College football’s strong men in 2017

In past articles, we’ve cited the BIGGEST players in college football and, more recently, the fastest. Now I will highlight the macho men in the game this season. The strongest of the strong.

Careful research has allowed me to uncover who are the most powerful players and the weightroom junkies.

In no particular order…

Patrick Morris, TCU center, squats 720 pounds, bench presses 500 pounds and can power clean 450. The 6-foot, 3, 300 pounder played tennis in high school in Denton, Texas, where was also ranked the eighth best center in the nation in 2013. Morris specializes in knockout blocks.

Braden Smith, senior right tackle at Auburn, has started over 30 games. He is an SEC All Academic honoree who also squats 700 pounds, bench presses 530 pound and posts a 335 pound hang clean. Smith (6-6, 303) also runs a 4.94 forty with an impressive 32″ vertical and 9’9 1/2″ standing long jump.

Nate Huff, defensive tackle at Indiana, had 8 starts as redshirt freshman for Hoosiers. Was high school heavyweight wrestler at Solon, Ohio. Huff (6-2, 305) runs a 5.07 forty, 500 pound bench press, 375 pound hang clean and a 700 pound squat.

Alabama junior defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne (6-2, 308), who weighed over 350 pounds as a 2015 Freshman All American for Tide as a defensive tackle in a talented rotation. He bench presses 545, squats 635 and runs a 4.93 forty.

Billy Price (6-4, 312), Ohio State’s senior center who graduated in May in Business Administration, does 36 reps on 225 pound bench press and 8 reps with 405 pound bench press, with a 505 pound bench press and 600 pound squat.

Derrius Guice, LSU junior running back, has 711 yards thus far this season following a 276 yard (12.5 yards per carry) performance last Saturday against Ole Miss. For his career, Guice (5-11, 212) has 2,534 yards and 24 scores. Perhaps as impressive, he can squat 650 pounds with a 440 bench press and 374 power clean.

Saquon Barkley, Penn State’s Heisman Trophy frontrunner, runs a 4.38 forty with a 405 pound power clean and 30 reps on the 225 bench press test. He also squats 495 pounds over 7 reps, with a high squat of over 600 pound. Barkey (5-11, 228) has totaled 3,329 career yards rushing with 33 touchdowns.

Ralph Webb, senior running back at Vanderbilt, is the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,750 yards and 27 touchdowns. He could wind up the No. 2 all-time SEC rusher. Webb (5-9, 200) bench presses 435 pounds and has a 36 1/2 ” vertical. He manages 27 reps on 225 pound bench press, squats 565 pound and power cleans 360.

Jalin Moore (5-11, 205), Appalachian State junior running back out of Shelby (N.C.) was the Sun Belt offensive Player of Year in 2016 after running for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns. Against Akron last season he had 257 yards on 39 carries. He runs a 4.48 forty, squats 630 pound and bench presses 385. He paces all of his teammates in conditioning drills.

Alex Rodriguez (5-10, 225), earned a scholarship as a walk-on at Indiana in 2014. He has only rushed for 103 career yards with one score, but this A-Rod tears up the weight room with a 425 pound bench press, 650 squat and an explosive 42 1/2″ vertical jump.

Tyrone Crowder, (6-2, 337), a senior offensive guard at Clemson, was first team All ACC in 2016. He bench presses 465 pounds and can turn 31 reps on the 225 pound bench press test. Crowder squats 610 pounds and power cleans 365.

Wyatt Teller (6-5, 308), senior Virginia Tech left guard, started at defensive end as freshman. He has made 30 total starts. Teller was Virginia’s Class 2A defensive player of the year in high school. He now bench presses 460 pounds, squats 600 and power cleans 400.

Ed Oliver, the impressive sophomore defensive tackle at Houston, was a 2016 Freshman All American as well as the AAC Rookie of the Year. The former 5 star recruit out of Westfield High School in Houston considered Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma before deciding on the Cougars. Oliver (6-2, 290) has already managed a 415 pound bench press, 635 squat, 34 1/2″ vertical and 9’6″ standing long jump. Scouts see NFL defensive tackle Aaron Donald as a lofty comp.

Porter Gustin (6-5, 260), USC junior linebacker, was a Parade All American out of Salem, Utah. Also excellent pitcher with 93 mph fastball, he threw the javelin 184’1″ and shot put 52’7 1/2″. Gustin runs a 4.55 forty and bench presses 35 reps at 225 pounds, with a 475 max bench and 575 squat.

Lyndon Johnson (6-6, 300), a senior offensive tackle at Cincinnati out of Moss Point (Miss.), has a 415 bench press, 32″ vertical and an amazing 1,000 pounds in the leg presss 10 times.

Matthew Adams, 6’1-234 Houston senior LB. He bench presses 405 pounds, squats 605 pound with a 375 pound power clean.

Brandon Bryant (5-11, 200), a cornerback out of Mississippi State, dead lifts 600 pounds, bench presses 365 and squats 450. He also has a 35″ vertical and 9’10” standing long jump to his credit. You may have recognized Bryant on a previous list among the fastest in college football with a 4.24 forty.

Tight end Dallas Goebert (6-4, 265) at South Dakota State runs a 4.65 forty. He also boasts a 380 pound bench press, 380 clean, 36″ vertical and a 9’9 1/2″ stanfing long jump.

Boise State’s Ryan Wolpin (5-8, 195) is not too big yet he bench presses 383 pounds with a 361 power clean and 555 squat.

TCU sophomore running back Darius Anderson (5-11, 205) runs a 4.39 forty and squats 660 pounds. He has totaled 532 yards with six touchdowns averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence at Clemson draws comparisons to William Perry and Chester McGlockton, former Clemson strongmen. He runs a 4.9 forty, squats 550, bench presses 450 lbs, and power cleans 350 at 6’4 1/2, 335 pounds.

Last, but not least, is an illustration as to just how strong the Alabama Crimson Tide players are.
Starting quarterback Jalen Hurts (6-2, 214) power cleans 315 pounds, bench presses 355 and squats 500. The sophomore has a standing long jump of 9’9″ for good measure. And that’s just the quarterback. Here’s more:

Left tackle Jonas Williams and right guard Lester Cotton bench press 500 pounds. Backup guard Dallas Warmack squats 655. Freshman left tackle Deonte Brown squats 675 pounds.

Freshman linebacker Dylan Moses, a Baton Rouge native, runs a 4.46 forty, bench presses 405, squats 500 and power cleans 335. Another Louisiana product, defensive end Isaiah Buggs, squats 585 while former Brother Martin tight end Irv Smith runs a 4.59 forty and bench presses 425 pounds.