No Surprise: Bowick on Athletic’s Freak List, Johnson, Torgeson Garner Shoutouts

The secret is well out of the bag by this point: Justin Bowick is something to behold athletically.

It’s something that the local media has caught on to by the way Eric Morris and Bowick’s teammates have talked about him since the 6-foot-5, 209-pound receiver arrived from Illinois, but now he has gone national.

The Athletic released its annual college football freak’s list on Monday, which featured Bowick as the No. 66 freak in the country. This list comes with justification in the form of numbers, noting that Bowick back squatted more than 500 pounds this offseason while topping 22 mph on the GPS and a 1.36 10-yard split.

To put one those numbers in a bit of context, Google tells me that Usain Bolt’s world-record 100-meter sprint had a top speed of 27.78 miles an hour and an average speed of 23.25 miles an hour.

That speed is impressive enough on its own and then you add to it the fact that he can back squat a stocked refrigerator, and it’s starting to sound a little unfair.

Although Bowick was the only OSU freak officially on the list, Jaleel Johnson and Portland State transfer offensive lineman Shaun Torgeson also garnered shoutouts.

A 6-foot-4, 270-pound redshirt senior who has spent his entire career with the Cowboys, Johnson was noted for his 365-pound power clean while running 20 miles an hour on the GPS. How the heck can someone who weighs 270 pounds run 20 miles an hour?

Torgeson is only a redshirt sophomore, but he started all season at left tackle for Portland State last season. He comes to Stillwater with a good amount of in-game experience given his youth. The Athletic highlights that Torgeson benched more than 500 pounds and broad jumped more than 9 feet. So, that stocked fridge that Bowick can squat, Torgeson can bench. And while having that strength and weighing 302 pounds, Torgeson can also broad jump the length of a standard pool table.

There are also some freaks that OSU will run into this year. Here’s everyone on the list who is on OSU’s schedule.

No. 3: A’Mauri Washington, defensive tackle, Oregon — If you watched OSU’s trip to Eugene last season, it should come as no surprise that the Ducks have some freaky athletes. He apparently ran 20.7 mph at 327 pounds and squatted 855 pounds for two reps. Yikes.

No. 11: Devon Jackson, linebacker, Oregon — Behind Washington stands another freak. Jackson reportedly hit 24 mph on the GPS and can leap 40 inches off the ground.

No. 61 Shadre Hurst, guard, Houston — A Tulane transfer, Hurst is a former state champion wrestler who benched 475 pounds and squatted 655 pounds.

No. 62: Ben Roberts, linebacker, Texas Tech — Roberts has spent his entire career in Lubbock. He’s reportedly squatted 700 pounds this offseason and can run 21 mph.

No. 74: Kyran Duhon, edge rusher, Tulsa — OSU fans will be familiar with Duhon, as he was a Cowboy just last season. He’s apparently running 21 miles an hour, jumping 35 inches off the ground and putting up some gaudy numbers in the Tulsa weight room.

No. 79 Trequan Jones, running back, Tulsa — A transfer from Old Dominion, Jones reportedly hit 23.6 mph on the GPS while having a 42-inch vertical.

Look at The Athletic’s full list of freaks here.