Elite 11 Pro Day: Ranking the QBs

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Rivals charted all 400 throws at Thursday’s Elite 11 Pro Day with a simple grading scale for each based on a number system, with a range from 3 down to 1. Three represented “money” throws, on-time and accurate. Two represented catchable balls on target. One represented an off-target attempt.

Here is our ranked order of QBs.

MORE ELITE 11: Day 1 top performers | Biggest question to be answered for each QB | Trever Jackson turns heads

UPDATED 2024 RANKINGS: Pro-Style QB | Dual-Threat QB

The Georgia commitment had the same score as Alabama pledge Julian Sayin on Thursday, but gets the edge for us because of the success of his long range wins. Raiola connected on all three tosses beyond 40 yards (Sayin went 1-for-3 on the same) and he wowed in the process. Not only was the powerful arm on full display, even more than we saw to open the competition on Wednesday, but Raiola was on time and worked with a great pace as well. Some of the longer shots created the most oohs and ahhs of the entire event.

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*****

Once again fantastic and nearly perfect with every throw, the five-star Alabama commit was as good as any quarterback at the event but he did miss one deep ball where he added a highlight-level aspect of trying to jump pass a bomb down the right side. It went just out of bounds but he came right back with a dime on a deep ball to the opposite side of the field and the remainder of his throws whether comebacks, crossing routes or anything else was precision.

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*****

Another strong campaign for the Notre Dame commitment, who just gets the job done. Nineteen of his 20 attempts were catchable and 16 of them were of the “money” variety, just one behind the mark of Raiola and Sayin. We thought the Michigan native worked the intermediate routes as well as any competitor and his third-level attempts were cleaner than his opening night performance as well. Carr is a true ball distributor.

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*****

The four-star from Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes is really making a case for a five-star bump in the next round of rankings. Noland, an Ohio State commit, was the best QB on the first night and came back with a fantastic showing in the Pro Day. Both of his early deep balls were right on the money, he threw a fantastic pass across his body going right and his rail shot down the sideline was perfectly placed as well. The lefty has made a real statement through two days.

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*****

The Mater Dei star, down to UCLA and Stanford, got red hot during the back-half of the script, throwing on time and comfortably to all three levels. Especially while working his front side, the anticipation and release point were near ideal more times than not for Brown. A smooth spiral helped him get strong arc on some of the deeper attempts, including while on the move.

*****

After struggling on the first night and finishing last in our ranking of the 20 quarterbacks, the Colorado commit bounced back in a big way during the Pro Day as he especially finished strong with great throws on the run (where he seems most comfortable), a nice rail shot, good RPO slants and then O’Neil showed great touch placing the ball over pads that were held up and fitting it to his receiver in the back of the end zone. The Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral product also threw two nice deep balls, one rolling to his right and then one across the field to his left although the ball did hang some.

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*****

The last of 20 passers to work through the script, Wilson likely had the least of wide receiver cooperation after a long near four-hour workout, but he flashed along the way anyway. The Utah commitment missed on his first two deep balls before settling down and working well both in the pocket and even working against the grain to his left. There is just an energy when Wilson is spinning it.

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*****

The top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the 2024 class had the nicest pass all night where he dodged pressure, ran to his right and then on the deep ball hit the receiver in perfect timing right on the sideline. Lagway’s throw drew oohs and aahs from all the quarterbacks and counselors watching and it was really a pinpoint pass. The Florida commit’s deep ball was very impressive despite one slight overthrow, he was solid on the crossing routes and comebacks, and looked better rolling to his right than left.

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*****

The uncommitted Floridian followed up his breakout debut with another strong effort Thursday, despite a bump in the road during the middle of the performance, having missed on an over route to the right and another backside. After that, though, Jackson showcased his smooth release and owned the intermediate routes with timing and strong touch.

*****

The Penn State commit started off a little too excited on the first night as a bunch of throws were high but he finally settled in and finished strong. Rated as a high three-star prospect, the Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy standout has a strong arm and the ball pops as he especially threw some nice crossers and was great throwing it down the seam. He did struggle on two throws going to his left and the deep ball that way wasn’t spinning well.

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*****

The Texas Tech commitment set a strong tone as the first prep performer to compete, registering the Elite 11 coaching staff’s second-highest mark of the night behind Sayin. Hammond was consistent in the pocket and worked well to his right to all three levels, including an ideal connection at the front pylon on the second longest throw in the script, a 7-cut (or corner route) late in the progression.

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*****

The four-star quarterback has had two solid performances – not spectacular but he also has not struggled much at all – and his Pro Day showing was on par with his first night performance. The South Carolina commit had some exceptional deep throws that really stood out both throwing to the right and left sides of the field and Reno also put it on the money down the seam. He was a little inconsistent with crossing routes.

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*****

The Nebraska pledge worked with strong pace and rhythm throughout the workout, at his best on conventional dropbacks. He was accurate on all but two tosses coming off of five-step drops, with even more efficiency while working to his front side.

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*****

Former Washington coach Chris Petersen was watching from the field and was apparently very impressed with Hurley’s performance – and it definitely had numerous highlights. The LSU pledge was spinning it very well, he threw on the run especially well both to his left and right, he was putting nice pace on his passes and not trying to loft it in there for accuracy sake. His rail shot and seam balls were really nice. He did have a touch of inaccuracy on his deep throws but it might have been an issue from the wide receiver so Hurley had a solid performance.

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*****

Despite the small stature, the Ole Miss commitment was among the most accurate deep ball passers during the pro day. He was also strong on out-breaking routes and while on the move, though second-level dig and over routes proved to be an inconsistent range for him on this night. Williams has some streakiness in him.

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*****

The four-star quarterback from Aledo, Texas, went through the gauntlet of throws and looked really impressive especially on the crossing routes, when he could throw on the run and on RPO slants where he’s probably most comfortable. A couple of his deep balls were overthrows and the TCU commit does need to load up sometimes because he’s undersized to get it that deep. Still, there’s something about his competitive level that has stood out through two days.

*****

The future Georgia quarterback was more inconsistent on Thursday compared to Wednesday, though he was quite comfortable working the short to intermediate windows during the pro day. It was the third level shots, throws of 40 yards or more in this setting, where he was a bit off the mark. Puglisi did show good pacing and touch in wrapping up his script with five straight money throws.

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*****

The Oklahoma commit threw a precision deep ball when rolling to his right when he opened up a little more and unloaded but on some others way down the field, Hawkins came up short. His compact delivery is excellent on short and mid-level throws and the ball comes out fast. But on deeper stuff, the four-star has to open up and unload a little more. His crossing stuff was very good but there were some misses throughout the round.

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*****

When the Michigan commitment was on, it drew an audible reaction, but when he was not, the misses were just as glaring. The arm strength shows up in short windows, but the long ball was more 50/50 on this night. Davis was best in the intermediate range.

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*****

There’s no other honest way to put it other than Kromenoek struggled more than the other quarterbacks in this event. The Florida State commit was much better on the first night but things sort of spiraled as his deep ball hung and then his next throw he didn’t get great spin on it. Peppered in were some really impressive throws that showed his capabilities but if he could have this showing back, Kromenhoek would try again because he has shown to be better.

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*****