Preview: Elite 11 Nashville
The Elite 11 Regional tour is drawing to a close, with only two events remaining on the calendar, but neither the Nashville (Tenn.) or Los Angeles (Cali.) event will disappoint when it comes to talent.
The tour heads to Lipscomb Academy on Sunday. The prestigious Nashville school's current head coach is Trent Dilfer, who also serves as the head coach of the Elite 11 coaching staff. This weekend's event is filled with star-power, which SI All-American previews here.
It starts with the home-state in this event. No name is more prominent than 2022 Westview High School and Alabama commitment Ty Simpson. Simpson is the highest-rated quarterback to come out of Tennessee in the modern recruiting era, and it is not even close. Simpson has played baseball for the majority of the spring, and he has yet to be active on the 7-on-7 scene, so he will look to remind everyone of his natural arm talent on Sunday. The layout of the event is ideal for Simpson's style of play, as he is more comfortable working off-platform than he is in the pocket at times. He will look to improve his stock and show that the Alabama quarterback lineage will remain intact for years to come.
Simpson's not the only big name from the Volunteer State who will be in attendance. Memphis-area gunslinger Tevin Carter has been on the recruiting scene for the majority of his high school career. An injury setback as a sophomore and a pandemic-modified junior season has slowed his recruitment at times. He is weighing multiple options, with Memphis and Texas A&M running out in front of the pack. He will bring as big of an arm as any participant to the event, but he will look to show his all-around ability for the day. Summit's Destin Wade led the Spartans to a state title last year, and the athlete prospect chose to be the quarterback in Kentucky's 2022 class over other options. He will look to show why the Wildcats have the belief in him they have demonstrated on the recruiting front.
The most prominent underclassmen from Tennessee hails from perennial power Montgomery Bell Academy. Highly touted 2023 prospect Marcel Reed already holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. He is a poised passer who stands tall in the pocket and delivers well to all areas of the field. Sunday will be an early look at how he stacks up against other elite signal-callers. He will be joined by fellow 2023's in Powell's Jordyn Potts and White Station's Braylen Ragland, and both hold early offers.
The event will see an influx of talent from outside the state as well. Oregon commitment Tanner Bailey comes up from the Yellowhammer state as does recent Louisville pledge Khalib Johnson. Bailey will be joined by Florida State pledge Nicco Marchiol who makes the long trip from Arizona, coveted Rutgers commitment Gavin Wimsatt from Kentucky and uncommitted prospect MJ Morris from Georgia. In terms of uncommitted prospects in attendance, Morris will receive the vast majority of attention. The coveted dual-threat prospect holds more than 30 FBS offers, and he has multiple suitors, including Georgia Tech and Nebraska.
Other names to watch throughout the course of the day include 2022 David Dallas from Georgia, 2022 UNLV commitment Jayden Maiava of Hawaii, 2022 Cade Law of Tennessee, 2022 Caleb Nix of Alabama, 2022 in-state Southern Miss commitment Zach Wilcke and 2022 Marshall commitment Peter Zamora out of South Carolina.
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