This past summer, everything seemed hazy for Quintez Cephus and his future. He was, after all, not technically even a Wisconsin student. All of a sudden, there was rapid clarity that he would not only be a Badger, but one of the most essential pieces of Wisconsin’s offense in 2019.
Cephus was under trail for sexual assault allegations, and his football career was under trail as well as a result. After his full acquittal, Cephus was reinstated as a Badger student on August 12th, just over two weeks before UW’s season opener. The junior was then given permission to practice and play in UW’s season, a proposition that a month earlier had been entirely up in the air.
The Georgia native starred in his role as Jack Coan and the aerial attack’s go-to weapon. The 6-1 receiver finished with 59 grabs for 901 total yards and seven touchdowns. The highlight reel was as impressive as any receiver in the country, and especially impressive in an offense designed around the ground game. From a nasty grab at the goal line over two Ohio State defenders in the Big Ten Championship game to a 47-yard touchdown against Minnesota, it was clear that Cephus was an NFL talent.
After declaring for the NFL draft, the NFL combine was a mixed bag for the talented athlete. He led all wide receivers in bench press reps, but ran a 4.73 40-yard dash. Luckily for Cephus, Wisconsin’s pro day was one of the last events before Covid-19 shut down the sporting world. Less than two weeks after struggling in the 40-yard dash at the combine, the wide receiver ran a 4.56 in Madison at UW’s pro day.
Despite not having blazing speed, Cephus showed he has next-level ability in single coverage, as an athlete, and as a pass catcher. Often times, a fast 40-yard dash time will lead to unrealistic hype surrounding a receiver, while a slower one can hurt their draft stock. For Cephus, he checks almost every other box that you want an NFL receiver to check. It’s all on film:
For teams that are looking for an upgrade in their receiver room, Cephus is the type of NFL Draft day three guy that can make an impact right away.