Former All-Pro receiver Steve Smith Sr. doesn't know what to make of TCU Horned Frogs wideout Quentin Johnston.
âPeople are saying he's fast,â Smith starts, âhe's uber-athletic, he's this, he's that. And I'm watching him. I like him. But then I can watch the next highlight and I don't.â
I like you but make me love you (pause) đ„ pic.twitter.com/vVe1nUdgbL
â Steve Smith Sr. (@SteveSmithSr89) February 1, 2023
âI'm literally struggling with him right now,â Smith continues.
âLike I'm going back and forth because I'm like is he slow? Like he doesn't look as fast as I expected. But then you watch him, and he catches a pass, jumps out, and he doesn't high point the ball like up here, he catches it like right here. Oh, he's athletic in that one, but then the next play he doesn't look athletic.â
âYou gotta watch so much film,â Smith concludes, âto really get an understanding [of] what kind of player is he?â
Article Continues Below6'4" TCU WR Quentin Johnston out here shaking the pants off every single DB in the Big 12
Insane post-catch quickness for a man this size pic.twitter.com/RP4AQW3UNo
â JetPack Galileo (@JetPackGalileo) January 23, 2023
Standing at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Johnston is considered by many to be the best wide receiver prospect in the country ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Armed with an exhilarating combination of size, speed and short-area quickness, Johnston notched a career-high 60 receptions in the 2022 season, amassing 1,069 receiving yards as he found the end zone six times. With a career average of 19.0 yards per catch, he's a downfield threat that clearly knows how to find separation.
There's a difference between game speed and a 40-yard dash, so after the NFL Combine, perhaps Smith will find that Quentin Johnston isn't going to run a 4.2 but that he's pretty fast with pads on. That said, as Johnston was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball and track), he likely is an above-average athletic all the same.