Eyes will be on Stratford alum Cephus at Wisconsin this fall
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
When he showed up at Wisconsin, Quintez Cephus was a bit of a question mark.
After all, he was a basketball guy for so long, and hadn't really played much football, and wasn't really recruited much for the gridiron.
Cephus is now an answer, a focal point, a major player on a major team that will again be in the national championship hunt.
Wisconsin was barely on the outside looking in for a College Football Playoff spot last year, despite losing its top receiver - Cephus - late in the season.
The Stratford grad is much quieter on social media, perhaps a sign of an even greater determination as he returns from a broken leg.
In the big picture, Cephus's receiving numbers in 2017 weren't exactly eyebrow-raising, even before he got hurt. After all, Wisconsin is an old-school run-first offense.
That may change a little bit more in 2018, thanks in large part to a healthy Cephus, who, according to Pro Football Focus, is the nation's leader in passer rating when targeted.
He gets the ball.
Cephus has been a complete offensive football player since arriving, patiently waiting his turn in the pass-catching rotation by being a high-energy downfield blocker, as well as by being a teammate who celebrates any and all successful plays, no matter how much he had to do with it.
And now, Cephus enters his junior year with mighty high expectations, a little more than one would've thought from a kid who had committed to play basketball at Furman back in the day.
The 6-1, 210-pounder will likely be at least a second-team all-conference preseason pick, and will find a spot on some preseason All-America teams perhaps. His physical play will put him higher and higher on the NFL's radar, despite a general lack of height.
Note, of course, that Cephus is taller than Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., Doug Baldwin, and Tyreek Hill, among others.
Here's a collection of recent coverage of Cephus and the expectations of 2018: