Penn State lands three players on The Athletic’s annual “Freaks List” as the season approaches

The Athletic’s annual “Freaks List” once again put Penn State in the conversation, with the 2026 edition featuring three Nittany Lions for their standout combination of size, speed, explosiveness, and overall playmaking potential. The timing is notable, because the list drops right as the sport’s attention turns from summer preparation to opening-week matchups.

The “Freaks List” is not a depth-chart document or a prediction of who will lead a unit statistically. Instead, it is a spotlight on athletic traits and the kind of physical profiles that tend to influence how college football games are played, especially in the open-field phases and in the moments that require one player to change field position or create separation from blocks.

According to the Yahoo Sports report on The Athletic’s release, Penn State was represented by three players in this year’s group. The article frames it as part of a broader preseason routine in which fans and media outlet rankings circulate during the final stretch before the season begins, including other projection-style lists that have also been favorable to Penn State.

Penn State’s recruiting and development identity often has a measurable connection to these kinds of lists. In recent years, the program has built rosters intended to win with physicality, ball production, and high-leverage athleticism, whether on defense with speed-and-power matchups or in space during special-teams and transition sequences. A list centered on “freakish” athletic traits fits that template, even if it does not itself forecast season outcomes.

Still, it is important not to overread what a preseason athletic ranking means for wins and losses. The Freaks List is a snapshot of traits and profile, not a guarantee of durability, scheme fit, or snap-to-snap production once opponents game-plan in August and September. The real test is how these players translate their athletic traits into repeatable execution in the Nittany Lions’ system.

What to watch next for Penn State is straightforward: whether the program can convert preseason acclaim into consistent performance in its first key stretches of the schedule, and whether these spotlighted players emerge as recognizable difference-makers in specific roles. If the athletic traits that made the Freaks List hold up under conference-level pressure, Penn State will have a clearer path to creating matchup advantages rather than simply surviving them.