Where ESPN ranks Davis Mills among the best QB recruits in Elite 11 history
The Elite 11 was founded in 1999, and gives the nation's best quarterback recruits a chance to showcase their skills and compete against one another while proving who is the best of the best. The finalist are all winners from 10 regional camps throughout the spring, who come together in July to be mentored and tested by former pros, college players, and coaches.
The event starts off with individual instruction and is followed up with a mock pro day, on which quarterbacks are graded. The three-day event concludes with a 7-on-7 tournament with other elite skill position recruits. At the end of the finals, an Elite 11 MVP is selected.
The event has seen plenty of talent, as 13 of the past 14 Heisman-winning quarterbacks attended the Elite 11 finals or regional, and 26 out of the 32 current NFL were also apart of the finals or regional.
ESPN's Billy Tucker ranked the top 20 all-time performances at the Elite 11, and Stanford's Davis Mills was included with quarterbacks such as Matt Stafford, Jameis Winston, and Trevor Lawrence among others.
Mills was apart of the class of 2017, and was ranked as the No. 61 player according to ESPN's 300 rankings. Mills' class included players like Sam Ehlinger (Texas), Sean Clifford (Penn State), Jake Fromm (Georgia), and Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) among others. His performance at the event was the best for a majority of the event, but he was eventually out dueled by Tagovailoa.
Mills ranked No. 16 in the rankings of all-time performances according to Tucker, and here is why:
If not for Tua Tagavailoa's meteoric rise at the 2016 finals, Mills would have claimed MVP honors, checking all the boxes as a prototypical pocket passer with confidence and a calm, cool demeanor. Unlike recent top quarterback recruits, Mills had to wait his turn at Stanford. He was given the opportunity in his third year, when he finished with 1,960 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was poised to start the 2020 season, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic his season was cut to just five games, and he threw for 1,508 yards and seven touchdowns. The Houston Texans drafted him in the third round in 2021 and he threw for 2,664 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games as a rookie.
Tagovailoa who came in at No. 4 in the rankings, struggled during the beginning aspects of the camp, but when it came to the pro day and 7-on-7 portion he found his rhythm and beat out Mills for the MVP.
Mills and Tagovailoa will have a chance to square off during Week 12 of this upcoming NFL season, and maybe allow for Mills to avenge his Elite 11 loss.
