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| Zach Gentry |
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Albuquerque (NM) Eldorado
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #10
Last year: Gentry was a senior in high school. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 pro-style quarterback, and #175 overall.
TTB Rating: 84
Gentry was Michigan's biggest coup in the 2015 class after suffering some frustrating losses and decommitments on the recruiting trail. Purely a product of the Jim Harbaugh coaching hire, Gentry was offered after Harbaugh was hired, and he flipped from the Texas Longhorns. He was a dominant player in the somewhat shallow talent pool of New Mexico, so playing at the University of Michigan will be a huge step up in competition. However, his size, speed, and arm strength cannot be denied as having the potential to be a big-time player at the next level.
I noted in Gentry's commitment post (LINK in case you missed it) that he has lots of technical flaws. He did not enroll early, and I think it's going to take some time to get him acclimated to college football. There have been rumors that he's up to 6'8" and 240 lbs. now, and with any quarterback who's 6'6" or above, you wonder a little bit about how long it will take their coordination to catch up. Gentry is not a kid who dropped back from under center often, and those mechanics are probably going to take a couple years to work out. I'm placing Gentry this high for a couple reasons. First, Jim Harbaugh wanted him badly. Second, he has the size and speed to play the role of a Blake Bell or Tim Tebow as a freshman, working in certain packages as a run-first, short-yardage guy. Third and perhaps most importantly, I have heard through the grapevine that the coaches plan to use him this year.
I don't think Gentry will be the starting quarterback this year, but I think he will work into the game plan in certain situations. The coaches also have to consider the 2016 season and beyond, and Gentry needs to be groomed as the quarterback of the future, whether it's in the second half of 2015, the 2016 season, or after Shane Morris is scheduled to graduate in 2017. Physically, Gentry has more upside than any other quarterback on the roster, and that includes Morris, who is a pretty good all-around athlete. We saw Jim Harbaugh take good athletes like Josh Johnson (University of San Diego) and Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers) and turn them into high-caliber players. I think it's only a matter of time before Gentry is playing at a high level. Michigan should get solid quarterback play from Jake Rudock and there are some talented running backs, so I don't think the Wolverines would be doomed without Gentry's contributions.
Prediction: Backup/situational quarterback. 160 yards rushing, 6 touchdowns. 15 passing attempts, 1 touchdown.
Interesting place for him. If you think about having 22 starters, so that means numbers 44 and below are at least on the two deep.....he's at 45. I know QB is in a weird place as we move forward but you have him as the borderline #2 QB.....at least from a numbers stand point.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't think of it this way. The 10th OLmen, though listed on the two deep, and therefore in the "top 44" in this way of thinking -- he isn't going to play at all. The 4th or 5th interior DL meanwhile, though not listed beyond maybe an "OR" beside his name is likely to rotate in and play in meaningful situations when someone, inevitably, gets dinged up. Likewise the top backup DT may get as many snaps as one of the 'starting' OLB or even a FB.
DeleteThunder's rankings, to his credit, have not reflected a rigid devotion to the depth chart.
Well, if he plays as much as I project, that's pretty much a #2 quarterback's work load. Some #2 quarterbacks barely play. I don't expect Michigan to blow out many teams this year, so it's not like the #2 guy is going to see much playing time unless there's an injury.
DeleteI would say that ON AVERAGE the #2 QB heading into the season plays a lot. It's very context and injury dependent though. In our case, if you assume Rudock is the favorite to start there is a pretty decent chance that the presumed backup (Morris) either ends up outplaying him in practice (i.e., beats him out) OR that Rudock gets hurt.
DeleteThere's probably like an 70% chance that the #2 guy gets less than a dozen pass attempts in a meaningful situations. But the 30% chance means that the #2 guy will be needed in a major way.
It all depends on your definition of "a lot." Gardner did not cede much time to Shane Morris over the past couple years. Denard Robinson lost half a season to Gardner in 2012. The backups played pretty sparingly from 2009-2011.
DeleteI think this is the first entry on the countdown to get me really excited about the season.
ReplyDeleteI always hate to see redshirts get burnt, but man am I excited to see what Harbaugh et al. can cook up to get Gentry on the field.
Six touchdowns, Thunder?
ReplyDeleteTo quote the great Keith Jackson, Whoa Nellie!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNeOEHGpYyc
Should this prediction come true, I'm thinking you can add Morris to the anticipated transfer list, I would think Malzone is likely for that list as well. Although with regards to Malzone, sometimes he makes me think of Brian Griese. Smallish, not the biggest arm, but pretty accurate, high level high school competition, refused to spend his career on the bench.
That's what I thought, too. We have two legitimate guys for the starting job, in addition to Malzone and Speight. If Gentry (true freshman) gets these many snaps, look for at least two to transfer after this season.
DeleteHe said 6 TDs, not 6 passing TDs. If the coaches want to use his size/athleticism for short yardage situations, he will get some TDs from QB sneaks or designed QB running plays. Doesn't mean he's the 2nd best QB on the team, but he brings a different skill set than the others.
