Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1410640
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M and now checks in with "combine elite" numbers in the shuttle, 40 and broad jump for his size and position. For comparison's sake, Smith's current numbers would fall right in line with those of former No. 8 overall pick Vic Beasley when the former Clemson star finished in the top five at the combine in the 40 (4.53 seconds), broad jump (10.8 inches) and pro shuttle (4.15 seconds). "These are all numbers that will be top-level combine numbers," Galt said of Smith. "He's the real deal." 3) Jonathan Sutherland Saf. | 5-11 | 201 Vertical: 36 inches Broad: 9 feet, 9 inches 40-yard dash: 4.48 seconds Shuttle: 4.10 seconds Clean: 335 pounds Bench: 370 pounds Squat: 550 pounds Strength Index: 724 Inching up the list of Penn State's "freak" athletes this season, Sutherland might seem like a surprise at No. 3. But the fifth-year senior, a fixture on the Nit- tany Lions' special teams units and a cap- tain again this fall, is a physical specimen. About The Penn State 'Freaks' List Penn State has two numbers that it uses to measure comparative strength among all its athletes. The first is called the strength index, which comes directly from the world of powerlifting. It's a for- mula that combines the weights lifted in the bench press, the clean and the squat, then uses a body- weight coefficient to produce a final output number. For younger players, the strength index number typically ranges from 500 to 550. At 650 and above, a player is considered an elite strength-power athlete. Anything over 700 is rare, limited to two or three players per year. Rarer still are the generational talents, players who go on to dominate multiple categories at the NFL Combine. Those players can crack the 800 threshold. In Galt's tenure as a strength coach, first at Maryland and later at Penn State, that 800-plus group includes only two players: former Terrapins tight end Vernon Davis and former Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley. A second measurable Penn State uses is called a T-score, which gives values ranging from 0 to 100 for each event, including the weight components, vertical and broad jumps, 40-yard dash, pro shuttle and more. "If you're Superman, you're going to get 100 in every one, and when you divide it by the number of events, your score would be 100," Galt said. "In that measure, 75 is a really good number for us. So if you can get a 75, that is the elite college player/probable NFL guy. "That's really our best measure, to take the whole thing. That's the measure that really best defines a freak." Barkley's T-score? Ninety-one. "He's the closest we've ever come to Superman," Galt said. — Nate Bauer Since Galt took over Penn State's strength and conditioning program in 2014, the high- est-scoring athlete on his strength index is former running back Saquon Barkley. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Dwight Galt has overseen Penn State's strength and conditioning program since 2014, when he arrived as part of James Franklin's staff. PHOTO BY NATE BAUER