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.
Hunter Renfro and Clemson say hi!
If you think we're going to win anything with Schoenle as our best receiver, I want what you're smoking.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
All I said is it would be interesting to see them play as upperclassmen. You and what's his nuts made big time leaps there. We're gonna be fine at WR though. Forgive me for not getting upset about 2020 just yet.
That's true, when have any of those teams relied on a walk-on to win a national championship? *cough* Hunter Renfrow *cough*
I am not making the argument that we can have a team full of walk-ons and compete at the highest level, we can't. However, the idea that having a walk-on receiver contribute significantly is some impediment to winning national championships, is directly contradicted by VERY recent evidence.
Junior Season lost to injury, time to develop before Camp, Camp MVP of his position group. I get the perspective and you'd like to see a little more around this, but if you don't think a guy can play, you don't throw out a committable offer this early for just a warm body. Let's see what happens and Mr. Kent may yet surprise us.
Welcome Aboard!
Was he injured? I know on Maxpreps it only has stats for 3 games but his Junior highlight reel clearly shows him playing more than 3 games.
Definitely an odd offer/commit acceptance. The hope is that something changed between his junior season tape and his camp performance that indicates why he was camp MVP. This is when observing his senior season is really important. It's possible his physical attributes have improved. Or he's an athlete that could be switched over to CB.
WR recruiting has been disappointing the last 2 cycles. But there's time to showcase something better. It sounds like Michigan is trending to airing it out more and employing more spread concepts. So perhaps with a stronger passing game, we can entice more recruits. We definitely need at least one outside receiver.
Welcome aboard, again, Quintel.
I said this in the initial hello post and I'll say it again - I don't get why people (including Brian, apparently) have to make the Hello commit a place to do a deep-dive on both the quality of a particular recruit as well as the staff. Like, Kent is a lower-ranked guy; he's not going to be a top-250 guy, but I also doubt Michigan accepted his offer because they don't believe they could sign any of the other 129-rated WRs before him. But if there is going to be on post that a guy is probably going to want to check out at his new school on this site, it'll be the one where people say "welcome aboard, here's what we think of you." And to get this pretty negative response from a bunch of grown-ass (mostly) men in front of their keyboards because the number next to your name isn't high enough is, frankly, bullshit. It's not "being real" or "trying to point something out." It's being petulant and, at least when it comes to McElwain and WR recruiting, weirdly antagonistic.
Also, I guess I read Greene's analysis of Kent a bit more positively, as the line before the block quote is
Keep in mind that this was not a player they offered based on film from October of 2017 like we are watching, but from a stellar camp appearance from June. I love camp offers because you are getting the most up to date snapshot of a player that you can get.
So that feels slightly more optimistic, as is the fact that he apparently picked up 18 catches for 414 yards and 7 TDs in 3 games last year. Considering he plays at a pretty elite HS, those numbers shouldn't be discounted.
Again, if you asked me do I think WR recruiting is going well, I'd say no. But I also tend to believe that a staff that seems to identify and develop players pretty well at literally every other position didn't suddenly forget or is unable to do so at a single position group.
Then the question arises, as usual, what about all of the other staffs out there who identify and develop players very well at every position? Does the fact that they have no interest in this guy mean nothing? Is our coaching staff the only one that can be "trusted" to spot talent? The fact is, sometimes when you're in the minority, it's because you're wrong.
And sorry, but if these guys are looking for a team whose fanbase will get super excited about them as prospects, and will never criticize them, good luck.
Nobody is saying they shouldn't be criticized, but that criticism should be based in actual performance. While I'm generally loathe to get too angry at unpaid student-athletes not playing up to my subjective expectations, at least if a player screws up playing football you can actually point that out. This level of vitriol, though, seems purely based on his mere existence and what it either does or does not say about Michigan's ability to attract top-flight WR talent.
I can say with near-certainty that most peoples' opinions about Kent are based on the number assigned to him by 247. Which itself is based on some film that, as this very site has mentioned numerous times, seems less and less relevant in these rankings if kids aren't also going to big camps and getting the eye of recruiters. But people here are complaining about his commitment because of it, and it's shitty to do in the first post dedicated to said player on this site. It just is, and if you want to complain about the state of recruiting at WR there are numerous other posts to do so. Or create your own. But a post that is basically like "whatever, he sucks, but convention requires me to say hello" isn't worth writing in the first place; just skip it. Nobody would have noticed in all likelihood.
Your point was, you seemed to think guys like this will be put off by a fanbase that wanted something better. I can assure you that the fanbase of any team with NC aspirations would be very unexcited about this guy. People's opinion of him are based on the fact that he just isn't that promising a prospect and is less likely to help us compete at the level we want to be than the guys that teams we need to beat are recruiting. The point of this is not, and never has been, that the coaches can't possibly make a contributor of some sort out of him, the kind of guy we can go 8-4/9-3 with. The point is, will he be likely to help us compete on the level of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State?
And "vitriol"? Please. Quote us the "vitriol" directed against this guy in this thread. Can you point to anyone who said "He sucks"?
Geez, this post just depresses the shit out of me.
Haha, I wish I could post an SNL Debbie Downer Gif.
My Man!!! hahaha
A year ago, how many people would've predicted that both Nate Schoenle and Jake McCurry (who was the Scout Team's Special Teams Player of the Year for 2017 - LINK) would be mentioned among the wide receivers who might be expected to contribute to the Michigan Wolverines offense in 2018?
