Colby Cronk hasn’t played a snap for NC State yet, but the sophomore defensive tackle is already forcing people to look twice.
At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Cronk arrived in Raleigh with the kind of frame that turns heads. A shoulder injury kept him off the field last season, but this offseason has pushed him into the spotlight for a different reason: pure power. After breaking the program’s powerclean record earlier this summer with a lift of 410 pounds, Cronk landed on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” List, giving his rise even more national attention.
Inside the weight room, the reaction has been loud and immediate. Joseph Adedire painted the scene after Cronk’s lift: "It's like watching the most beautiful thing, it's like poetry in motion -- his intensity," Adedire said with a smile.
"I wish y'all could've seen his clean and when he caught it, everybody just erupted. You've got people hanging off the racks in the weight room, people screaming, somebody was just blowing the horn up in the air.
It was great.
"Anytime Colby's doing something you have to put eyes on him, because you know he's about to do something amazing".
Cronk, though, isn’t getting caught up in the buzz. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he said making the list was an honor, but the team still comes first. He also made it clear that the moment that mattered most this summer was the one shared with his teammates after the record lift.
"It was so awesome," Cronk said. "Absolutely, teammates made it for sure. It was a great moment."
The missed season last year only sharpened his edge. Cronk said sitting out as a true freshman was tough because he’s used to being on the field, and that frustration has fueled the work he’s put in heading toward the 2026 campaign.
"It was a little tough because I didn't get on the field, and I have never not been on the field," Cronk said. "That's what I'm doing right now, putting my head down and working, talking to my coaches, trying to get the best technique down as I can."
The physical tools are obvious, and so is the résumé he brought with him. Cronk came to NC State as one of Florida’s most disruptive pass rushers, piling up 283 total tackles, 101 tackles for loss and 50 sacks in 34 games. He also owns his high school’s single-season and career sack records.
For now, the next step is simple: turn the offseason hype into production when the games start. Cronk put it plainly as he wrapped up his availability: "Opportunities come and go.
So you got to make the most of them. I think that's what I'm doing right now.
Putting my head down and working."
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