BOONE, N.C. — The Athletic's "Freaks List" made room near the top for two fast, physical Appalachian State teammates.
Together, receiver
Jalen Virgil and running back
Jalin Moore share the No. 11 spot on The Athletic's countdown of the nation's 50 most-gifted athletes in college football.
The
annual list from writer Bruce Feldman aims to "showcase guys who generate buzz inside their programs by displaying the type of rare physical abilities that wow even those folks who are used to observing gifted athletes every day."
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Virgil, a redshirt sophomore from Lawrenceville, Ga., was labeled the Sun Belt Conference's "fastest receiver" earlier this offseason by Street and Smith. A multi-sport star in high school, he ran the 100 meters in 10.29 seconds two months ago as a late addition to the App State track and field team.
Virgil posted the second-fastest 100 time in program history following a 2017 football season in which he averaged 18.2 yards per catch on 20 receptions, including touchdowns covering 83, 56 and 53 yards. Two of those scores came in a five-catch, 186-yard performance against Coastal Carolina.
Off the track, Virgil also has posted strong measurements in the 40-yard dash (4.26 seconds), bench press (340 pounds), squat (510 pounds) and broad jump (11 feet, 1 inch).
Moore, a senior from Shelby, N.C., recently received similar recognition with a No. 9 ranking on a list of college football's "most freakish athletes" from NFL.com.
His measurements in the 40-yard dash (4.37 seconds), bench press (390), squat (650 pounds), clean (350 pounds), vertical jump (38.5 inches) and broad jump (11 feet, 1 inch) stand out for a player who ranks second among active FBS running backs with 3,170 career yards. He's the only active FBS back who's rushed for at least 235 yards in four career games.
