Texas A&M fans are hoping that Anto Saka, a transfer DE from Northwestern, will be able to anchor the Aggies' defensive line this upcoming season in the wake of the departure of second-round pick Cashius Howell, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Howell totaled 11.5 sacks last season, and while that's a high number for Saka to shoot for, he's more than capable of it.
After toiling in obscurity in Evanston for a couple of years, Saka is ready to break out onto the scene in a big way with his transfer to Texas A&M football. However, despite the relative lack of renown a player receives when playing for Northwestern, Saka did catch the eye of one of the most well-known college football reporters around.
Bruce Feldman's yearly "Freaks List" on The Athletic details the most physically impressive players in the nation, and Feldman does his homework to make sure he's not leaving anyone out. Last year, though Saka was far from a household name, he got a bit of a PR boost when he made Feldman's list at 56 thanks to his eye-catching athleticism— and now, with that athleticism continuing to advance, he's climbed even higher on this year's list.
Anto Saka places highly on "Freaks List" ahead of hopeful breakout season with Texas A&M
Saka is the only player on the Aggie team to make this list (though, with the way Mike Elko and company are recruiting, that likely won't be true for long), but he lands in a pretty prominent position on the list, all the way up at no. 31. Feldman notes his uncommon combination of speed and strength; raw ability that Aggies have seen before in players like Myles Garrett and Shemar Stewart.
Texas A&M’s Anto Saka comes in at No. 31 on Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks list.
— Tony Catalina (@Tony_Catalina) August 10, 2026
Feldman mentions Saka clocked 21.9 mph on the GPS this offseason and at 254 pounds has just 8.2% body fat.
He also states Saka bench pressed 370, cleaned 345 and squatted 565 this summer.
Of course, there's a pretty massive disparity between Garrett and Stewart when it comes to actual on-field production, but even Stewart, despite that lack of production, ended up becoming a first-round selection when everything panned out. Saka's athletic potential, if nothing else, will be placing him in that conversation— but Aggie fans hope that he will come closer to the production of Garrett than Stewart.
He has a chance to, after all: opposite a guy like Marco Jones and with DJ Hicks and CJ Mims on the interior of the line, the Aggies will have a real shot to have another top-tier defensive line this year. Add in the factor of Elijah Robinson's elite coaching, and Texas A&M is going to look scary this season up front.
That's thanks in large part to what a guy like Saka can do for a defensive line. Thanks to his sheer speed and power, opposing offensive lines will be forced to dedicate greater resources to trying to stop him, which will free up some of the other threats on that line to get after the quarterback. And if the focus shifts back to those other players, Saka can make mincemeat of one-on-one matchups.
Saka's inclusion on this "Freaks List" is well-earned, and it should get every single Texas A&M fan excited about what we may see out of this defensive line this year. There is some production that has departed, without a doubt, but with the addition of Saka and the growth of some longtime Aggie players, Texas A&M's pass rush should once again be one of the most feared in the nation.
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