High school football season comes to life this weekend, with games set to take place around the country. While the Week 0 slate features a trio of college football games, the tail end of August usually serves as a showcase for prep football. That's why there's no better time to roll out our annual list of the freakiest high school football players.
A play on Bruce Feldman's annual must-read Freaks List in The Athletic, our list enters its fourth year — and we believe that it's our deepest yet.
With an unlimited pool of prospects, our goal is to highlight the recruits every cycle who make scouts and talent evaluators drool for one reason or another. Three years ago, it was Georgia do-it-all safety Malaki Starks that sat atop the list. The following year, South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor was an easy pick for No. 1 overall. Maybe that contributed to his 99 speed in EA Sports College Football 25? This time last year, it was Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown, who is expected to play as a true freshman, in the pole position.
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Of course, we're not just trying to spotlight a bunch of five-star prospects. Some of the more notable hits from the list over the years include Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who led ACC quarterbacks with 1,113 rushing yards last season;Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant, who has made Feldman's college list in consecutive years; and Michigan nose Kenneth Grant, who finds himself on the Lombardi Trophy watchlist after helping the Wolverines win a national title.
1. JONAH WILLIAMS, SAFETY
The definition of "freak," according to Merriam-Webster reads: "One that is markedly unusual or abnormal."
Unlike previous editions of our Freaks List, there wasn't really a clear-cut No. 1 Freak when we sat down and started building out the list. That is until we gathered feedback from talent evaluators around the country and by all accounts Jonah Williams — like those the No. 1s that came before him — is a modern-day unicorn.
A 6-foot-3, 205-pound four-sport athlete, Williams is one of the first prospects who legitimately has a chance to emerge as a first-round pick in the NFL Draft and MLB Draft. The resume is simply one-of-a-kind.
Over the past two years, Williams has returned six interceptions for touchdowns. He has also found the end zone eight times via the return game while adding 117 tackles on defense to go along with 800 yards of total offense. All of that production has come while facing respected 5A competition at Galvenston (Texas) Ball.
When it comes to baseball, the left-handed Williams, whom most pro scouts view as a center fielder with his range, touched 94 mph on the mound this summer. He was also clocked getting from home plate to first base at a blazing 3.5 seconds after laying down a drag bunt. For what it's worth, the average time for that distance in the majors is 4.2 seconds.
Impressive, but those aren't the only acts that make Williams unique.
This past spring, Williams ran in a track meet for the first time using a pair of borrowed spikes and posted a more-than-respectable 22.24-second effort in the 200-meter dash to qualify for regionals. During the winter months, Williams emerged as a shutdown defender on the basketball court, earning all-district defensive MVP honors. He threw down some dunks, too.
Then there's the testing data. At this year's Under Armour Next Camp outside of Houston, Williams ripped off a 4.53-second effort in the 40-yard dash while also posting a 4.21-second short shuttle. Both times rank in the top five for the class when it comes to prospects over 200 pounds per the UC Report.
What makes Williams even more special is the fact that the five-star and No. 7-ranked overall prospect in the Top247 appears to just be scratching the surface of what he could be as both a football andbaseball player.
"He's never really had a dedicated offseason to football," one Power Four defensive coordinator noted. "So, when you look at him, you can tell he's got the genetic side of things and then with the movement skills, there's just not many dudes that can move the way he does at his size. I think he's the type of kid where whatever he chooses to do, he can do if we're being honest."
Williams says he models his play after another big-framed defensive back in Kyle Hamilton, who is set to become the NFL's highest-paid safety next spring. Ohio State safety-turned-linebacker Sonny Styles and former Butkus Award winner Isaiah Simmons, who was used in a variety of different roles at Clemson, are some other player comparisons that have been tossed around in scouting circles.
As for baseball? Dustin McComas, a senior editor for Five Tool Baseball, tossed out Chad Jones as someone with a similar profile. The hard-hitting and hard-throwing Jones played multiple spots in the secondary for LSU and helped the Tigers win a College World Series by coming out of the bullpen before eventually being selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
"It's really obvious that he hasn't had that specialized background that a lot of baseball players with his talent level have," McComas said. "A lot of guys have been playing summer ball for six years and they might have a pitching coach or a hitting coach. What you see out there is just a guy that's just naturally gifted. He doesn't really know what he's doing, but he makes it work, and that makes him all that more intriguing."
When it comes to the recruitment, Williams is expected to pick between Texas A&M, LSU, Texas, Oregon and USC this Saturday, Aug. 24. The Aggies are the current 247SportsCrystal Ball leader, but it's anyone's guess as to which way Williams is leaning heading down the stretch.
