Quintel Kent to Miss Season
Michigan's receiver corps once the Collins-DPJ-Black era ends was already shaky before Oliver Martin's painful departure. Now things are even slimmer after one of their three outside receiver recruits in the last two cycles announced he'll lose at least a season to a "medical finding":
— Q (@Quintelkent1) August 5, 2019
That's pretty vague, and a lot of things can turn up in a physical, from improperly healed old injuries that require surgery, to heart conditions. Here's hoping it's just the former.
Kent was a late find out of Lakewood St. Ed's, an power private school near Cleveland. The few eyes we got on him saw an extremely good route runner with elite acceleration off the line and strong footwork—the kind of prospect who doesn't look like much in testing numbers or generate many stars from the industry, but produces early and often in college. He also was a willing blocker. I'm guessing his YMRMFSPA was going to be Roy Roundtree, a guy whose name peppers Michigan's career, season, and game record books, and a guy who featured in many of the greatest highlights of his era. Any stargazer who thinks this isn't a big loss because of recruiting rankings has no idea what they're talking about.
It's not clear if this affects Kent just this year or his entire career. If you take a medical scholarship you can't come and play football again, and it seems from the tweet that Michigan and Kent aren't ready to make it permanent yet. It's a small bummer to lose a down-roster true freshman at a strong position this year, but it would be a huge one to lose a receiver for 2020 if the NFL takes the kind of bite out of the depth chart we expect it to. After DPJ, Collins and Black, Michigan has just Ronnie Bell from the 2018 class, Cornelius Johnson from this one, and the slots and guys they're recruiting now. Also the likelihood that Erick All stays at receiver just ticked up a notch.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Lorenz at 247 saying this is going to be a medical scholarship situation and that he's likely never going to play. They expect Harbaugh to address at his presser.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
Yikes. If we only return 1/3 starters at WR next year then we really need both Bell and Johnson to hit starting next year. Outside of them we'd only have All (assuming he's a WR) and some freshmen. Either all those guys have to be ready to play or we're going to have a small WR corps.
August 5th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
Not every small receiver is a slot. A good thing, since we look to have a lot of them on the roster this year and next.
One player we keep forgetting about as a WR is Daxton Hill. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get some targets in 2020. Even if we have good depth, he's an intriguing weapon.
Wow. Have to feel for this kid. His chance at his dream fade and his health at risk. Rough stuff. Hope he can recover physically and psychologically.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
I hope he heals up quickly. Good luck, Quintel!
August 5th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
Hope he gets a great education and makes the most of it.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
Hopefully it’s not a serious long term thing, but if it is (e.g. something heart related) at least they caught it early. While it would suck to have your playing career derailed before it really even got started, the safety of the players is the top priority.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Speaking of All, it seems odd that Michigan has had such a hard time finding TE's that can catch AND block. We are one of the few programs that emphasizes the TE and yet we really struggle recruiting guys who can do both. I get that those types can be rare, but you would think we would be one of their top destinations, and yet...
August 5th, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
A TE that can catch and block out of high school would be an elite level talent. For how much Michigan uses TE, it’s crazy that they haven’t been able to get an elite TE. Asiasi could have been that kind of recruit straight out of high school but he didn’t stick. For what it’s worth, Mustapha Muhammad seems like the best TE that can do both. If we land Theo Johnson, he could be a good combination of both skills as well
August 5th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
Unless you're talking about senior AJ Williams merged with Devin Funchess combo of blocking and catching, Michigan has been just fine at finding versatile TEs. Jake Butt, Asiasi befor he letf, McKeon, and we have Schoonmaker and Muhammad in the wings that are all in that mold.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
Damn, hope it's not too serious.
Sorry to be all 'cool story, bro,' but, weirdly, I woke up this morning and his name was stuck in my head. Odd that this news broke today.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
The “I don’t fully understand this part of my journey...” comment sounds like whatever they found, it’s scary, and there is uncertainty about what will happen.
I’ll guess a medical redshirt this year as they wait and see.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
Uuuuhhhgggg. Best wishes to the young man.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
Alright. Hope he gets well and/or sticks with his education.
Time to scour CMU's roster for for 5th year candidates.
August 5th, 2019 at 12:34 PM ^
That's a very well-written statement embedded in the tweet. Best wishes to Mr. Kent.
August 5th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
I'm sure football has been and was expected to continue to be a big part of his life. If it is football career ending that part sucks for him, but at least he got far enough to have a great opportunity off the field.
Let's remember the Grant Newsome situation and how Michigan handled that. If there's no timeline given, there's no timeline.
I also remember the Curious Case of Antonio Bass for career-ending injuries. Took a while for that to come out too, IIRC
Good we're getting the O line fixed just in time to not have anyone to throw to.
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