DeleteSometimes he makes you think of Griese? Kid hasn't played a down of football yet for Michigan.
DeleteI think there's a lot of guys at QB, but Rudock and Morris are the only ones we know anything of substance about and with the new staff the whole thing is wide open. We'll have attrition sure, but guess at who it's going to be strikes me as premature, to put it mildly.
Morris was added to the eventual transfer list when JH recruited Rudock.
DeleteMalzone is in a bit of a tough spot because JH more or less inherited him rather than hand-picked him. But Malzone just needs to be patient at this point, at least until next spring. Even if Gentry earns short yardage snaps this year, it does not mean that he can handle full time duties. O'Korn will be tough competition too though.
Remember what people thought of the QB depth chart a year ago?
DeleteI expect Rudock to win the job, like most others, but lets not forge Morris' signature on transfer papers just yet.
JH was under next to no obligation to keep Malzone.
2016 depth chart
Delete1. O'Korn or Gentry
2. Gentry or O'Korn
3. Whomever is left
Speight is gone. Morris might stick it out - he is not a rs so he cant immediately play. If you have no NFL talent do you leave UM to sit 1 whole year just to play 1 yr? Tougher call than a guy like Blake who can play immediately. I dont know. But he is not an obvious transfer even if he doesnt play 1 down this year.
Malzone looks like a transfer too unless Gentry ends up a TE or something (always possible).
I would not be surprised for Morris to be #3 in 16 and Peters #4 with 2 transfers.
In sum, the QB situation in 2016 is going to be a dog fight. Morris, O'Korn, Gentry, Malzone, Speight, and two 2016 freshmen will battle it out. It's going to be brutal for the bench warmers.
Delete@Anon -- while if you made me guess at the situation i would probably agree with most of what you are saying but you don't have to have much of a memory to remember how wrong our QB preconceptions can be.
DeleteI can't think of a single QB in recent history who the book written about them coming in ended up matching with the reality they experienced coming out.
Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson were Heisman contenders for a bit. Devin Gardner looked like he might be better than both of them at times. Shane Morris was the golden child. etc.
These narratives change so quickly that speculating on who will transfer seems pretty insane to me.
If there is a "dogfight" leading up to '16, Morris won't be part of it. He needs to solidify himself as the man in '15 camp, even if he does not beat out Rudock. Morris did not impress the staff in the spring and if that does not change asap for the junior, he is toast. Also don't see Speight being a factor for '16, unless he makes a big move fast.
DeleteRegarding Malzone, there is a big difference between keeping a commit from the previous regime when you are struggling to fill a class, and targeting a kid hard like JH did with Gentry and Peters. But Malzone will get his shot.
If there were blogs back in the 90s they would have said Tom Brady was going to transfer and needed to do so to make way for Henne, Jon Navarre was moving to TE, Chad Henne was doomed to ride the pine until he was a senior, Matt Guttierez was a superstar, etc. Ryan Mallet was anointed, Tate Forcier grabs his heismans, etc.
DeleteI'm just saying - keep an open mind with QBs especially, and then add an EXTRA dose of that with a new staff.
Your prediction is straight boss homie!! Love it
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of world-class athletes 6'7" or taller. Why aren't more of them playing QB? Are they all playing hoops? I've always wondered why 6'5" / 6'6" seems like the unofficial QB height cut-off at high levels of football. Very few guys taller than that ...
ReplyDeleteWorld class athletes in what? You primarily only see guys that tall in sports where height is a huge advantage or requirement. Basketball is not a good reference because the minimum height requirements are so significant. And as is pointed out above, taller guys tend to have coordination issues.
Delete"There are plenty of world-class athletes 6'7" or taller."
DeleteThis is -- not accurate.
A lot of basketball players aren't fast and athletic in the sense of football. They aren't as strong/fast to run the ball. This is especially true if they are 6'7 or taller.
DeleteGood post!
ReplyDeleteI like that you listed out your rationale for this, because at face - a true freshman slated to be the 3rd string QB (at best) doesn't seem very likely to be a valuable contributor.
The second reason you listed (situational use) is interesting. I find it a little hard to believe though. Bell was 6'6 and a pretty unique talent but even he red-shirted. Eventually he moved to TE, so this wasn't exactly a shining success. Tebow was 6'3 - you know his story - Gentry aint him. If he's really 6'7 or 6'8 is Genery a substantially better player than say Morris, even if Michigan does have some sort of jumbo package in mind? Maybe but it seems like a stretch.
For the record, I love the idea of a situational package like this. I'm very pleased we have Rudock at the helm, but he's clearly not a bigtime play-making talent. It's be nice to throw off defenses with a package that is less vanilla than what I'm expecting to see from the 'regular' offense. I just have doubts about the short-term effectiveness of Gentry in that kind of role.
The first reason is a throw-away - Harbaugh likes all his recruits and he has 8 QBs or whatever, including the 3 this staff brought in. The third reason is intriguing. It'll be a fun story to watch this fall.
