Seminole Standout Defensive Tackle Duo Makes Annual 'Freaks List'

The Athletic ranked the 101 most uniquely athletic collegiate football players heading into the 2024 season.

Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Joshua Farmer (44) celebrates a sack during a game against the LSU Tigers on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida State defensive linemen Darrell Jackson and Joshua Farmer appeared on Bruce Feldman’s “College Football Freaks” list. This compilation includes 101 of the sport’s most uniquely talented individuals who participate in football at the collegiate level. Ranked 1-101, Jackson and Farmer came in at #5 and #30 respectively.

READ MORE: Defending Conference Champion Florida State Tops ACC Preseason Poll

Darrell Jackson will look to make a (sort-of) immediate for the Seminoles as he had to sit out last year for all but one game due to the NCAA’s transfer rules. He came from Miami to be closer to his ailing mother. Both he and Farmer played together at Gadsden County High School just 30 minutes outside Tallahassee.

Feldman wrote this of Jackson in his article for The Athletic:

“The 6-5, 328-pound junior began his career at Maryland before spending the 2022 season at Miami, where he started 12 games and recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. And now, after sitting out the 2023 season, he’s eligible at Florida State and is expected to make a big impact. This is just one enormous and freaky dude. His arm length is 36 inches, and he has 11-inch hands. He’s run 20.6 MPH in pads — not just in shorts and a t-shirt. He squats over 600 pounds and benches over 400 pounds. His Nordbord score is over 2.0, which is good for tight ends and linebackers. The FSU defensive line lost both Jared Verse and Braden Fiske to the NFL but is still very scary with Jackson, Joshua Farmer and others leading the way.”

- Bruce Feldman, The Athletic

Moreover, Josh Farmer has been with the ’Noles since 2021. He’s accounted for 48 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and seven sacks in his three seasons in Tallahassee. Five of his sacks came in 2023.

Feldman reported of Farmer:

“The 6-3, 316-pound redshirt junior was a disruptive presence in the middle of the Noles dominant defense in 2023, recording 32 tackles, seven TFLs and five sacks to go along with two quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. Farmer has gained over 50 pounds in his college career. This offseason, he clocked a 19.6 MPH in pads, and he also cleaned almost 400 pounds, squatted over 600 pounds and benched over 400. Even more impressively, he had a Nordbord score (which measures eccentric hamstring strength) of over 2.3. For context, that is higher than you typically see from many skill-position players.”

- Bruce Feldman, The Athletic

The Florida State freaks will attempt to use their individual abilities as the 2024 season kicks off against Georgia Tech on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland.

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