, Brisker’s at a place in which the Lions’ strength staff has left well enough alone.

“We got Jaquan to 500 pounds (in the squat) and we could have gotten a lot more out of him, but, why?” Galt asked. “Why would I want to put it on the back of a guy that's already so well-prepared and introduce those risk factors? So we've held him back in the weight room.”

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Along with ranking the program’s top five freak athletes, Galt also indulged our curiosity from a categorical perspective this season.

Presented here, Galt reveals the point-blank-period beasts at Penn State for speed, strength, reactiveness, and hand-eye reflexes.

Fastest player, period: Fifth-year senior safety Drew Hartlaub

Strongest player, period: Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah

Best reactiveness, period: Redshirt sophomore corner Joey Porter Jr.

Best hand-eye coordination, period: Senior receiver Jahan Dotson - “His hands, his reactiveness are just incredible. And you can really tell. He is a tremendous football player, beyond what we've seen. He's the deal, man.”

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