Hello: Quintel Kent
Quintel Kent is sleeper #2, but unlike Cole Bajema he looks set to stay that way. Michigan offered after he impressed at camp, and that offer remains Kent's only one from a Power 5 school. He doesn't have imposing size and was reasonably productive for his high school team so the relevant people have seen him. Without something out of the ordinary happening this fall, Kent will be one of the lowest-rated recruits in Michigan's class.
That's not fate, of course, but usually you like to see some sort of indication that the ranking isn't everything. Especially at a position where Michigan struggled last year and is struggling this year.
GURU RATINGS
| Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
| 2*, 5.4 rating | NR | 3*, 84 rating #1105 overall, #130 WR |
N/A |
As mentioned, these rankings are extant and probably won't change too much. Rivals will give Kent a courtesy bump to a low three-star at some point.
[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]
SCOUTING
There isn't much, as you'd expect. 24/7's Bill Greene has a detailed post that makes it clear he's seen the kid in person a few times and very much reads like an attempt to say what he thinks without saying what he thinks:
Kent catches everything thrown his way, and a teammate of his told me he does this every day in practice as well. He is a fine route runner, as we can see on film, and he has enough speed to play in the Big Ten. ... not going to be a kid that is physically ready to contribute as a true freshman ... I do think Kent is rated properly, but will be flexible enough to adjust it after seeing him play this year as a senior.
Greene's seen him and thinks he's a MAC recruit, more or less. Brandon Brown's impression off film:
...quite slight but he's sudden, quick and seems to have a knack for getting open. ... going to have to bulk up and add strength ... pretty well versed in winning at the line of scrimmage and seems to understand how to use his strengths to win against defensive backs.
From watching film of him, though, I don’t see whatever Michigan must see. There’s nothing about him that jumps off the screen. He has average size with average acceleration and average top-end speed for an FBS recruit. He’s not a nuanced route runner, and he doesn’t get great separation from defensive backs, some of whom don’t look stellar themselves.
Overall, I don’t think this does anything to push Michigan’s program forward. There are some walk-on guys who I can see being just as successful as I would project Kent to be. He may be able to be an effective slot receiver if he’s a decent blocker, because slot guys can be productive based on play calling and taking advantage of play action. I just don’t see a whole lot of upside from him at this point.
And that's more or less it as far as scouting goes. Kent provided a little more insight into his game:
"I can play either a wide receiver or a slot receiver, but I also return kicks and punts," he noted. "I think I have good speed, and I can play any of the wide receiver positions."
OFFERS
Kent had five MAC offers and a couple of I-AA offers before Michigan stepped in.
HIGH SCHOOL
St Ed's in Cleveland is a powerhouse that sends guys to major colleges on the regular. Kyle Kalis is the most recent to head to AA.
STATS
I didn't actually run across a full season number.
FAKE 40 TIME
Kent claims a 4.56 40, which gets four fakes out of five.
VIDEO
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
This is the kind of camp commit that seems to come from resignation. Michigan is credibly in on zero highly touted wide receivers and needs numbers at the position after taking just a flier last year, so they were likely to come from camp. It's nice that Michigan saw him in person twice, but for a camp offer to mean something good it needs to be made in a context where it's clear that Michigan is willing to take camp kid X despite having a fair or better shot at a big-timer.
And then there's nothing else to indicate the recruiting sites are wrong about a kid at a powerhouse they've scouted and didn't think was a P5 prospect. A useful, non-star slot guy seems to be the ceiling here.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Kent is the second slot-ish receiver Michigan's added along with George Johnson III, which makes this commitment a little bit odder yet—Michigan is not a school with a heavy demand for slots. I imagine they're still in the market for a bigger guy on the outside, or maybe two. Probably one, because the chance Michigan gets in on a touted player at this point is close to zero.
We aren't credibly in on 5-star Kyle Ford who has a scheduled official visit for the Western Michigan game after unofficially visiting in the spring? Nor are we credibly in on Top 200 Cornelius Johnson whose mother is an alum and has already visited as well?