During the 2016 season, I might've guessed that when the 2018 depth chart were released, Devin Asiasi, Ian Bunting and Tyrone Wheatley would be among the top four tight ends and that Kekoa Crawford and Nate Johnson would be among the wide receivers expected to be getting significant playing time.
Maybe the low expectations for Quintel Kent will prove to be true. And maybe they won’t. What do investment bankers like to say? “Past performance is not an indicator of future outcomes.”
After signing McElwain I figured we'd be in on outstanding wr recruits from down south....not from Ohio of all places... But I'm giving him beneift of doubt here.... I just hope that its not another fish out of his own water ( like west coast guy Drevno signing local kid Ulizio) .
Isn’t it “past performance isn’t a guarantee of future outcomes?” It would seem to be foolish to look at a potential investment without at least considering past performance as a factor.
Why do I feel like we have only been getting slot receiver types as of the last two cycles. Its the ghost of Rich Rodriguez lingering. Are they not satisfied or confident with Oliver, Bell, Johnson and Barrett?
Redshirt developmental guy at slot - good route runner and wiggle like Grant Perry. Looks young in photo so maybe they see physical upside as a late bloomer.
We are set next 2 seasons as we are loaded with 4/5 star WRs. 2020 is when we need replacements. Top 100 WR recruits don’t commit to redshirt or sit behind a 4-deep situation, they expect significant playing time as true freshman which we can’t legitimately offer. No time to panic, but we need 2020 to be an outstanding WR class.
Yeah, they do actually. Alabama gets nothing but 4 and 5 star receivers every year. This "can only expect top recruits every 3 years" bullshit is getting old.
No, your bullshit is getting old. Alabama has played in every CFP Final, and we had one of the worst passing attacks in all of FBS last year and are what, about a .500 team over the last 16-17 games? How you take that info and think we should be killing it recruiting WR’s... come on.
And why do you think Alabama can win a NC, lose a ton of elite guys to the NFL, and then come back as a favorite for the NC the next year? Hint: it's because they don't subscribe to the silly philosophy that because they landed 5 stars at a position two years in a row that they have to settle for mediocre projects at that position for a couple years, because no one will want to play behind stars.
yeah... seems like a bit of an odd commitment to me...
only P5 offer still, even after getting a Michigan offer and winning the MVP at a Michigan camp? That's pretty surprising to me...
nothing against the players, but it seems like a kid Michigan could have offered late... which wouldn't have been a surprise and lots of Michigan WRs in the past, like Perry or Roundtree were late, late offers...
with scholarship numbers going down,it just seems like this was one player they could have waited on...i mean does anyone think he'd stick to a MAC verbal if Michigan offered on LOI day? Guys like Norfleet (MSU), Perry (NW) and Roundtree (Purdue) didn't
After a flier last year Harbaugh should’ve made this position a priority.
I am by no means a WR recruiting expert, but this kid seems a lot better than this post/ratings give him credit for. He seems light/quick on his feet and plays the deep ball really well. Finds himself open a lot and Eds plays against quality opponents. I probably sound like a homer, but I usually agree with the blogs opinion or think that its overly optimistic. Just my two cents, but I see him being a solid contributor, maybe Roy Roundtree-esque?
if he projects to the slot, I do wonder what that says about the recruitment of Mike Sainristill. I have read that the staff was high on him as a receiver. would seem to be a bit of overkill to sign 3 receivers that project to the slot this year (Johnson III, Kent and Sainristill)
Ok, so I spent way longer on this than anyone should have, but I compiled all of the yardage and TD numbers from St Ed’s football Twitter, what was available on Maxpreps, and individual game film. I’m still missing at least 2 games worth, maybe 3.
Kent had 811 yards receiving and 15 TDs last season.
On a run heavy team that's not bad. Those numbers seem to indicate that he's more of a red zone target or a move the chains kind of player rather than primary source of yardage.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
It really depends on the tape. A receiver can be the beneficiary of a well-coached run game, used as a changeup to get absurd numbers against light coverage. Another could have mediocre stats but be the only threat on a middling team with a bad QB, regularly making acrobatic catches in heavy traffic.
Weren't Jordy Nelson and Victor Cruz low star(2-3*) recruits out of HS? Guys out play their ratings sometimes. I think we'll be fine if everyone can stay healthy and we get better QB play.
And I'd bet that every recruiting cycle for the past umpteen years, there has always been an area we need to improve upon. I don't think we will ever have a perfect class.
Let's not forget about "slot guy" Jeremy Gallon.
I'm not complaining about the kid, just curious about the process if in fact we all don't seem that high on his potential. Doesn't it seem a little early to "settle" for the class. Wouldn't a strong year for Patterson, DPJ, Black, etc. expect to get a little interest from some higher rated guys? I mean there is still 6 months before the class is signed.
So, Kent is rated a 2/3* based on his film and based on his film, Michigan did not offer.
Michigan did offer when he camped and was the best WR at that camp. Unless, somebody went to that camp and still thinks Kent is a 2/3* guy, then any opinions on him are not really relevant since the coaches are judging him based off on a camp that others have not even seen.
How is Michigan struggling this year at the WR position?
August 7th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
Welcome to Michigan, Quintel!!
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