247's "bold predictions" list has Zach Gentry on it
#8:
From sophomore to junior, Jake Butt went from 21 catches to 51 and 211 yards to a career-high 654. Zach Gentry is in position to do the same exact thing after 17 catches for 303 yards and two touchdowns last season. Not only has Gentry drawn rave reviews all offseason from the coaching staff, but he probably is in the best quarterback situation of the Jim Harbaugh era. When Shea Patterson needs a completion, Gentry will be his guy.
https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/Twenty-bold-predictions-for-the-2018-Big-Ten-season-120466131/
Photo: MLive
August 9th, 2018 at 12:23 AM ^
6’8” does make him a pretty easy target to find. Coupling that ridiculous size with his athleticism, intelligence, and reported work ethic should make for a fun season to watch.
August 9th, 2018 at 12:25 AM ^
Also, he’ll be getting all of McDoom’s fades now.
Let's just hope he's not getting the jet sweeps.
August 9th, 2018 at 12:33 AM ^
I want him to be an NFL success story so that NM writer that shat on Harbaugh for moving him to TE looks like a moron
I am a head coach at the varsity level out here and called the move to TE when he signed. His size and movement suggested his future is at TE. You have to understand the writers out here. They feel our state is underappreciated and our players are undervalued. I don’t agree with that assessment having played college ball in California and Oklahoma, but that’s the way it is here. Don’t hold it against all of us!
So was he recruited to be QB fully knowing he wouldn't make it there, or did he know they were to make him a TE
Harbaugh flipped him from Texas in 2015, where he was committed as a QB. The only QB's on the roster were Speight, Morris, and Malzone (on scholly, anyway), and he spent his redshirt spring in the QB room. The move to TE didn't happen until 2016, so I don't think he came here expecting to be a TE. I also remember that he was a little upset, at first, with the move.
August 9th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
QB all the way. A lot of coaches out here where very upset at the time and haven’t given credit to the coaching staff that it was the right move for Gentry. We have your occasional top end player, but it’s so hard to have consistent top end recruits due to the lack of top notch competition. We have some excellent programs, such as Artesia and Rio Rancho, but just no depth. UNM doesn’t really recruit hard in state nor does NMSU, but our local DII schools do.
Nevada is the same way, I think most of it comes from a frustration that the local university won't recruit many kids from in region and spends a ton of time in California instead. The issue is that the hit rate for Nevada kids isn't all that high. For every Chance Kretschmer(University of Nevada Hall of Fame Running Back who started as a walk-on from the back end of nowhere Tonopah, NV) there's a lot of kids who can never quite make the cut and prove to be a waste of program resources when local pressure to recruit a kid gets brought to bear.
August 9th, 2018 at 12:36 AM ^
McKeon will limit his numbers but I am excited for both. It's not the Asiasi/Nauta/Wheatley three headed dragon I wanted but Harbaugh is great at finding blocky catchy guys.
I wouldn't mind seeing Gentry take a lateral pass and unleash his arm a couple times this season.
Yeah Gentry is an impressive genetic accomplishment. His great great great grandfather was one of the knights wielding a shield and javelin at the head of a prominent cavalry I heard. The ones that rode the first horses in North America with Cortez and conquered the Apache. The Aztecs were next. Back in the 1800's or something like that? I need to learn how to use search engines tonight. I always fell asleep or started thinking about Britney Spears in history.
August 9th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
I heard that his long-ago British ancestors were landed.
Remember the jackass who dissed Harbaugh for turning Gentry into a TE? I wonder what he will say when Gentry is a top 100 pick in the draft.
The bold prediction #4 on the same list is rather odd. It has Wisconsin going 12-0, which means they will beat us at home. That could happen. But the key games for them to go 12-0 are listed as at PSU and Iowa. Beating us is a foregone conclusion.
The thing about Wisconsin is they rarely beat teams of equal or better talent by a lot. They're not built to put up 45 points on good defenses even if their defense can slow down good offenses.
I noticed that as well. Not even a "key game"?
The Wisconsin game does not scare me much at all. They have no history of going on the road and winning games against Top 15 teams. (Except in 2016 when they beat "#8" MSU, who finished 3-9.) I think Wisconsin will struggle to get to 10 points barring any big turnovers.
August 9th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
Even if Hornibrook isn't great, they still have the best O-Line in the country and one of the best RBs in the country. An average quarterback can pick you apart if given enough time. Their defense is also good, even with the injuries.
The Wisconsin game scares me wayyyyyy more than MSU or PSU, because they will keep the score close. In that type of game something fluky can change the outcome.
Can we please utilize Gentry in the red zone? He is vastly underutilized. Penn State’s QB would be arm-punting Gentry constantly. Hoping Shea will immensely improve our offense.
A tight end, with good hands, is a QBs best friend. I can’t wait for 9/1, I think the O will finally be able to win some games for us.
August 9th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
Give him a sweep and let him throw it. Nice wrinkle in the playbook.
August 9th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
The thing that will stop Gentry from putting up Mackey-like numbers is that Sean McKeon is almost as good as Gentry is.