Of course, scouts from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers and the other MLB organizations that have contacted Williams are probably wondering what the future holds for the one-horned creature.
2. DEUCE KNIGHT, QB (NOTRE DAME COMMIT)
Quarterbacks like Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava, Kansas State's Avery Johnson and Castellanos of BC are all Freaks List alums, but no signal-caller has ever ranked as high as Deuce Knight.
A decorated high jumper, Knight has won back-to-back state titles in the event while also capturing a state title in the long jump. His personal-best 6-foot, 8-inch effort in the high jump is tied for the best mark out of any football recruit in the class of 2025.
But that's not the real jaw-dropper. Knight's 42.5-inch vertical jump at an Elite 11 regional in April would break the NFL Scouting Combine record for quarterbacks, which Anthony Richardson set two years ago at 40.5 inches.
And before you question the validity of that number, it should be noted that Knight posted a 128.5-inch broad jump at Notre Dame's annual Irish Invasion back in June. That's a hair short of Richardson's record-setting 129-inch broad jump inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Knight was one of the biggest risers in the rankings this offseason and now check's in as the nation's No. 34 overall prospect and No. 5 quarterback. The four-star southpaw out of Lucedale (Miss.) George County must get more consistent as a passer in pads, but he's a lottery ticket with a monster payout, especially when you take into account that he has also gone as low as 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash at just more than 6-foot-4, 205 pounds.
On the recruiting front, it looks like Auburn is making a run at Knight.
3. ELYISS WILLIAMS, TE (GEORGIA COMMIT)
Georgia's tight end room is one of the most formidable units in all of college football, and the Bulldogs have another cheat code on the way in Elyiss Williams, who looks to be a reincarnation of Darnell Washington.
Williams has, by far, some of the biggest features in the entire 2025 cycle. He measured in this summer at just a shade under 6-foot-7, 245 pounds with large 10 ¾-inch hands to go along with and a near 6-foot-11 wingspan.
The NFL-ready size certainly stands out, but what really separates Williams from the rest of the pack is what he has done down in the post. Williams is a two-time regional basketball player of the year that averaged a double-double (15.5 points per game, 12.6 rebounds per game) across his freshman, sophom*ore and junior seasons.
Washington embraced the idea of being UGA's "sixth offensive lineman" during his days in Athens and Williams, who holds five-star status as the nation's top-ranked tight end, could very well end up being another space-eater for Kirby Smart and ace recruiter Todd Hartley.
It should be noted, however, that Williams might offer a little bit more as a pass catcher. In Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County's season opener last week, the modern-day giant finished the night with five catches for 44 yards and three touchdowns. He's a straight-up mismatch in the red zone.
4. JEROME MYLES, WR
There have been plenty of tough players on the Freaks List in the past, but Jerome Myles might be the toughest of the bunch. After breaking his ankle in the second game of his junior season, the five-star and No. 5 wide receiver in the Top247 returned to action just more than two months later and helped Corner Canyon win a Utah 6A title, catching five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in the championship game.
Some athletes might try and take it easy after racing back to action. Not Myles. In his first season on the track, Myles broke a 43-year-old state record across all classifications in the 100-meter dash, going 10.36 seconds to win the event. He also sat atop the podium in the 200-meter dash. What makes those sprints even more notable is the fact that the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Myles, whorecently named his top five schools after backing off an early pledge to Ole Miss, turned 16 years old just a few weeks ago.
"He's an absolute freak and he's young for his grade," Corner Canyon coach Eric Kjar said, while pointing out that Myles can squat 505 pounds and power clean 315 pounds. "He's still getting bigger and stronger, faster. It's scary to think about his potential.
5.DEREK MEADOWS, WR (LSU COMMIT)
A nagging hamstring prevented Derek Meadows from running this spring, but we already had enough information on the 2022-23 Gatorade Boys Track & Field Player of the Year in Nevada to cement his status as a certified freak.
Meadows is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound behemoth of a wide receiver that can reach a top-end gear like few others his size. Last year, Meadows not only finished first in the 300-meter hurdles and second in the 110-meter hurdles at the 4A state track, but also ran the third leg of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman's winning 4x400 relay team. The testing numbers are just as mind-blowing: 4.52 seconds on the lasers in the 40-yard dash with a 4.32-second short shuttle and a smoking time of 7.13 seconds in the three-cone drill. He has also squatted 405 pounds.
It's been hard to settle on a player comparison for Meadows, but the five-star is similar in some ways to the aforementioned Harbor given the combination of his size and speed. Meadows, who currently checks in as the No. 32 overall player in the Top247, is the 53rd-ranked track and field recruit in the country, according to MileSplit.
