Michigan football: Kris Jenkins' 'insane' Turkish Get Up, rising draft stock, other Wolverines who just missed 'Freaks List'

Michigan Wolverines football has seen one of its players appear in the top 10 of The Athletic reporter Bruce Feldman’s ‘Freaks List’ five of the last six years, including three No. 1 selections in that span. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins is the latest, checking in No. 6 this season.

According to Feldman, Jenkins, who’s now up to 307 pounds, pushed 32 reps of 225 on the bench press and did 760 pounds on the combo twist. He runs a 7.16-second three-cone drill and a 4.33-second shuttle. Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert nicknamed Jenkins ‘The Mutant’ due to his ability to move well at a large size, and those numbers prove he’s well-deserving of his ‘Freaks List’ ranking.

One of Jenkins’ most impressive workouts is the Turkish Get Up, which requires him to lay flat on his back with a dumbbell lifted straight into the air with a locked elbow, stand up and lay back down while keeping the weight in the air. Jenkins did it with 170 pounds — the most strength coach Ben Herbert has ever seen from anyone.

Michigan's biggest Freak 307-pound DL Kris Jenkins, aka "The Mutant," (son of the former Pro Bowler by the same name) vertical jumped 34 inches, ran a 4.33 shuttle and did this insane Turkish Get Up with a 170-pound dumbbell: https://t.co/4bqHQeV0tq pic.twitter.com/4ZO5ctuo8y

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 15, 2023

“It is insane,” Feldman said on On3’s Andy Staples Show. “It is just insane.”

Over the winter, Jenkins received feedback that he could be a top-100 NFL Draft choice had he declared for the 2023 event. However, he chose to come back to Michigan for his senior season. Now, U-M head man Jim Harbaugh believes he can go in the top half of the first round. He’s generated plenty of buzz this offseason, too, for taking his game to another level.

“When I saw Harbaugh at Big Ten Media Days, he gave me this bold quote that he thinks they’re gonna break Georgia’s record for the most players drafted in a single draft,” Feldman said. “He said he thinks there are going to be 20. And he said Kris Jenkins, watch him go as a top 10 pick. I think a lot of guys were like yeah, he could be a top-100 pick or whatever. But I don’t think anybody’s realized just what this kid’s evolution is now. I mean, he was in the 250s [of pounds when he arrived at Michigan] and also, by the way, he was another three-star guy who’s really blossomed there.”

Jenkins has “obsessed” over stepping up his own pass rush and making sure the Michigan defensive line is improved in that area. He had the most run stops in the nation last season, per PFF, but only 2 sacks, though he rank tied for fifth on the team with 20 pressures. Adding more as a pass rusher is his next step.

“He has great genetics. Obviously, his dad was also Kris Jenkins, who was a Pro Bowler in the NFL. But the numbers he puts up, the stuff he does … now, he’s 307 pounds and [has a] 34-inch vertical jump and shuttle times are what you’d expect, honestly, from a running back.

“And he’s been really good against the run. But they think he’s really taken his game to the next level, from the coaches I talked to this past month, as a pass rusher.”

Staples noted that former Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith “didn’t seem like that big of a draft prospect coming into last season” but wound up going in the first round. Feldman was early on the Smith hype, too, ranking him No. 1 on the 2022 ‘Freaks List.’ Jenkins could be on a similar path this year.

Michigan players who just missed the ‘Freaks List’

Feldman included 101 college football players on his ‘Freaks List’ this year, with four from Michigan in Jenkins (No. 6), sophomore cornerback Amorion Walker (No. 12), sophomore quarterback Alex Orji (No. 50) and senior wide receiver Roman Wilson. Under the section of the article featuring Orji, Feldman made an interesting comment: “There are a bunch of other Wolverines we could’ve included in here in this spot.” And then he named some.

Senior running back Blake Corum is one. He put up 30 reps of 225 on the bench press this season and, per Feldman, clocked a 6.39-second three-cone drill and 3.89-second shuttle. Senior right guard Zak Zinter, meanwhile, vertical jumped 33 inches and had a 4.44-second shuttle. Finally, graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil posted a 40-inch vertical and bounded up the Wolverines’ plyo stairs in their state-of-the-art weight room in 2.26 seconds.

Still, Feldman noted, “several” Michigan players identified Orji as the top ‘freak’ on the team, even though he checked in third among Wolverines on the writer’s list.