Getting to Know Zach Gentry

Submitted by alum96 on

Either this post will be very useful or completely useless by Feb 4th.  Hopefully useful.

Sleuthing around the internets here is some stuff I found on this potential flip out of New Mexico.

Ht: 6'6"ish  Wt: 235ish

Rankings:

  • Rivals: #4 Pro Style QB, #108 overall
  • Harbaugh: Yes please
  • 247: #16 Pro Style QB, NR overall
  • ESPN: #9 Pro Style QB, #118 overall
  • Scout: #19 Overall QB, #278 overall
  • 247 Composite, #8 Pro Style QB, #175 overall

As we all know, Rivals has the most knowledgeable New Mexican scouting... ESPN is pretty sharp in N.M. as well.   But Harbaugh above all.

Offer list P5 programs:  Texas (obv), Bama, Louisville, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma State (he's a man, he's 47!), Oregon State, TCU, Tennessee.  [some sites show Baylor and PSU - others do not]

Charlie Strong had been recruiting him since his time at Louisville.  He has been a Texas commit since May 2014.  re: Alabama offer as one story I read noted it is difficult to tell what is real from Alabama in terms of "commitable" as they offered 10 QBs in this class alone (and 183 offers in total).

 

VIDEO

HUDL highlights

 

Generic local TV station report

 

Scouting Stuff

(I believe S.C. did an analysis on him so if you read this please repaste somewhere in comments)

Overall theme from these stories is consistent - raw tools galore, more than enough arm, quite raw, has fixable mechanical issues, surprising athleticism for size, a good basketball player so should have "good feet", not "speedy" (40 times are probably 5 out of 5 fakes) but mobile enough to get out of trouble, well spoken, throws off back foot too much, no clue on ability to read defenses / progression because he hasn't really needed to do it in a very simple offense, not surrounded by much talent at all in HS.  Interception rate is very low but so is completion rate.

 

--->  Comments from his obviously biased HS coach:

Dodson said Gentry can easily sling the ball 70 yards. And while Gentry hasn't been timed in the 40-yard dash lately, he would likely run in the low 4.6 range, Dodson said. (editor's note - read that with a lot of salt)

"The thing that sticks out about Zach is that he is probably going to be a better college player than he is in high school," Dodson said. "Being (so tall) he was a little bit of a late developer. His motor skills had to catch up with his body because he grew so fast. He's 230 pounds right now. He'll be 240 next year. He's an athlete, a very good basketball player. I don't think he's reached as far as where he's going to get as far as his arm strength."

His growth and size has caused some body isues:

Gentry's height has caused him some issues, according to Dodson. He arrived as a freshman at 6-4 and then hit a growth spurt later that year. That spurt was partially to blame for a chunk of bone getting displaced from his knee, Dodson said.

"He actually had a part of his kneecap that came off in between his freshman and sophomore year that they had to surgically put back on because he was growing so fast," Dodson said. "That set him back three months."  Then his ligament pulled away from his growth plate in his throwing arm (right) during his first 7-on-7 tournament.  "So he's had all kinds of issues because of him growing so fast," Dodson said.

 

--->  Some dude with a Michigan blog - I think he goes by Magneto around these parts - had this to say in a 2015 QB roundup back in January 2014:

Gentry is a tall quarterback with a well developed frame, so he probably won't get significantly bigger. He runs mostly a shotgun/pistol spread offense. He has a strong arm but throws a very catchable ball, and he has a high release when he sets his feet in the pocket. His straight line speed is good for a guy his size, but he lacks lateral quickness and agility. He may be tough to bring down because of his size, but he could improve his pocket awareness - he seems to throw the ball on time or get flushed out of the pocket, instead of sliding around or moving up in the pocket. I would also like to see him attack the line of scrimmage more when he rolls out, so he can get more on the football, but that's a pretty easy thing to coach up.

[note opposing player's helmet...]

 

---> SB Nation's Barking Carnival has a great overview [May 2014]

Speed/Mobility/Body Control

Gentry is a long strider who eats up ground once he gets going and he has a reasonable amount of niftiness despite his height.  Some recruiting services claim a 4.7 40, which isn't unrealistic, but he's not going to be confused with Jamelle Holloway in small space.

