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Elite 11

SHSUHorn

Thief
There isn't a more prestigious quarterback camp in the country than the Elite 11, and after day two of the camp in Southern California all 12 of the signal-callers have had a chance get adjusted to the schedule, but as expected several signal callers have seemingly really found their groove.

Texas pledge John Brantley has impressed the first two days at the camp.
Most observers at the camp have pegged John Brantley as the top gun so far, and Elite 11 analyst Brian Stumpf said he can see why after two very solid days of workouts.

"He's showed us a lot of what he did at the NIKE Camp, where he blew everybody away," Stumpf said about the Texas Longhorn pledge.

"He's so smooth and solid. His arm strength would probably be somewhere near the middle of the pack with this group, but he's just so accurate and well schooled.

"We were talking to the kids today about how 70 percent of all quarterbacks that get drafted were either kids that have coaches in their family or their parents were a coach on some sort of level. It's very clear from watching John that he's much further ahead of a lot of the other guys. He wants to redshirt at Texas, but he's easily one of the most college-ready guys here. He's very solid in all the things that you want from a major college-ready quarterback. Throw him in there with all those athletes at Texas, and he should be able to play right away if he wants to."

Rivals.com recruiting analyst Greg Biggins went on even further explains how impressive that Brantley has been.

"Brantley by far has been the best," Biggins said. "He's got it all. He's like the prototype guy. He's got the great frame, and he's so fundamentally sound. He's always on balance. He's great in the chalk talks. He always picks up all the drills right away. He doesn't make the wrong read and he makes such quick decisions.

"That's one of the biggest things we liked about Matthew Stafford last season. Brantley can compare to Stafford in all of those areas. He's a great kid and a great work ethic.

"He's been as close to perfect as you can be in a camp like this."

Stumpf said all of the quarterbacks have had their good moments during the first two days of the workouts, but he's also personally been impressed with the play of Ryan Mallett.

"Physically, Mallet has a certain couple things that help him stand out above the others," Stumpf said. "His statue (6-foot-7, 235 pounds) is obviously a lot bigger than the other guys out here. And it's been said time after time that he's got the biggest arm that's come through here in a few years.

"He's had a couple of really strong days, and it's clear that he's really starting to give his total focus to football. He likes to have fun, chat with everybody and just enjoy everything that goes with being a quarterback. But he's been doing a good job of hitting it hard in the classroom part.

"He's got all the ability, but he just needs to show that ability in the classroom and work hard at the little things that go with being one of the best quarterbacks in the nation."

Biggins said he was also impressed with Mallett's workouts the first two days.

"Mallett has the best arm that we've seen in eight years," Biggins said. "He's off the charts with that. And I agree with Brian that he should get more credit for his complete game."

Stumpf said Mallett's arm is obviously the biggest thing that jumps out about him, but the future Wolverine quarterback has surprised some people with his footwork. That was easily the biggest question mark about the five-star quarterback heading into the event.

"He'll develop physically, and he's got quicker feet than people thing," Stumpf said. "He's been a guy that the counselors and Bob Johnson have been impressed with so far through the first two days. He's really worked on his footwork and you can tell."

Biggins' next best so far after two days would be Willy Korn, the Clemson commitment from Duncan (S.C.) James F. Byrnes.

"Basically everything I said about Brantley, you could say about Willy," Biggins said. "He's an athlete kid that just has this bounce about him. He's almost like a basketball guy with the way he's always so energetic and excited about things.

"He's just got this something special about him. He's got all the tools and should be a great one for Clemson."

Biggins also singled out Jarrett Lee, saying he had the quickest release of any other quarterback in the camp. He also said Lee, an LSU commitment, has impressed in chalk talk by asking all the right questions. He's also been impressed with Georgia commitment Logan Gray of Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge and USC pledge Aaron Corp of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran.

"Logan has really been on his A-game out here," Biggins said.

"His arm has been really live. He knows all the drills, he's smart, he's quick and he's a phenomenal kid. With Aaron, he has everything but the arm. I keep calling him a right-handed Matt Leinart. He's really skinny at this point, like Leinart in high school, but he's smart, accurate and he makes the right decision every time. He's a winder, and a good leader with a quiet confidence. He just doesn't have the same zip as some of the others out here."

To play quarterback, you have to have a great sense of leadership and each one of the 12 quarterbacks at the event have a personality that just makes people want to do great things for them. However, it's becoming clearer and clearer that two guys have that little extra something special when it comes to the personality and leadership department.

"Quarterback is the ultimate leader position, and all of these guys are special in that department," Stumpf said.

"But Willy Korn and Stephen Garcia are guys that always have a crowd around them. I think a lot of guys have really enjoyed getting to know them. Whether if it's just hanging out off the field, watching TV, playing NCAA 2007 or hanging out at the beach, it just seems like everybody gravitates toward Willy and Stephen.

"They're definitely the life of the party."
 
To bad Jimmy "My parents held me back twice so I should be a sophmore in college" Clausen snubbed the Elite 11 because his handlers didn't want him to go.

What a joke. I would have loved to see him go against Brantley and some of the others.
 
good stuff horn...great to see mallett has impressed since I am a wolverine fan....it sounds like he has a cannon from everything I read when he was at UM's football camp a month or two ago.
 
I remember them saying Morelli had the strongest arm since George and Elway at the elite 11..

Also thought Sanchez was the best qb to come through there in many years
 
Mallet is a stud, and so is Brantley. It's going to be interesting to see how things go with Snead and Brantley in the Horn depth chart. I think Brantley redshirts for a year.

Speaking of Clausen, I think this picture is telling:

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Some past participants Ben Rothlesberger, Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, VY, Chris Leak, and David Carr come to mind.

