College football fans might be familiar with longtime college football writer Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List” spotlighting some of the sport's most impressive athletes. Last year, 247Sports put its own spin on Feldman's feature by assembling a list of the freakiest recruits in the 2022 class.
This year's edition of the now-annual feature on 247Sports was released Tuesday, and two of Tennessee's highly ranked commitments for the 2023 class were included among the 50 prospects on the list, which was compiled by 247Sports recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins with help from a number of others throughout the 247Sports network.
Five-star Vols quarterback commitment
Nicholaus Iamaleava of Warren High School in Downey, Calif., is ranked No. 17 on the list, while four-star Tennessee tight end commitment
Ethan Davis of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Ga., is at No. 26.
In the story detailing the players named to
247Sports' list of the freakiest recruits in the 2023 class, Ivins referred to Iamaleava as "one of the most recognizable names in the Class of 2023" before explaining why he's a special athlete. He has been committed to Tennessee since March and remains the highest-ranked player in the Vols' class.
"Not only does Iamaleava have measurables that will likely have NFL front offices drooling one day (6-foot-5.5 with an 81-inch wingspan and 10-inch hands), he also happens to be an elite volleyball player and one who could have probably played in college if he didn’t happen to have a rocket launcher for an arm," Ivins wrote of Iamaleava, who's ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 overall prospect and No. 3 quarterback in the 2023 class.
"In the final volleyball game of his prep career, Iamaleava totaled 27 kills as he bounced around the gym like a bunny rabbit.
Just watch. When it comes to football, Iamaleava recently enrolled at Downey (Calif.) Warren for his senior season. He is expected to start classes at Tennessee this upcoming January."
Davis, a top-100 prospect nationally, has been committed to Tennessee since December. He announced Friday that he's sitting out his senior season because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and he also plans to join the Vols in January as an early enrollee.
"It’s unfortunate that
Ethan Davis will miss his senior season with a torn labrum because it looked like he was just starting to hit his stride," Ivins wrote of Davis, who's ranked the No. 75 overall prospect and No. 2 tight end in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
"A basketball player at heart, the 6-foot-5, 221-pound Davis emerged as one of the Peach State’s top pass-catching tight ends last year as he hauled in 61 passes for 755 yards and eight touchdowns working alongside megastar
Travis Hunter at Collins Hill. The Tennessee commit followed up his breakout junior campaign with a strong showing at this summer’s OT7 event and drew plenty of cheers when he did a running front flip into a ball pit.
"Back to hoops: Davis
dropped a school-record 43 points this winter and at one point reported basketball tenders from Ole Miss, Georgia and Georgia Tech. Freak."
One of Tennessee's top remaining targets in the 2023 class, five-star edge rusher Samuel M'Pemba of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., also made 247Sports' list of freakiest athletes in the 2023 class, checking in at No. 15. M'Pemba visited the Vols for the first time in June.
It says a lot if you’re the first one off the bus at IMG Academy seeing as how the national powerhouse has a world-class weight room to go along with a head strength coach that used to work at Alabama. And
Samuel M'Pemba gets that honor for the 2022 season.
"The St. Louis native, whose family is from the West African nation of Togo, is a rocked-up, 250-pound edge rusher with arms that belong in a bodybuilding magazine," Ivins wrote of M'Pemba, who's ranked the No. 26 overall prospect and No. 2 edge rusher in the 247Sports Composite for the 2023 class. "He actually grew up playing soccer before finding the sport of football in seventh grade.
"At IMG Academy’s Pro Day back in February, M’Pemba clocked a 4.5 in the short shuttle and a 7.3 in the L Drill. Both times are impressive for a youngster his size."
