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Quintel Kent, Wolverine

Lakewood (OH) St. Edward WR Quintel Kent (image via Wolverines Wire)

Lakewood (OH) St. Edward wide receiver Quintel Kent committed to Michigan on Saturday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from several MAC programs.

Kent is 6’0″, 170 lbs. He claims a 4.56 forty and a 4.36 shuttle. Maxpreps has him down for 18 catches for 414 yards (23 yards/catch) and 7 touchdowns in just three games for the 2017 season.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 2-star WR
247 Sports: 3-star, 84 grade, #130 WR, #1105 overall

Hit the jump for more on Kent’s commitment.

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2018 Season Countdown: #23 Juwann Bushell-Beatty

Juwann Bushell-Beatty (#76, image via Land of 10)

Name: Juwann Bushell-Beatty
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 311 lbs.
High school: Paramus (NJ) Catholic
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #76
Last year: I ranked Bushell-Beatty #39 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He started seven games at right tackle.
TTB Rating: 68

Bushell-Beatty looked like a backup going into 2017, and that was indeed the case to begin the year. Nolan Ulizio started the season at right tackle, and Mason Cole played on the left side. Ulizio struggled mightily, but Michigan stuck with him for the first five games before finally replacing him with Bushell-Beatty. Bushell-Beatty’s run blocking was solid, while his pass protection was subpar. For undisclosed reasons, he was also sent home from bowl preparations and missed the game against South Carolina.

For some reason he’s now lining up at left tackle, where it seems like a guy with poor pass pro skills would be a bad choice. One of the big position battles on the team all spring and going into the fall appears to be Bushell-Beatty vs. redshirt freshman James Hudson III. Hudson has a higher long-term ceiling, but he’s still adjusting to the offensive system after being recruited for defensive tackle. Bushell-Beatty has some versatility to play left tackle and right tackle, and he’s the most experienced guy on the line as the only fifth year senior.

Prediction: Starting left tackle

2018 Season Countdown: #24 Grant Perry

Grant Perry

Name: Grant Perry
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #88
Last year: I ranked Perry #42 and said he would be the starting slot receiver with 20 catches for 225 yards and 2 TDs (LINK). He caught 25 passes for 307 yards and 1 TD.
TTB Rating: 71

Perry had a very tumultuous off-season going into 2017 when he faced felony charges in East Lansing. I thought that incident would – and should – turn into a short suspension during the season, but there Perry was against Florida in the season opener. During a season in which the passing game struggled mightily, Perry ended up leading the position group in receptions and receiving yards with 25 and 307, respectively. His lone touchdown came against Cincinnati on a 33-yard reception on which Perry looked comparatively quick, but overall, it was a pretty uneventful season.

Some might think a leading receiver should be ranked higher than #24 in a countdown like this, but I think 2017 was a fluke. Perry isn’t a bad receiver, but he’s not the best pass catcher on the team. Sophomore Donovan Peoples-Jones should be better, and sophomore Tarik Black is back from a broken foot. The Wolverines also have a couple tight ends who could eat up a lot of targets, depending on how much new quarterback Shea Patterson wants to look at them. We know what Perry is at this point, and that’s an okay slot receiver in the Big Ten. I think Patterson will find him dependable and he’s a solid blocker.

Prediction: Starting slot receiver; 18 catches for 230 yards and 1 TD

2018 Season Countdown: #25 Josh Metellus

Josh Metellus (#14, image via Michigan Sports Zone)

Thanks to John and Sean for the Paypal donations! You guys are awesome.

Name: Josh Metellus
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 204 lbs.
High school: Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan
Position: Safety
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I ranked Metellus #12 and said he would be a starting strong safety with 50 tackles and 1 interception (LINK). He made 50 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 71

Last season I ranked Metellus a good deal higher at #12. He got some experience in 2016, and Michigan was losing two safety starters going into the 2017 season. With only freshmen and walk-ons as backups, I felt Metellus needed to stay healthy and relevant. He wasn’t terrible, but the safeties were the weakest defensive position group of 2017. Metellus really maddened the fan base when he could have made an interception to snuff out a scoring drive for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes went on to score a touchdown, gain momentum, and eventually beat the Wolverines.

This year I have dropped Metellus down to the mid-twenties, but not necessarily because of a poor performance in 2017. I have never been too high on Metellus, and the additional experience behind him makes him less important. He went from having just walk-on Jordan Glasgow, freshman Jaylen Kelly-Powell, and freshman J’Marick Woods behind him in 2017 to having all those guys one year older, plus sophomore Brad Hawkins, several freshmen, and Utah transfer Casey Hughes. It’s good to have a starter back, but there don’t appear to be any stars in the making at either safety position.

Prediction: Starting strong safety; 45 tackles, 1 sack

Tyrone Wheatley, Jr., Ex-Wolverine

Tight end Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. has left the Michigan football program. Wheatley, Jr. is the son of a Michigan all-timer, and he was a part of the small 2015 class that represented the transition year from Brady Hoke to Jim Harbaugh.

Wheatley, Jr. redshirted in 2015 and has made 6 catches for 61 yards over the past two seasons. He was likely slated to be a backup once again in 2018, playing behind junior Sean McKeon and redshirt junior Zach Gentry. I put him at #49 in the 2018 Season Countdown (LINK) and did not expect much from him. Coming out of high school, I thought Wheatley would make a better defensive end than tight end, but he has not taken a shot at defense so far in his career. His future destination is unknown at this point.

There were only 14 players in the class of 2015, and now six have left (S Brian Cole, K Andrew David, DE Shelton Johnson, QB Alex Malzone, CB Keith Washington, Wheatley) and a seventh, Grant Newsome, may have suffered a career-ending injury.