Yes Sanchez was awesome when he won the Elite 11 MVP his year. Georgia's Matthew Stafford dominated last year.

John Brantley will win it this year.
 
BTW: I'm not sure if you've seen Mack qoutes during the Big 12 media day the other day.

He was talking about how hard it was to get a QB recruit to come to Texas. During practice the recruit came to watch and VY was suppose to throw 10 different passes. After 6 perfect ones the recruit left. Everybody in the media laughed.

It is a true story though and the recruit was Kyle Wright.
 
this is why apperently troy smith came to tOSU I believe...I think I read on Bucknuts that Smith competed against Zwick in this camp and despite Zwick being most recruited QB we'd had in 20 years...he knew he'd beat him head up in a QB competition...
 
jump, VY and Smith were roomates at that Elite 11 camp. That is why they are such good friends. Smith is very popular with the Longhorn nation because of his comments after the Fiesta Bowl where he said USC hasn't seen anything like Texas and Vince.
 
This is the kind of stuff that goes along with being amongst the best schools in recruiting. Programs try to recruit the best in the nation and the great programs (Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, etc.) will sometimes have guys on the roster that are not use to "sitting on the bench." Most of these top recruits want to go and actually play somewhere.

I believe there was similar scenario at Oklahoma last season: Three QBs were vying for starting positions Bomar, Grady and Thompson. Grady was a very good pocket passing QB, but the offense was moving in the direction of a "mobile" QB. That meant Bomar or Thompson. Grady, who would have been an excellent back-up for Oklahoma, decided instead to transfer to BYU. We know how the rest of the story went.

Guys, do you ever remember hearing about players transferring so much back in the 70s, 80s, or even early 90s?? These new recruits are pumped out of high school as NFL caliber talent. Then they get into college and very few pan out that way. This Elite 11 school promotes that sort of attitude. I don't think there is a single player at that camp that will ever play "second fiddle" on a football program. I don't care much for that sort of approach, but I guess it's where we're at now.

That's also why I like Leach and his program so well. He's basically taken the attitude that he can take any QB and plug them into his system and they'll be successful. Of course it will be interesting to see what transpires with a Soph. QB starting and running the program for the next 3 years. Leach may run into the same problems other coaches are experiencing in recruiting now.

Use to you could get excited over a recruit coming into your favorite team. Now days, there is no guarantee they will stay once they get there.

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I think Jeff Tedford is another one. Only difference is his QBs get picked in the first round and bust in the NFL.
 
I know Matt Norgden personally and that guy never played and he got a TON of pussy.

So did Kyle Shanahan and Chris Simms.
 
I can't believe we stole this guy out of Florida. Especially when his HS coach Kerwin Bell is a former Gator as is his dad. Both were QBs for Florida I think.
 
Yeah, apparently you don't have to be goodlooking to get all the girls you want. Just being a stud athlete is usually enough.

Case in point: Dennis Rodman.

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SHSUHorn said:
I can't believe we stole this guy out of Florida. Especially when his HS coach Kerwin Bell is a former Gator as is his dad. Both were QBs for Florida I think.

Which means he was going to be a Gator...until Meyer showed up with the spread offense...and got Tebow.

This guy is much more of a traditional passer and he was not going to see playing time until Tebow was done since the offense is built for a mobile, option QB.

Interesting to see us go for a traditional QB after VY.

On another note, our DB recruit Wells is trying to graduate in December to get in for spring. Wells along with Brown are a couple of great pickups for the Horn secondary but I'd like to see a couple more DL and LB recruits to round off this class.

On yet another note: ordered my Texas media guide today. Awesome with 2 3-D pictures on the outside covers of the rings and Texas's record under Mack.
 
When you're considered one of the top prospects at your position, it's only natural to want to test your skills to see how you stack up. For 12 of the country's top signal callers, that opportunity took place earlier this week at the annual Elite 11 quarterback camp.

John Brantley took full advantage. Texas commit John Brantley put on a dominating performance at the Elite 11 camp.

The Texas commit reportedly put on a showing that will stack up with the top quarterbacks in recent years, and the top-shelf performance has the Longhorn fan base abuzz. The Ocala Trinity Catholic standout took home camp MVP honors while also winning the awards for Most Likely to Succeed in College, Most Likely to win a National Title and Best Leader. Brantley said he's certainly pleased with his performance, especially how he finished up the camp.

"I thought I started out a little slow but as the week went on I got more comfortable with the setting and I thought I did a lot better," he said.

The college quarterbacks that served as camp counselors were reportedly blown away by Brantley's efforts, and Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko said he projects big things for Brantley in a Longhorn uniform.

"He really had a great week," Palko told Student Sports. "He has all the physical tools and if he just keeps working hard and stays healthy, he's going to have a very successful college career."

Overall, Brantley said the camp was everything he was hoping it would be, and he took advantage of his time to pick up some tips that will help him improve his game and prepare him for life as a college athlete.

"It met my expectations," he said. "The coaches were great. The counselors there were awesome. They broke you down and looked at the little things with the chalk talk. They all did a great job.

"They taught me stuff on the field and off the field. They taught me about decision making off the field that really helps you out in college. So they taught us about doing things right off the field and on the field. I took it all in."

On the recruiting front, Brantley remains 100 percent solid in his commitment to Texas and the thought of looking elsewhere hasn't even crossed his mind.

"I haven't second guessed my decision and I don't plan on it," he said. "I'm still really strong with it and I haven't thought about anything else."

Up next, Brantley and his Trinity Catholic teammates will hit the practice fields on Monday as they prepare to defend their state title. As one might expect, Brantley is anxious to get back in action.

"I'm excited to get the season going. I cannot wait until the first game," he said.
 
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