NC State has two more names on Bruce Feldman’s 2026 College Football Freaks List, and both of them say plenty about what the Wolfpack is building in Raleigh.
The Athletic’s annual rundown of the sport’s most physically gifted players includes running back Jayden “Duke” Scott at No. 18 and defensive end Colby “Crash” Cronk at No. 41.
For Scott, it’s a second straight appearance. For Cronk, it’s a breakout entrance after a first year that clearly changed his body and his profile.
Scott is the familiar face here. The redshirt sophomore climbed from No. 66 last year to No. 18 this time around, a jump that makes sense once you look at the numbers.
Feldman said Scott has added approximately 10 pounds since last season while keeping his elite speed and explosiveness intact. That’s the kind of rare combination this list is built for.
The testing line alone is eye-catching: a 405-pound power clean, a 575-pound squat and a 4.35 40-yard dash at 223 pounds. Those numbers would turn heads on their own. Put them together, and you get a back who looks ready to take over the workload.
Scott already flashed that upside on the field last season. When Hollywood Smothers was unavailable against Georgia Tech, Scott ripped off 196 rushing yards and gave Wolfpack fans a clear glimpse of what he can do as a featured runner. Now that Smothers is at Texas, the backfield belongs to Scott.
His production last year - 581 yards and four touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry - came mostly while he was still behind Smothers. The path is clearer now, and so is the expectation.
Cronk’s rise is a little different, but just as intriguing. The redshirt freshman defensive end checks in at No. 41 nationally after a dramatic first-year transformation.
He arrived at NC State at around 260 pounds. He’s now 285 on a 6-foot-3 frame, and the added size hasn’t blunted the explosion that made him stand out in the first place.
His testing numbers are absurd in the best possible way: a 410-pound power clean, a 420-pound bench press, a 35.6-inch vertical, a 9-foot-6 broad jump, a 4.80-second 40-yard dash, a 4.30-second shuttle and a 1.60-second 10-yard split. Feldman said Cronk’s 410-pound power clean set an NC State program record this summer, edging out Scott’s 405.
Cronk’s background makes the athletic profile even more believable. Before he got to Raleigh, he was a Florida state champion in the shot put and finished runner-up in the discus. That kind of explosive power tends to show up somewhere.
NC State had three players on Feldman’s 2025 list: Jacarrius Peak at No. 31, Scott at No. 66 and Sean Brown at No.
- With Peak and Brown gone, Scott is the lone returner from that group.
The Wolfpack’s strength and conditioning work also deserves a spotlight here. Longtime coach Dantonio “Thunder” Burnette’s fingerprints are all over these kinds of transformations.
Scott has added size without losing speed. Cronk has packed on 25 pounds and still runs and jumps like a much lighter athlete.
That’s exactly why both players landed among the ACC’s biggest Freaks. Twenty conference players made Feldman’s Top 101, and Scott was the fifth-highest-ranked ACC player while Cronk came in eighth.
Scott has already shown he can turn the testing into production. Cronk may be next in line to do the same.
In Other News...
Germaine Pratts Return Gives NC State A Familiar Voice Fans Will Love
Germaine Pratt is back around NC State, and this time his role looks a little different from the one Wolfpack fans remember. After seven years in the NFL, the former linebacker has returned as a volunteer coach working with the linebackers, using the offseason both to give back to his old program and to start building coaching experience.
For a retooled group in need of steadiness, Pratt brings more than familiarity. He is working alongside former teammates and offering a voice that should carry weight in the room, with the added appeal of a player who understands exactly what it means to wear the jersey and then take the next step beyond it. How much that presence shapes the unit over time will be worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Just Got A Temporary Roster Break From NCAA Chaos
A Colorado judge handed the NCAA a setback this week by refusing to pause a court order tied to the so-called 5 in 5 eligibility rule, which gives seniors from the class of 2022 another season to play. The injunction remains in place while the NCAA appeals, and for programs like NC State, the immediate effect is a little more breathing room as rosters continue to be shaped around an already messy eligibility landscape.
For the Wolfpack, the ruling matters because it keeps the door open for players from that 2022 class whose eligibility had appeared to be used up. It is only a temporary reprieve, not a final answer, but it gives NC State another layer of flexibility while the legal fight plays out and the next roster decisions come into focus. [Read more 🡒]