Saturday, July 16, 2005

Is the "Elite 11" QB camp a fraud?

Nebraska recruitniks are convinced Bill Callahan has Nebraska back on the road to greatness based on his recruiting. Many of them are drooling over how unstoppable the Huskers will become in a few years when the Huskers will have 2 QB's that were invited to the EA Sports "Elite 11 Quarterback camp".

So how have the "Elite 11" campers worked out? Pretty much a mixed bag:

1999
Starters: Jeff Smoker, Michigan State; Brock Berlin, Florida; Chris Rix, Florida State; Casey Clausen, Tennesee
Somewhat of a success: Matt Cassell, USC (Only because he got drafted by the NFL and he has backed up 2 Heisman winners at SC)
Misses: Roman Ybarra (played in 1-AA), Matt Lovecchio (played for Notre Dame then Indiana), Chance Mock (backup at Texas), Zac Wasserman (played in a Juco), Jon VanCleave (played for one of the directional Louisiana's), and John Rattay (bounced around between Tennessee and Arizona)

2000
Successes: Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and Purdue's Kyle Orton.
Other starters: Derek Anderson, Oregon State (almost has set a Pac-10 conference record for career interceptions), Kellen Clements, Oregon, Casey Paus, Washington
Misses: Nic Costa (playing receiver in 1-AA), Billy Hart (backup at USC), Ingle Martin (played for Florida), Adrian McPherson (kicked out of Florida State), D.J. Shockley (backup at Georgia), Paul Troth (played at East Carolina)

2001
Successes: Pitt's Tyler Palko, Texas' Vince Young, and Michigan State's Drew Stanton
Starters: Ohio State will choose between Justin Zwick and Troy Smith; UCLA's Drew Olson and Ben Olson; Stanford's Trent Edwards
Misses: Matt Guiterrez, Michigan; Anthony Martinez, Virginia; Ryan O'Hara, Arizona; Gavin Dickey, Florida (made some great catches for the Gators at the College World Series)

2002
Successes: Chris Leak, Florida
Expected 2005 Starters: Kyle Wright, Miami-FL; Andre Woodson, Kentucky; Blake Mitchell, South Carolina
Still unsure: JaMarcus Russell, LSU; Mike Affleck, BYU; Dennis Dixon, Oregon; Tommy Grady, Oklahoma; TC Ostrander, Stanford; Robert Lane, Mississippi
Misses: Justin Midget (played for Florida and quit), Clayton Richard (tried out at Michigan)

While there are a few college stars that have competed in this camp, it's no sure bet to stardom. In fact, when you look at the QB's who haven't been invited, such as #1 draft pick Alex Smith of Utah, you'd have to say that this camp isn't as meaningful as the hype. With the attention this camp gets each year, the camp itself probably ends up being the highlight of their career.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Uff Da... funny that the NCAA Sports 2005/2006 games always list your top QB recruits as Elite 11. Never knew that EA Sports was involved before that.
Let's face it, recruiting has become it's own industry now, which is really sad.