We appear to trail in both of those recruitments and if I had to bet I don’t think we will get either of them.
As Brian pointed out, if the coaches felt good about either of them they probably would have held off on Kent, who they could have gotten at any time.
That last point says the complete opposite to me. It's exactly right that they could have called Kent on NSD and asked him to commit and he would have, but they wanted him now. That's not a resignation, in my opinion, that's the staff wanting to secure the kid that won WR MVP at their camp. I'm not saying Kent should be a top 100 recruit, but the staff saw him in person and asked him to commit in August. That says they like him enough to not be a last minute scramble kid.
But then why accept his offer now? If it's true they could have gotten him at any time, the "resignation" that Brian mentions wouldn't matter. You can resign yourself on NSD-1 days out and still be fine.
Also, this was apparently posted a couple weeks ago by Lorenz saying that it was a race between Oregon and Michigan, even though all the current crystal balls are for USC, which seems almost like a default assumption and not really based on any updated information.
edit: I guess I should have read a couple posts down...
"If it's true they could have gotten him at any time"
Who is saying we could have gotten him at any time?
No because literally nobody outside of Michigan homers expect those guys to come here. You really think the staff is taking a guy who wasn't a take a few months ago because they think they will get those guys? Its nice to be optimistic but at some point you have to read the writing on the wall, the staff isn't getting it done at the wide receiver recruiting position. Maybe a fantastic year fixes that but nobody thinks we are getting those guys except you.
1. "Getting" and "credibly in on" are completely different things. We are certainly in the top three, maybe two for both Ford and Johnson as of 4:45pm, August 6th, 2018. That doesn't mean we get either, but it does mean that saying we are not credibly in on any touted receiver prospect is a questionable statement.
2. Sam made a point on his show this morning that I agree with: Michigan could push for and get Kent literally on signing day if he was a backup plan. They wanted him to commit now, which tells me that it's incredibly unlikely that he took the spot of a Ford or a Johnson. The staff plain wanted Kent, he will be a slot, and we will still be pursuing Ford and Johnson heavily.
3. The 2016 and 2017 classes brought in 8 WRs, all of whom were either a 4-star or better, an All-American, or both. The only non-4+ stars or non-All-American WRs we have signed under Harbaugh have been Grant Perry (almost always open, safely outplaying his ranking) and Ronnie Bell (complete flyer the year after the greatest WR class in program history). I think the notion that Harbaugh has "not gotten it done" at receiver is laughable.
It is certainly not laughable. The 2017 class was great and all appear to be on track for good careers but at some point you have to acknowledge that 2017 is the exception and not the rule.
Perry- Good pickup
Nate Johnson- gone (albeit for other reasons)
Crawford- Total wiff
Mcdoom- No more than a gadget player
And the recruiting in 2018 and 2019 at the position has been the worst of all the position groups.
It’s amazing that the 2017 class was so good that it is able to make up for all of this. But they need to get some guys in the 2020 class (Branham is a good start but more is needed) or else the future looks very grim.
Mitchell, Johnson, and Crawford being gone deal with issues independent from recruiting (actually Crawford might not, since he was buried on the depth chart due to great recruiting the next cycle).
You can discuss oversights of character flaws, or usage once on the team, in a separate discussion perhaps, but the ability to get receiver talent to come to Michigan has not been lacking in Harbaugh's years. That's all I am pointing out. There's a contention by some that we have been unable to recruit highly touted receivers - the facts don't support that contention. Eight of the ten receivers Jim has signed in 3.5 cycles have been 4 or 5-stars, All-American game invitees, or both.
It hasn’t been an issue in the past. But a two year drought at a position is a very dark omen for the future. It’s not inevitable but it relies on health and leaves no room for error for any busts.
Brad Hawkins was another good receiver recruit. Anyway, after having the top wide receiver recruit in the country last year (DPJ) I'm still not complaining. Worst case, Brian is right and we aren't in the running for any of the remaining top uncommitted recruits. Best case, JERRY RICE!