QB and OL are the two positions where I prefer guys red-shirt when they can but if Gentry is actually talented enough to play right away that will be pretty exciting. Personally, I think it's more likely he red-shirts and eventually ends up at TE, but I'd love to be wrong.
Redshirting is not going to be a priority at the QB position, especially this year. Returnees do not appear to be particularly good, and they have a one year rental on the likely starter. Gentry is Harbaugh's hand-picked guy, and he needs to be fast tracked in order to prepare for the 2016 competition (at minimum). Back-up or short-yardage snaps are valuable for development, and should not be wasted on guys that Harbaugh does not think are very good. If we learned anything from how Harbaugh handled Kapernik, it is that he is willing to take a risk on talent over seniority.
DeleteYeah, I don't think Harbaugh is going to worry about redshirting. He wants/needs to win now. Plus I believe Landry Jones was entrenched as the QB when Blake Bell was starting out at Oklahoma, so there wasn't really a need to burn Bell's redshirt. Michigan is going to have to be creative to move the ball and score points, but Oklahoma had talent.
DeleteYou can worry about rs down the line when you have heaps of talent at the position. At this point I dont see heaps of talent. A lot of meh players and 1 guy who cant play this year and 1 guy who has 1 yr of eligibililty. It would be different in 3 years.
DeleteThe question is - does a freshman QB help you win now when you have Rudock and Morris? If not - you red-shirt the kid.
DeleteFor all we know the 2016 QB competiton will be OKorn and Morris and Peters...or maybe another 5th year transfer.
I think the red-shirt should be Plan B - don't get me wrong. I'd LOVE it if Gentry was a 4 year starter from day 1. Given how raw he is reported to be, I just really doubt that's the reality. I think this is a season where you let Morris and Rudock try to be game managers. but we'll see.
Seeing a SF-sized guy who can run around would be pretty unique. Pair him with Ty Isaac at RB, Pallante at FB, Wheatley at TE, and Dukes at WR and we'd have the Offensive Linesiest offense in all the land. Onwenu hit campus yet?
ReplyDeleteI would be really surprised if he doesn't redshirt unless Morris and at least one other QB are gone. If he is just a third string QB then that is a very costly redshirt to burn.
ReplyDeleteAgreed..barring injury, it won't much matter who our third string QB is. We probably won't have many games this year when we have the luxury of a big lead early enough to give our 2nd guy some snaps and then get to the third, and even if we did, at that point, he doesn't have to be very good.
DeleteThat's the whole point of the post. If he's "just" a third-string QB who only plays if the first two guys get injured, then I agree he should redshirt...but he's not going to be, at least from what I gather. That would be like saying "If he's just our nickel corner, he should redshirt" or "If he's just our slot receiver, he should redshirt." He is a guy who will probably have certain packages in which he will be called upon to play, just like a nickel corner or a slot receiver. And considering that in his special packages, he'd be receiving the snap, then that's fairly important.
DeleteWell, at this point, nobody knows what he's going to "be" for sure. And a nickel corner gets used many times in every game. Is our running game and OLine going to be so shaky that we need to use Gentry in short yardage situations that often? Are we actually going to win games by using him that we wouldn't if we didn't? Because that's the only justification I can see for burning his redshirt.
Delete@Thunder -- You seem uncharacteristically confident about this scenario coming to fruition... I'm intrigued.
Delete@ Anonymous 11:25 a.m.
DeleteWe might win some games using Gentry that we wouldn't otherwise. Jake Rudock is not a running quarterback, and while Morris is a decent runner, he's not ~235 lbs. with the ability to run through a linebacker or safety.
@ Lanknows 2:56 p.m.
I'm not necessarily 100% confident that I'm right. But I think some people are confusing what I'm saying, so the clarification might make it seem like I'm more confident than I am. I'm simply trying to get across that my ranking of him here implies that he is not just your average #3 quarterback (like, say, Russell Bellomy last year) but a situational quarterback (like Blake Bell, Tim Tebow as a freshman, etc.). It's a noteworthy difference.
FWIW, I thought it was pretty clear in the original post, but clearly not for everyone...
DeleteCouple possible reasons: longer limbs equals longer delivery equals slower release. Now that now also the case (Peyton manning), but I've seen alot of tall QBs with long, slow deliveries. It's something that can definitely be coached though. Secondly, it takes time for someone with all those long moving parts to get everything in sync, especially if they're only 18 and still growing. For example, Randy Johnson struggled early on his career as a pitcher because it was difficult to repeat his pitching motion with long limbs
ReplyDeleteBut can he return kickoffs?
ReplyDeleteRyan Mallet was 6'7"
ReplyDeletewas or still is? did he shrink?
DeleteHow can he have 6 TD's when he never sees the field!? If he was an early enroll player i might see it differently. Also, didn't New Mexico just add football to their High schools a year or so ago?!
DeleteYes I said it
He is your Tebow guy where he goes in on 2nd and 3 from the 3 yard line.
DeleteHe makes the other team worry about the run. He is also an option for 3rd and goal with 6 inches to go. Long limbs and all.
Word outta camp is Gentry is getting reps @ TE, good call Thunder
ReplyDelete