Thune's Final Composite Rankings From Elite11 Finals
The Elite11 finals have come and gone, and Sooner target Caleb Williams quite unsurprisingly took home MVP honors. Given the fact that the Elite11 rankings factor in tape as well as event performance, it comes as no surprise that Williams earned the crown. However, though his tape is undeniably fantastic, Williams didn’t run away with the finals competition this week in Nashville.
He did dominate opening night, which consisted primarily of drills and challenges. Williams flashed his uncanny arm strength and ball placement throughout the evening, and staked himself to an early lead over the other participants.
On Day 2 of competition, Williams scuffled a bit, going just 12-of-19 on his pro day script. Though he did display nice timing and touch on downfield throws, he was decidedly upstaged by Ty Thompson, Carlos Del Rio, J.J. McCarthy and others.
The quarterbacks expected 7-on-7 action come Day 3, but COVID-19 concerns prompted Elite11 staff to revise their plans. Instead of live action, the competitors took on an eight-station accuracy gauntlet, in which they delivered throws to ring targets. Players were given a maximum of 30 seconds to complete each throw, and had to successfully toss the ball through the ring in order to move on. They earned a two-second time deduction for a throw that hit the target but didn’t pass through.
Brock Vandagriff, the former Sooner recruit, won the Day 3 event by a wide margin. His time of 1 minute, 43 seconds was nearly half a minute faster than the closest competitor (Carlos Del Rio, 2:11). Williams’ time of 3:13 ranked 12th among the field.
Williams’ tape was quite obviously the tipping point, as he probably wouldn’t have won the crown based on his event performance alone. Nevertheless, he still graded out very close to the top in my event-specific composite rankings.
Here’s a look at how I ranked the 20 signal-callers solely based on their performances in Nashville.
1) Carlos Del Rio - In my eyes, the Florida commit was the top performer on the weekend by a nose. He didn’t look spectacular on Day 1, but his pro day script on Day 2 was easily the best in the field. He placed second in the accuracy gauntlet challenge on Day 3, cementing his spot atop my rankings.
2) Caleb Williams - Despite his comparatively lackluster Day 2 and Day 3 showings, Williams still displayed the best arm talent in the field. He acknowledged that he was off his game during his pro day workout, and he still looked nearly as sharp as the session’s top performers. Now he just needs to become more comfortable throwing to his weak side, and he’ll be an unstoppable force.
3) Brock Vandagriff - The Georgia commit looked noticeably stiff in his mechanics on opening night, and appeared fatigued by the end of his pro day session. However, the fact that he won the accuracy gauntlet challenge by as much as he did is not to be overlooked. He didn’t do quite enough to win this week, but he’s got all the tools to be as good as anyone in the class as a collegian.
4) J.J. McCarthy - McCarthy was solid over all three days, but really came on strong in his pro day workout Tuesday. He throws a beautiful ball, and he’s got polished footwork and above-average accuracy. There’s definitely an argument that the Michigan pledge was the most impressive this week, but he left something to be desired with his consistency.
5) Ty Thompson - The Oregon commit squandered his chance at the crown with a below-average performance in the accuracy gauntlet challenge, as his accuracy wavered for the first time all week. However, he looked as strong as anybody through two days of competition. His stock will definitely see an uptick once recruiting analysts look over his pro day film.
6) Kyle McCord - After an alarming opening night, McCord rebounded in a big way on Tuesday. He showcased his downfield passing ability with several perfectly placed throws to the third level, and he followed that up with a 2:53 time in the accuracy gauntlet. He doesn’t have quite the same zip on the ball as guys like McCarthy and Williams, but the future Buckeye is a very refined quarterback who can throw to his weak side confidently.
7) Miller Moss - He’s not a flashy quarterback, but Moss has phenomenal short and intermediate accuracy. He registered a top-ten time in the accuracy gauntlet, clocking in at 3:07. Most of his misses during the drill came high and low, indicating that his mechanics are largely sound. And while many of his peers tried to gun the ball through the targets, Moss put a little more arc on his throws to better control them.
8) Drake Maye - The Tar Heels commit had the best pace of any participant in the accuracy gauntlet; at one point, he ripped off seven dropbacks and throws within 15 seconds. He started to tire as the drill progressed, but remained efficient and showed good life on his spiral. But in the end, a rough Day 1 and an up-and-down pro day cost him a top-5 finish.