While Gentry doesn't project to a traditional run threat in the college game, he'll be very capable of pulling the ball down and making a defense pay if they ignore containment - sometimes even big yardage if the sea parts properly.  Gentry is hardly a statue and certainly athletic enough to throw capably on the move, run bootlegs, bring diversity to play action etc.



A high base on a 6-6 frame means elusiveness from a static set in the pocket won't be a primary strength and his change of direction and ability to shake a pass rush will rely more on developing lower body strength to ignore glancing blows, stepping up into the pocket and showing good feel with his eyes downfield.



Gentry is a star 20ppg/10rpg player on the El Dorado basketball team.  I like good QB basketball players as competence in the game suggests decent feet, body control and coordination that translates well to the intangibles of football.



Throwing



Gentry is raw (really? A high school junior?) but he throws fairly effortlessly - even without consistent coaching, optimal mechanics and the benefit of a college S&C program.  He flicks the ball out with decent accuracy and anticipation and his motion and release is quite workable.  A 6-6 throwing platform with long arms isn't going to have problems getting the ball out with velocity - the question is how quickly and to where?  Given that he recorded a 73 yard test-for-distance throw at the Louisville camp before his junior year, I think we can check the arm strength box.



His high school statistics are actually pretty poor (though he doesn't turn it over), but the personnel around him aren't brimming with talent.  Basically, Gentry is a one man gang on a bad team playing El Paso equivalent football.  A better statistical senior year might reassure me a tad, but dude can't pick his teammates.



Arm strength is fantastic but once it meets my minimum requirements, accuracy and anticipation are far more valuable.



Frame



Gigantic with room to grow.  Currently 6-6, 230, he can reasonably be expected to fill out to 245-250 and Moorer and Watson will need to actively monitor how he fills out his frame so that he doesn't lose dexterity in the pocket.  His size will offer value in goal line and short yardage situations.



Intelligence/Football Acumen



I have no idea how Gentry sees the game - most of his high school throws were short and intermediate routes to marginal receivers, but his interviews reveal a mature, thoughtful personality and the intense interest from Alabama, Tennessee and our own Shawn Watson suggest camp interactions that demonstrated a coachable nature and quick improvements under tutelage.  He didn't go from New Mexico State level offers to Alabama in a few weeks just because of his frame.  



Summary



Admittedly, Gentry is not my preferred style of college QB (give me Vince Young over Peyton Manning in the college game), but given the right time and development, it's not hard to imagine the Longhorns could create their own version of Brock Osweiler/Erik Ainge/Nick Foles/Joe Flacco (insert your own preferred tall guy QB).  With the right weapons around him and a Wickline OL, that's pretty damn good.

While height is a boon to QBs in seeing the field and long arms (particularly a long ulna to upper arm ratio) allow an effortless javelin effect on deep balls, the college game rewards improvisation over execution and accuracy over cannon arms. If given the right pieces and the expected growth in all facets, Gentry could flourish.

 

[a man among pudgy boys]

 

---> Son of a Coach Scouting Report:

El Dorado High quarterback Zach Gentry is about to join that exclusive club of ridiculously tall quarterbacks in college football. He’s got tantalizing potential, but needs some refinement to his mechanics before he can approach reaching it.

Athletic ability/measurables

Any questions someone might have about his size limiting his movement are answered as soon as you see him run. For such a massive player at his position, Gentry is great athlete. He has good mobility and very good speed.

Skills/technique

Gentry is dangerous runner with the ball in his hands. One would think he has the size to run over people, but he’s actually very elusive and can run away from defenders. He’s an unexpected dual-threat.

When he’s balanced and has his feet set, he throws a really nice and accurate ball. The issue with Gentry is that his mechanics are inconsistent. He doesn’t show a “wow” arm, but it’s mostly because he is throwing with all arm far too often. Sometimes he’ll float the ball when throwing out routes, which is something you don’t expect with a player of his size. He throws off his back foot far too often and there is a noticeable difference when he steps into his throws.  If he can clean up his mechanics, he’s got potential to have a special arm.

Scheme fit

Gentry has some mechanical issues he needs to work out so a pro-style scheme where he plays under center may take him awhile to master with the drops he’ll have to routinely do. I think his best fit is in a spread offense that allows him to run as well as throw.

