Three 2023 Notre Dame football players land on The Athletic's 'Freaks List'

The Athletic’s 2023 college football ‘Freaks List’ is here. Once again, the top 100 “freaks” in college football is well-represented with Notre Dame players.

This year, three of them made Bruce Feldman’s annual list.

Feldman receives input from college football schools, coaches, teammates, parents, NFL scouts and agents to come up with the 100 players in the sport who most blow the minds of folks inside their own programs. Here is where the trio of Notre Dame players ranked and what Feldman said about them.

No. 10: Senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills

Feldman: The 6-5, 306-pound senior has the tools to be a disruptive force in 2023. Last year, Rylie Mills made 24 tackles, six TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He looks primed to take things up a notch based on his off-field work after packing on 14 more pounds. Mills benched 450 pounds, did 225 for 30 reps, squatted 635, but he’s also hit 20.64 MPH on the GPS (up from 19 MPH last year), vertical-jumped almost 33 inches and did 31 pull-ups.

Blue & Gold: Mills has always been a freak, but now that he is solely playing three-technique defensive tackle for Notre Dame he’s gotten even more freakish. He comes across as one of the most menacing figures on any football field he steps onto, and if he refines his game and shows he has serious tactical ability along the line in addition to his sheer size he could end up as a useful player in the NFL.

No. 32: Graduate student cornerback Cam Hart

Feldman: The 6-2 1/2, 204-pound Cam Hart is a two-year starter for the Irish who made 25 tackles with three TFLs last year. Hart has great size for a corner, but also elite measurables. This offseason, the Baltimore native broad-jumped 11-2, vertical-jumped 38 inches and hit 23.01 MPH on the GPS — a big improvement from the 21.7 he was at last year. In addition, he squatted 505 pounds and did 40 pull-ups.

Blue & Gold: You can’t teach length at the cornerback position. Hart has a ton of it, and Notre Dame is better for it. He’s the perfect complement to the smaller ballhawk corner Notre Dame has in sophomore Benjamin Morrison. Plus, a 505-pound squat and 40 pull-ups for a defensive back? Sheesh. That’s freakish indeed.

No. 82: Graduate student defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste

Feldman: The Ohio State transfer, who had 11 TFLs and eight sacks in 45 games with the Buckeyes, should give the Irish D-line depth a big boost. The 6-4 1/2, 260-pounder broad-jumped 10-5 this offseason and vertical-jumped 35 inches. On the GPS, he hit 20.4 MPH. Even more impressive, Javontae Jean-Baptiste did 45 pull-ups.

Blue & Gold: If you show up to a Notre Dame practice and guess who’s the best pass-rusher on the team based on looks alone, it’s got to be Jean-Baptiste. He’s big and strong, just the way Notre Dame and any other program out there wants the strong-side defensive end to be. Forty-five pull-ups at 260 pounds? Goodnight.