30 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY MATT CARTER
ne of the recently devel-
oped traditions of pre-
season college football
chatter is the "Freaks
List" compiled by Bruce
Feldman of The Athletic.
With guidance and in-
formation from strength
coaches across the country, Feldman
comes up with a top-100 ranking of
the most athletic players, pound-for-
pound, nationally.
This year, two NC State players made
the cut — fifth-year redshirt junior
linebacker Payton Wilson (No. 48) and
fourth-year redshirt sophomore offen-
sive lineman Dylan McMahon (No. 63).
The Wolfpacker talked with NC State
strength coach Dantonio "Thunder"
Burnette to get his top five freaks on the
Pack roster, in no particular order. Be-
fore revealing his five, Burnette also had
an honorable mention choice in
third-year sophomore
defensive lineman
Davin Vann.
"He's down to 275 pounds, and he's all
revved up and lean," Burnette noted.
"He did a really good job of
working on his diet and
changing some of his
habits.
"One of his big-
gest role models
is Aaron Donald,
and of course I
was with A.D. at
Pitt for one year
in 2012 [as an as-
sistant strength
coach]. I know a
lot of the stuff he
does. Davin tries
to emulate what
Aaron has done."
O
Pack 'Freaks'
NC State Strength And Conditioning Coordinator
Dantonio "Thunder" Burnette Breaks Down
Five Weight-Room Standouts