Potential

Gentry’s potential is truly awesome. He has physical traits that are special and others just don’t possess. If he can improve the things he needs to work on, he could end up being a very high quality starting quarterback at the college level. If he doesn’t, he may end up being another Logan Thomas.

 

---> Burnt Orange story:

On film, Gentry is a good athlete at the position for a pro-style passer, running for 617 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior with reported 4.68 40 speed, though he looks closer to the verified 5.02 40 that star California quarterback Josh Rosen registered at a Nike event.

Whatever his actual testing speed, Gentry is certainly not a pocket-pound passer despite his designation and has some make-you-miss ability in the open field. His height can also make the speed that he does have a little bit more deceptive, as he covers quite a bit of ground with each stride. In college, his mobility will be an asset in making off-schedule plays with his arm moving outside the pocket and moving the pocket on designed rollouts and bootlegs more so than running the zone read series.

And Eldorado moved the pocket quite a bit in 2013, utilizing Gentry's athleticism and probably covering up some deficiencies on the offensive line as well. On the run, Gentry shows of his above-average pure arm strength moving in either direction, doing a nice job of clearing his hips to throw while moving to his left.

The arm talent of Gentry is perhaps more apparent at times than it should be, as he can resort to throwing off his back foot. When given a clean pocket, however, his footwork is adequate and he's able to make a range of throws, from darts into small windows to the type of touch passes that every quarterback has to make, whether a fade route into the end zone or a lofted pass over an underneath defender.

There's a bit of the gunslinger in Gentry, but he only threw three interceptions in 286 passes as a junior, an interception rate of 1.04% that is incredibly low. It was also a significant improvement from his sophomore year, when he sat at a still-impressive 2.12% interception rate. However, this completion percentage of 55% could be a cause for concern if he ends up missing open receivers once he gets to Texas -- similar accuracy problems for Wood out of high school eventually sunk his Texas career before it ever really started.

He can drop his arm slot at times, but otherwise his mechanics are without major flaws in his throwing motion.

[This guy is our coach.  Still hard to believe some days.]

HARBAUGH

Comments

Chipper1221

January 23rd, 2015 at 9:11 AM ^

I hope we land this guy. Sounds like he has tremendous upside and you mix that with a little Harbaugh coaching and a physicial O-line/Rushing game .. Nice work Alum96

turd ferguson

January 23rd, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^

Thanks for compiling this.  He certainly seems deserving of a roster spot, even if it's hard to tell what he'll ultimately do in college.

More importantly, in the context of high school football uniforms, a black and silver version of the Michigan home uniform is pretty damn cool.  It looks like the numbers could use some work but damn.

borninAnnArbor

January 25th, 2015 at 9:43 AM ^

Here in southwest Ohio we had a team named Talawanda who wore a blue and red Michigan style uniform. They dominated the local schools for years. Then they hired a new coach who was a huge ohio state fan and changed the helmet to one with the school logo. Not saying it was the loss of Michigan attire but they were never very good after that.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

tf

January 23rd, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^

Navarre was an All-State DE that everybody else was recruiting to play DE.  I believe he did play both ways in HS, though, and played QB on the offensive side of the ball rather than TE, which is how he wound up at QB for Michigan.

 

 

alum96

January 23rd, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^

Ah yes, thanks - brain fart there.  Would have been impossible for him to be a TE and get recruited to be a Big 10 QB.  I remembered he was really good at something else on the line of scrimmage in HS.

UMaD

January 23rd, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^

Navarre was recruited by most other schools as a DE/TE.  He wanted to QB and Carr believed.

The other significant connections for Michigan QBs are:

Jay Riemersma, who was a QB that got hurt and converted to TE at Michigan, leading to a pretty damn successful NFL career at TE.

Andy Mignery was another QB turned TE.  He was more of a blocking TE, backing up/complementing Tim Massaquaoi.

getsome

January 23rd, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^

good call on riemersma, was gonna mention him.  dude was a ball player.  

also logan thomas not a bad comparison.   both had similar bodies and skill sets entering college though hopefully if gentry picks harbaugh hell be able to develop in some areas where thomas really struggled (ie awareness, desicions, anticipation, etc).  looks like solid prospect.  

so glad JH appears to value mobile QBs and realizes peyton manning types are not the rule but the exception

BlueSky

January 23rd, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^

a little raw, but I like the running ability.

