Indiana Football Claims Two On Bruce Feldman's Freaks List
The start of Indiana Hoosiers football and other programs' 2019 season is getting closer, which means preseason accolades are beginning to surface. The recognition reached Bloomington this week, with redshirt junior husky Marcelino Ball and fifth-year senior offensive lineman Simon Stepaniak landing on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List for The Athletic.
Ball checked in at No. 9 not because of his strength performance - though the numbers shared by Feldman were impressive - but due to his speed. Feldman reports Ball registering 22.74 miles per hour on the Hoosiers' GPS system and an electronically-timed 4.41-seconds in the 40-yard dash. Including cornerbacks and safeties, he is the highest-ranked defensive back out of the 11 named by Feldman.
The Roswell, Ga. native earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from coaches and media last year after recording 59 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble .
Stepaniak, meanwhile, landed at No. 43 and was one of eight offensive tackles featured on the 50-man list. Feldman reports Stepaniak has a max bench press of 515 pounds and can put up 41 reps in the 225-pound bench press. The Hamilton, Ohio native started all 12 games at right guard last fall and helped IU's offense rank third in the Big Ten in passing yards per game with 257.8.
Feldman has published this list annually as a way of tracking the sport's most remarkable athletes and athletic achievements since the early 2000s with the help of coaches, players and sports information directors nationwide . Former IU offensive lineman Wes Martin, now with the NFL's Washington Redskins, made an appearance on it during his college career.
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.