BOONE, N.C. — Speed, strength and size — with plenty of substance.
App State senior receiver and returner
Jalen Virgil has ascended to No. 3 overall on the national "Freaks List" from The Athletic, marking the third straight year he's appeared in a ranking of the 50 most-gifted athletes in college football.
The top offensive player listed, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Virgil is behind only Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye and Wake Forest defensive end Carlos Basham Jr. in Bruce Feldman's annual feature that 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."
Virgil has produced eight plays of more than 40 yards in his career, including touchdown receptions of 73, 56 and 44 yards last season. His 57-yard kickoff return against South Carolina also set up the Mountaineers' only offensive touchdown in a 20-15 road win against the Gamecocks.
For his career, Virgil has 985 receiving yards, with a 16.1 average on his 61 receptions.
In terms of raw speed and strength, Virgil ran 100 meters in 10.29 seconds as a late addition to the App State track team in the spring of 2018. He has measurements of 40.5 inches in the vertical jump and 10-11 in the broad jump to go along with lifts of 405 in the bench press, 345 pounds in a close-grip bench press and 600 pounds in the box squat.
Virgil appeared at No. 15 and No. 11 on the "Freaks List" earlier in his App State career.