6. TYSHUN WILLIS, EDGE(MISSISSIPPI STATE COMMIT)
Tyshun Willis is a two-time powerlifting champion in Mississippi. He holds the 1A state record in the 242-pound division with a 660-pound deadlift and has also squatted 585 pounds during competition.
A four-star prospect in the Top247, Willis projects best as a designated pass rusher at the next level, but he doubled as a wide receiver and wildcat quarterback as a junior at Camden (Miss.) Velma Jackson and put together some electric highlights for a mid-skill, totaling 633 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns to go along with 113 tackles and 20.5 sacks on defense.
Aside from the weightlifting totals, what also has Willis so high on the list is the fact that he has a pair of silver medals in the shot put hanging on the wall. When it comes to the testing, Willis ranks in the 99th percentile for his position in the 40-yard dash. Mississippi State has quietly put some elite front-seven defenders in the league, and Willis could be next up.
7. DEVIN SANCHEZ, CB (OHIO STATE COMMIT)
One of our favorite stories coming out of the summer months has to do with Devin Sanchez being mistaken for an NFL cornerback at the Flight Skillz DB retreat, which featured recent first-round picks like Christian Gonzalez and Jeff Okudah. After working out the first day, a few pros asked Sanchez which team he played for. Sanchez replied, "North Shore." The group was stunned.
Sanchez, who ranks as the No. 1 corner in the Top247, is a new-age perimeter defender with an exceptional blend of length (6-foot-2) and speed (21.73 seconds in the 200-meter dash). He's also got plenty of bounce, which was on full display at Overtimes' annual OT7 Championship. Sanchez made a trio of acrobatic interceptions over the course of the three-day tournament, oftentimes climbing what looked to be an imaginary ladder.
Sanchez is the son of two former UTEP athletes as his mother ran track for the Miners while dad was a member of the football team.
8. DAVID SANDERS JR., OL (TENNESSEE COMMIT)
David Sanders Jr. might be viewed as a potential franchise left tackle with his twitch and balance, but he's the type of prospect who needs to add some mass to a more slender frame if he's going to reach his ceiling. Still, it's hard not to admire just how far the nation's No. 3 overall prospect has come in such a short amount of time.
After power cleaning 285 pounds as a skinny freshman at Charlotte's Providence Day, the future Vol joined the 1,200-pound club this offseason, clearing 350 pounds on the bench press, 370 pounds on the power clean and 505 pounds on the back squat. The 6-foot-6 Sanders is also a two-time state qualifier in both the shot put and discus that hit 19 mph on a GPS tracking device during an offseason workout as a freshman.
The reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina has had to deal with some injuries, but he's an elite athlete at a premium position who will do whatever it takes to win.
9. JUSTUS TERRY, DL
Before Justus Terry even held a scholarship offer, he went viral as a barreled-chested middle schooler for a photo of him flexing after a workout with his grandad. The garage training sessions haven't stopped. Terry has blossomed into a 6-foot-5, 275-pound titan of a defensive lineman.
As a junior, Terry racked up 13 sacks at Manchester. The tape speaks for itself, but the in-person evaluations are where Terry has really established himself as an alpha in the class. Last summer at Under Armour's Future 50, Terry gave opposing offensive linemen fits during 1-on-1 drills, winning with both speed and power. It was the same story this year at the Under Armour Next camp outside of Atlanta.
Terry has also proven to be a top-flight tester as his time of 7.17 seconds in the three-cone drill would have been third best amongst the interior pass rushers at the most recent NFL Scouting Combine. Georgia, FSU and Alabama are all battling for the former USC commit.
10.DAKORIEN MOORE, WR (OREGON COMMIT)
All it took was one look from a respected Power Four director of player personnel to understand why Dakorien Moore deserved a top-10 spot on this year's list.
It's hard to really put a thumb on what makes Moore a bonafide freak and that might be what truly makes Moore special. Sure, he's got the track figures (10.4 seconds in the 100-meter dash, more than 23 feet in the long jump) and a 1,500-yard receiving season to his credit while facing some of the best competition in America, but the true X factor for Moore might be how he's wired.
Moore is one of the few players to ever get snaps on both sides of the ball at the Texas powerhouse that is Duncanville, and he's been nothing but sticky in coverage when asked to pull double-duty. Evan Stewart(No. 3 on 2022 Freaks List) should provide plenty of fireworks for the Ducks this season and Moore, who ranks No. 5 overall in the Top247, has what it takes to be another game-breaker in Eugene.