"at some point you have to acknowledge that 2017 is the exception and not the rule."
It's almost by definition that the best recruiting group ever is going to be the exception.
Or the non homer version is that Kent wasn't going to wait until signing day and miss out on a spot at a MAC school and be left holding the bag. So they knew he might go off the board to a MAC school if they waited too long and they had to decide if they felt confident enough about Ford or Johnson to risk not taking Kent.
Ford has been to Colorado as much as he's been here, Oregon is a major player and has a much better history of pulling players from California. ND is the leader for Johnson and Stanford is considered their primary competition. Who cares if we are 3rd for both guys if nobody actually thinks we are going to get them? Being third gets you nothing in recruiting.
There is literally zero justification for taking Kent now if you think you can get him on signing day, there is no downside to waiting. So if they knew they could get him on signing day and took him now its incredibly poor recruiting strategy from the staff because if they still think they can get Ford and Johnson they'll have 4 receivers in a class and some other recruits are pushed out. Recruiting has a finite number of spots.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
99 out of 100 kids who "go off the board to a MAC school" would flip their commitment to a top P5 school if one came knocking on signing day.
Likewise, there are plenty of MAC schools who have room in their class to take a guy at the last minute who was in consideration for a scholarship at a top P5 school, so Kent wouldn't have been screwing himself over by waiting to commit.
Hat on the table.
I believe this has more to do with Wandale Robinson and Giles Jackson trending elsewhere than Kyle Ford and Cornelius Johnson. There were looking at signing 1 from each of those groups of 2 from how things looked.
I agree, especially in Jackson's case. He's a Duck.
If you agree with Webb and think they could have easily had him on signing day what is the justification for taking him now? I only see negative potential options. Unless the argument is a bunch of other high profile schools were about to get involved, which doesn't seem like the case there isn't a lot of upside to this take right now.
This is my hope. That everyone is looking at the wrong peer group. It means the reason is right (no better alternatives) but the targets are wrong.
Least hyped Michigan recruit in the Harbaugh era? Hope he uses that, and proves everyone wrong.
That would be Kurt Taylor.
Same deal though. If he works his ass off, he'll contribute.
So, is it a fair take that this receiver recruiting ennui is because McElwain is a bad recruiter?
He couldn't recruit at the state of Florida as the head coach of Florida, he is at the very best a mediocre recruiter.
It's my understanding that the staff generally recruits by region as well as position, any this apparently struggle to attract top-flight WR recruits has existed well before McElwain showed up. So there's that.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^
It's my belief that the "best ever" WR recruiting class from two years ago has hurt these last two classes. With that much depth and talent in one class it's tough to come in right behind them. Not to mention poor QB play hurting stats the last two years. Just a theory though. I would hope next year's class would bring in more talent.
August 7th, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
I don't follow recruiting closely but I know relationships take some time to build. McElwain has been in staff how long? 4 months? I know it's supposed to be regional but you'd still think a guy is going to base his decision in part on his position coach. I think we'll have a better idea next cycle. Then again, if Michigan is really good, that'll probably be more relevant than McElwain's recruiting.
Dr Mantis makes some good points but people should at least be a little worried I think. Some have said the 2017 class is just too good so it's hard to get WR recruits. Maybe for the year after but it shouldn't be that way for 2 years after. Some of those guys could turn pro after their junior years. You don't wanna throw in lowly touted RS Fr and So after they leave. I don't think the sky is falling like some but it's a little troubling. If Michigan is as good as I think they will be this year it'll work out fine though.
For a slot guy, his strength seems to be his ability to track down and catch deep balls, even difficult ones with two defenders in the area. He leaves a bit tobe desired when it comes to catching short/intermediate passes and making plays in space.
Do we even know what a "slot guy" really is that makes him special? It seems more like receivers get the "slot guy" label put on them because it's unlikely they're ever going to be better than a #3 receiver on a good team.
Wrong kind of Monday blues coming from Brian here.
