If you haven’t heard of the Elite 11 chances are you are not a close follower of college football. It is the best quarterback competition for high school talent in the US. Every year 12-14 kids will get selected to attend the Elite 11 finals after 6 to 8 regional competitions. Not to mention the plenty of notable alumni, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Teddy Bridgewater, Tua Tagovailoa, Deshaun Watson, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, Justin Fields, Trevor Lawerence, and many more.
Although the competition wasn’t always very popular the recent talent of QBs it has produced speaks for itself. In the past 3 years of the College Football Playoff, there have been 8 appearances by Elite 11 Finals QBs. Every single one has had at least 2 QBs in the Elite 11 in the finals and the trend looks to continue for at least another year with Trevor Lawerence and Justin Fields both expected to make the final four. It is safe to say this completion is pretty valuable to see the next QB star. Instead of talking about past winners of the camp, we are going to look at the future.
Elite 11 2018
In this class, the two QBs who made the finals of the tournament have yet to see the field in Taulia Tagoviloa and Spencer Rattler. Although both are expected to be on top once they get their shot. Rattler will start his college football year this year at Oklahoma and Tagoviloa (Maryland) will get his shot next year due to transfer rules. We got to see Bo Nix (Auburn) and Jaydon Daniels (Arizona State) have great years at their respective schools and it is only the beginning for this class. And don’t forget about Sam Howell from UNC who had a decent year under a great coach in Mack Brown and should improve throughout the next few years. All 5 of these guys have NFL potential and should they grow, they have a great shot at it. This year, playoff wise I think most people will be watching Rattler and Nix and see if they can capitalize on a chance for the playoff. Oklahoma has a strong offensive core that should be able to help Rattler adjust to college football. Then you have Nix who took at Alabama in his first year, not only that, but he knows the offense. Weakened Alabama and LSU, this may just be the year for the Auburn Tigers to get in.
Elite 11 2019
CJ Stroud is the man to watch coming out of this class and is also the MVP from this class. He is committed to Ohio State and is next is line behind Justin Fields in Columbus. He completed 65-86 passes and put up 12 touchdowns leading his team to a championship in the 7 on 7. Behind him everyone should also watch out for Bryce Young who is committed to Alabama, he was on point in the competition throwing zero interceptions and only 5 incompletions. Haynes King committed to Texas A&M is another one that everyone should be watching. Training under Jimbo Fisher and a senior QB in Kellen Mond should transform the kid for college football. Then rounding out the list is Chandler Morris who is from Highland Park, Texas and is committed to Oklahoma. Although he didn’t do too well in the Elite 11 any OU qb should be at the top of these lists from their past success.
Elite 11 2020
In the 2020 Elite 11, the Oklahoma Sooners led the hype once again picking up the Finals MVP in Caleb Williams. Not only that, but OU got another one of the QB’s in this class committed in Brock Vandagriff before Brock chose to attend Georgia. Not only does Caleb have a great arm, but he also is very mobile and accurate as well. He looks like a star already and he hasn’t even left high school yet. Next on this list is JJ McCarthy fro IMG academy, he is one of the most accurate QBs in this competition not only in Elite 11 but also on tape as well. He is committed to Michigan and should be great in that offense with his accuracy. Rounding out this list for future stars is Brock Vandagriff. Although he didn’t have a great Elite 11 it was still pretty good and his highlight tape speaks for itself. He was the most accurate in the Elite 11 and has the potential to be great if he is able to develop at Georgia.
Oklahoma University
OU is turning into the QB hot spot and rightfully so after back to back number one picks, two Heisman trophy winners, one runner up, and 3 playoff appearances in a row. Lincoln Riley is just the coach you want to have if you are a young high school QB. They now have 3 more Elite 11 QBs coming in, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had another back to back in there with the Heisman trophy. This is turning into the QBU and Lincoln Riley is not afraid to say it. One of his latest tweets showed the OU QB success and OU’s success, it is really hard to see this team fading from college football for a long time to come.
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