9) Garrett Nussmeier - Texas’ top pro-style QB very surprisingly struggled in the accuracy gauntlet, as he hit just 3 of 8 targets and recorded the fifth-worst score in the field. It was a sour end to what had been a strong week for the LSU commit. However, he looked poised throwing to his weak side, and I took notice of the fact that he never cheated a dropback.
10) Kyron Drones - The Baylor pledge logged the fourth-fastest time in the accuracy gauntlet, finishing the eight stations in 2:40. He was dialed in with his intermediate passes, but looked iffy on the deeper throws. He’s got room to improve the consistency of his release, but he looks the part of a Power 5 quarterback and has good life on the ball.
11) Maddox Kopp - Kopp earns the final spot in my Elite 11, and I have to imagine he’ll be getting calls from several Power 5 programs by the end of the week. The unheralded three-star quarterback shook off some early jitters on Day 1 to knock off Caleb Williams in the rail challenge, and looked sharp with his pro day script. He wasn’t spectacular in the accuracy gauntlet, but still managed a respectable time of 3:06. The arm talent is there; he just has to learn to rein it in and hammer down his release point.
12) Tyler Macon - Macon might have earned a spot in my Elite 11 if he’d just made a couple more throws in the accuracy gauntlet, but his time of 3:10 left him squarely in the middle of the pack. It was very much indicative of his performance in the event as a whole, as Macon’s highs weren’t especially high and his lows weren’t especially low. I like the Missouri commit’s footwork, and he’s got above-average ball placement too.
13) Behren Morton - The future Texas Tech Red Raider was one of seven quarterbacks to break three minutes in the accuracy gauntlet, as he logged a time of 2:51. He’s got a cannon of an arm, but struggles to repeat his throwing motion. Nevertheless, most of his misses weren’t egregiously poor, and he showed off his flair for the deep ball with an impressive pro day session.
14) Dematrius Davis - The Auburn commit has a very compact, explosive release on the ball, but has a tendency to short-arm his passes. He only missed two targets in the accuracy gauntlet, but still took 3:16 to finish. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who excels as a runner, so while he isn’t the most refined passer of the group, he certainly has as high a ceiling as any of them.
15) Grayson James - The uncommitted three-star recruit was the biggest surprise of Day 3, as his time of 2:23 in the accuracy gauntlet bested everyone but Vandagriff and Del Rio. He came out with guns blazing, hitting 7 of 8 targets within the allotted 30-second periods. Vandagriff and Williams were the only other quarterbacks to hit on 7 of their 8 throws before time ran out. It wasn’t a great week on the whole for James, but based on his Day 3 performance alone, he’s sure to gain interest from a Power 5 school or two in the near future.
16) Kaidon Salter - The future Volunteer looked awful on Day 1, had a nice rebound performance on Day 2, then returned to the gutter on Day 3. As he did on opening night, Salter one-hopped a bevy of throws in the accuracy gauntlet, and only some sharp intermediate passing in his pro day workout saved him from a bottom-three finish in my rankings. He needs to develop greater fluidity with his arm path.
17) Luke Altmyer - The Florida State commit was my sleeper pick heading into the finals, and he got off to a torrid start on Day 1. However, his pro day was milquetoast at best, and he didn’t seem to have any semblance of composure or precision in the accuracy gauntlet. His time of 3:53 was second-worst among the competitors. i love Altmyer’s footwork and quick release, but he’s got to become more consistent before he’s ready to play big-time college football.
18) Christian Veilleux - Like Altmyer, Veilleux crashed and burned after a near-flawless opening night. His time in the accuracy gauntlet was 3:55, good for dead last in the field. He looked rattled after a streaky pro day performance, and struggled to throw the ball on the run. The Penn State commit is a prototypical pocket passer, but he’s got to clean a few things up before he’s ready for Big Ten competition.
19) Jay Allen - By now, Allen’s storyline should be familiar: he’s a Florida baseball commit, and isn’t ranked as a football prospect. He understandably struggles to throw a clean spiral, but he’s accurate and athletic on his feet. He actually beat out Garrett Nussmeier in the accuracy gauntlet, clocking a time of 3:24.
20) Tyler Buchner - There’s no sugarcoating this one: the Notre Dame commit was abysmal in Nashville, from his mechanics to his mentality. His arm action and release looked juvenile. No one would have accused Buchner of being a five-star prospect based on his performance this week, as he missed throws left, right, high and low. HIs only shining moment was a nice deep ball on the run during his pro day workout. For the most part, he simply didn’t look like he belonged. To put it lightly, Fighting Irish fans far and wide should be more than a little uneasy trusting Buchner with the future of their program.
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