Elite 11 Quarterback Participant Getting Commodores Attention
The Elite 11 competition is the premier event in the nation for high school quarterbacks where players compete for the honor of being the best in the country.
That competition is taking place this week in Nashville with some of the top college quarterbacks in the country, including Ohio State's Justin Fields and Georgia's Jamie Newman, among them, working as counselors for the high school participants competing in the event.
One contender is Maddox Kopp, a current three-star prospect from Houston, Texas, St. Thomas High School.
The 6'5" 210-pound quarterback has a big arm and won the rail-shot competition at the event on Tuesday, beating both Fields and Newman along with the other high school signal-callers.
What is the rail shot, you ask?
Think Tua Tagovailoa's game-winning toss in the national championship game to beat Georgia in 2018, where the quarterback throws the deep sideline route over the top and into the arms of the streaking receiver.
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While Kopp's recruitment has been gaining steam, and will no doubt continue to grow with this week's work, the uncommitted quarterback prospect has seen interest and his offers grow.
One new team joining the list this week, according to Kopp, are the Vanderbilt Commodores, who the quarterback named in an Instagram interview with Sports Illustrated All-American's John Garcia.
While the Houston native lists the hometown Houston Cougars as perhaps his leader, he says he is open to all offers and will decide what is best for him from there.
The Commodores added four new quarterbacks to the roster in the class of 2020 but will look to add at least one in this cycle, and Kopp has the arm that most any college coach would be intrigued to have join their program.
As a junior, Kopp led St. Thomas to a 9-4 record and state semifinal appearance in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I. He also has a connection to the Commodores that might play a factor down the road.
His brother, Braden, is a redshirt junior who appeared in seven games as a redshirt sophomore in 2018 but did not see action in 2019 because of injury.
Kopp comes from an athletic family where not only does his older brother Braden play college sports, but his two other brothers Miller, and Anderson, both play basketball at the collegiate level for Northwestern and Lamar, respectively.
Derek Mason and Todd Fitch have work to do if they are to secure the younger Kopp's commitment, but the fact that his brother is a current Commodores won't hurt their efforts.
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