Welcome to Michigan, Quintel---now go out and prove the experts wrong!
Nothing is wrong, Brian just laid the facts on the table and they don’t look great. In fact Brian doesn’t offer any opinion or commentary whatsoever other than to give a brief take on what his ceiling looks like.
This did felt a bit mailed in, since Brian saying "I didn't actually run across a full season number." apparently didn't include looking at MaxPreps, where I found these.
I guess my issue with all of this coverage around guys like Kent and Johnson is it just feels petty, like people are angry at the coaches for, I don't know, getting high-ranked WRs this offseason and the end of last class so they are taking it on commits, and that's frankly bullshit.
Who's "taking it out on commits"? Their talent and potential are being evaluated as objectively as possible. The plain fact is, they are not highly talented prospects with a high probability of being championship caliber WRs at this level.
My issue is that if you go back to Joey Velazquez's Hello post - a player who is essentially the same who-dat commit with only MAC offers + IU likely because of his baseball potential - it's far more effusive. And sure, you can argue that he'll slide into the Viper spot and he's a good fit and all that, but it's still a not highly-regarded recruit being discussed as a sleeper. Or George Johnson III (written by Ace), which speaks highly of a guy who played QB last year, is shorter than Kent, and has recorded slower times than him at combines.
Compare that to Kent, who comes from a powerhouse program and who had really solid numbers for the couple of games he did play last year, getting a lot of "Bill Greene's trying to say something without saying something" comment from an analysis that is very similar to the one he gave Velazquez that was heavily quoted.
Nobody is saying Kent or Johnson are going to be stars, but there is this impulsive negatively around them that feels disconnected from the actual player and more with a general distaste for certain members of the staff. Which is fine if that what you wants to discuss, but to do it by proxy in a commit post feels wrong to me.
I couldn't have said it better myself, bronxblue. +1 to you
August 6th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
I agree, the staff has made clear their general dislike for all things McElwain. It appears they are going to give the stink eye to his recruits too. This kid may be a reach but his measurables sound like Grant Perry 2.0 to me.
Magnus even had the stats on his TTB post for QK. 7 TDs in 3(!) Games in 2017. Extrapolate that over a season and that is like 28 TDs. In short, Quintel makes Calvin Johnson look like a bum.
Didn't Winovich show us that guys won't be able to keep up their stats as their usage increases?
August 7th, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
3 games...
I seem to recall Josh Metellus and Michael Dwumfour having similar recruiting profiles.
Last years passing offense was historically bad. Very easy to negatively recruit against that. Prove you can get WRs the ball on the field and see what happens.
This kid could always be processed with a handshake. Michigan commit gets you more eyeballs. Not to mention it helps build relationship with an power Oh high school.
If they have any thought of processing the kid out of the class that will set a great tone for building a relationship with a powerhouse school...
I don't believe Michigan does that, however.
I can just imagine the excitement of that call home... "Hey Mom!! I JUST GOT AN OFFER FROM MICHIGAN!!!" I'll bet that made his year so far and made for one heck of a happy day for the family
We at least have Kalil Branham in 2020. He looks like he could be really good. All reports say his work ethic is extremely good. With that said, when or if both DPJ and Black where to leave as Jr's. We really could see very young WR's in 2020 and have the kind of production we had last year. Martin and Collins could be the bridge there hopefully
Don't forget the walk-ons! Schoenle and McCury could be interesting to see as upperclassmen.
I think your dead on with McCury....I'll bet we see quite a bit of him in four receiver sets. Word is he may have the most sure hands on the team other than Oliver.
If we're hoping to contend for NCs against the likes of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State, walk-ons are not what we should be depending on.
No, but they could complement what we do have. I'm not saying we are ok what so ever. Bottom line is we need to be able to move the ball through the air for any legit recruit to want to commit here. It was a shit show last year as far as passing offense goes. Especially, when a TE is leading in catches. Maybe with more success through the air, this year will yield better recruiting results.
Every white walk on slot receiver from Dabo's Clemson wants a word with you.
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