Harbaugh can fix the mechanics, and he probably has seen some intangibles (mental game, competitiveness, etc.).

m1817

January 23rd, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^

An article in the Houston Chronicle assessing the QB situation at UT has Zach Gentry ranked below two QB's currently on the team, the top-rated Texas HS QB who made an unofficial visit to UT this week, and a mystery transfer.

Texas HS QB, Kyler Murray, who made an unofficial visit earlier this week is mentioned as having more potential than the current QB's on UT's roster and would be the favorite to be their starter this Fall if he signs with UT.

Hope Zach takes this in consideration when he makes his decision.

MgoRayO3313

January 23rd, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^

I like the frame. I like the arm. I like his ability to run. You can tell he is no burner but he certainly is a long strider that can pick up yards if need be. This is someone who has all the attributes you simply can't coach. With Harbaugh at the helm this guy could become an absolute stud.

NoVaWolverine

January 23rd, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^

And I say this as someone who is as high on Alex Malzone as anyone -- I love his competitiveness and his leadership and think he's going to be a great one at UM before it's all said and done. Still, you can never have enough competition at the most important position on the field (a lesson Brady Hoke has learned the hard way), so I like that Harbaugh wants a second QB for this class, and Gentry fits the bill nicely.

I'm still kinda amazed Kyler Murray might flip from A&M to Texas. His dad is Kevin Murray, a QB legend for the Aggies in the mid-'80s who's since become a QB guru in TX. Maybe the kid wants to get out of his father's shadow a bit...

Space Coyote

January 23rd, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^

 

This is an upside recruit, but he has a long ways to go before he gets there.

 

He has a naturally strong arm (can throw it a mile), but doesn't yet have a whole lot of zip on his throws from a consistent standpoint. I think this is because he fails to transfer his weight a lot of the time, for how far he throws it he just isn't getting a ton of power from his core and legs. This allows him to lean back and fling it a country mile, but not really put the zip on the throws yet. It's a good sign for his arm strength, but a nasty habit he'll need to break if he wants to throw over the middle or intermediate/short routes to the outside at the next level. There were two or three throws he made were he looked to step into it a bit more, and you saw the ball come off his hands much better and get on receivers much quicker, but that needs to be a consistent thing at the next level, even with some of the types of throws he made on his tape.

I really don't see him making reads or progressions yet; it looks like he's looking at receivers and if they are open he throws it to them. With the athletes he's going against, I really think it'll take him some time to adjust to reading coverages and how fast windows go away at the next level (it appears a coach from NM is saying/hearing the same things).

I think his athleticism is a bit overstated. He's not a terrible athlete, but he's not going up against great compitition and frankly, he just has really long strides at his size. He won't be a significant run threat other than maybe in the "keep them honest" way at the college level (I think both Morris and Malzone are better athletes in the run to keep them honest model), though he may be able to eat up yards if off of scrambles because of his long stride. He just doesn't get up to speed quickly at all, and it's hard to run in college football if you can't get up to speed quickly.

I think he has upside like JaMarcus Russell had upside (comparing a white QB to a black QB? not possible). I don't think his arm is quite as strong (Russell might have the strongest pure arm strength I've ever seen), and I think Russell was a bit of a better athlete (this is why Russell was a top 100 recruit though, while Gentry is a 3/4-star type), but both were pretty raw coming into college and if Gentry can improve his mechanics he can be in the same type of mold (preferably without the love of food aspects Russell had).

 

CoachBP6

January 26th, 2015 at 1:36 AM ^

Gentry looks much faster than Jamarcus Russell to my eye. I agree with most everything you have said aside from overstating gentry's athleticism. Zack can move for his size and doesn't shy away from contact. While I agree that his football IQ needs several steps up, I see him have all the physical measurables one needs to be a successful QB at this level. Once Zack gets coached up on his flaws he will be much better. Gentry is my kind of QB, I like guys that can make all of the throws yet get you a first down with his legs if no one is open. With 5 QB's on the roster the competition should see one or two guys rise above the rest. Gentry needs a redshirt and a good bit of coaching, but the sky is the limit.