Name: Quintel Kent
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 172 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Kent was a senior in high school (LINK). He caught 59 passes for 924 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with returning 2 kickoffs for touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 59
Kent committed to Michigan in August of 2018 as the Wolverines fended off several MAC programs for his services. He had a solid senior season and did seem to make some improvements in his strength and speed from his junior year. I originally gave him a TTB Rating of 49, which I have since upgraded to the 59 above. His TTB Rating is less indicative of his talent than it is simply the talent surrounding him. Michigan has been bringing in a lot of good receivers over the past few years.
So how does a guy with a 59 TTB Rating get ranked at #65 as a true freshman? It’s pretty simple. There aren’t a ton of experienced bodies at wide receiver, and that number has even dropped by one (Oliver Martin) since I put together the countdown list. Kent could end up with a Grant Perry-like career, where he plays a good bit as a freshman but just kind of consistently hangs out as a “contributor” for four years.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver
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We’ll have to see what the Gattis O looks like but for my 2 cents-worth I would put Perry a whole lot higher than Kent and several other WRs who will presumably get listed soon. Here’s why I say that:
At WR we have 3 really good players who are pretty proven plus an EE freshman who generated a boatload of hype in the Spring. He’s not even the top rated WR in the class… Then you’ve got capable contributors in Bell, McCurry and Schoenle who’ve played meaningful downs already – in bowl games, against OSU, etc. You don’t need a freshman to do anything, though it sounds like Sainstril could do plenty.
At CB we’ve got 1 really good player, a talented young guy you hope will step up into a starting role and then a 3rd guy we just kind of hope can step in (a 3-star sophomore Michigan added late in the class who has played 1 game). In terms of the talent/experience profile, our 3rd CB is on par with our 8th WR.
Keep in mind the 3rd CB plays a helluva lot more snaps than the 3rd WR, at least pre-Gattis. He’s essentially been a starter. The 4th CB spot isn’t always critical but has to be ready to step in (e.g., FSU). That spot is WIDE open. That’s a guy who is likely to play a pretty big role if there is any injury, will compete with unproven Gray for the 3rd spot, and will play downs to prepare him for a meaningful role in 2020 even if everyone stays healthy.
I don’t know if Perry is the 4th CB but he’s got the pedigree to contend for it. Gray, Green and JKP haven’t done anything yet and CB is a spot where freshman can step it. The only other freshman in the mix is Turner.
Our 5th CB last year (Gray) burned his red-shirt playing mop up duty against Rutgers. Presumably that was to prepare him for a bigger role this year. The rules are different now but I’d be surprised if Turner or Perry didn’t see time under similar logic.
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At WR, Kent’s battling a gaggle of proven talent, a bigger group of established players, and is one of the lower ranked guys in a big WR class. I’m not saying it’s a lock that he won’t play or anything like that, but Michigan has tons of WR options. Kent’s probably somewhere between 8 and 11 in pecking order and I’d guess he red-shirts simply because Michigan has so many alternatives available.
Meanwhile there are very few CBs (7 on the roster). While Perry could be anywhere from 3rd to 7th and maybe most likely to end up 5th, I think he is a more important player in 2019. Certainly Perry’s development is more critical for 2020 — when Michigan is likely to need 1 or 2 new starters out of the small group of backups they’ll have – especially if Thomas steps up like we hope (and goes to the NFL).
We’ll see! Kent, IMO, is a near lock to hold onto his red-shirt while Perry MIGHT be a key contributor.
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