Camp to feature top quarterbacks

The invitations are set and the dance card is full. So who are the 12 quarterbacks that are scheduled to compete in the EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback Camp that starts today in California? If you’re a fan that has been following Rivals100, many of these prospects should be household names by now.

The camp that kicks off today and runs through Sunday features 11 high school quarterbacks and one additional invitee. The one additional invitee is former Shreveport (La.) Evangel quarterback John David Booty. Booty would be one of the nation’s elite prospects in the Class of 2004, but he left school early and is already enrolled at USC, where he’s hoping to compete for some playing time.

But the others at the camp definitely represent some of the nation’s best of the best. Here’s a look at the 11 quarterbacks that’ll be on hand at the camp this week.

Rhett Bomar of Grand Prairie, Texas, is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 quarterback by Rivals.com. The five-star selection is 6-foot-4 and 205-pounds and is being courted by some of the nation’s top programs. At this point, it really looks like a battle between Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas. Bomar has a rocket arm that some college coaches have compared to John Elway, who is Bomar’s idol and why he wears No. 7.

Alonzo Bryant of Fort Valley, Ga., was one of the nation’s first recruits to make a commitment and he just happens to be one of the nation’s elite athletes. Ranked as a four-star athlete and the No. 1 overall player at the position by Rivals.com, Bryant is heading to Georgia. He was recruited as an athlete by UGA, but if he continues to blossom as a quarterback there is no telling what guru and head coach Mark Richt could do with him.

Kirby Freeman of Brownwood, Texas, has been a name that fans in Texas have been talking about for quite some time. At first it was because his father is a legendary coach and then it was because his older brother Colby was also a highly-touted recruit. But in the end, people across the nation have discovered what people in Texas have known about for a quite some time – Freeman is a very solid prospect heading to Miami to play his college football. To be exact, he is a solid prospect that is as the nation’s No. 7 dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com.

Brian Hildebrand of Corona, Calif., first grabbed Rivals attention at the Nike Camp held at USC last April and he has been impressing Rivals and others ever since. Hildebrand has incredible accuracy. The kind of accuracy that is reminiscent of Joe Montana. Accuracy isn’t the only thing to like about Hildebrand he can throw with touch and with zip on the ball. Hildebrand has thrown for 4,498 yards and 31 touchdowns for his career at Corona, while throwing for 1,898 yards and 22 touchdowns against only seven interceptions as a junior. Hildebrand has offers from Oregon State and San Diego State while getting recruiting attention from UCLA, Colorado and Arizona State

Cornelius Ingram of Hawthorne, Fla., is another athlete playing at the quarterback spot. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Ingram is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 overall athlete and a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. Many teams are recruiting him as a pure athlete and his exploits on the football field and the basketball court show that he’s one of the nation’s best in both sports. A camp like the Elite 11 should help Ingram out tremendously, since he’s identified improvement in his passing accuracy as one thing that might keep him from being a future All-American at quarterback.

Nathan Longshore of Canyon Country (Calif.) Canyon High has become Rivals100.com West Coast analyst Rick Kimbrel’s favorite new target. To put it mildly, Kimbrel has nothing but amazing things to say about Longshore. Words like cannon, rocket launcher, All-American and Heisman come rolling off Kimbrel’s tongue every time he talks about the 6-foot-5, 226-pound Longshore. Longshore is ranked as the nation’s No. 7 pro-style quarterback and a four-star pick by Rivals.com. But as like Kimbrel says, that might be too low.

Anthony Morelli of Pittsburgh Penn Hills is no stranger to the Elite 11 Camp. He participated in the camp as a ball-boy last season, which his a honor usually bestowed to only a few elite future prospects. And Morelli has done nothing to disappoint over his high school career. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Morelli is expected to pick between teams like Florida State, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. He’s a five-star selection by Rivals.com and ranked as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the nation.

Chase Patton of Columbia, Mo., has been one of Rivals100’s favorite quarterbacks in the nation for two years now. Ever since he was seen in a state playoff game last season against a powerful Kansas City Rockhurst team, Patton had convinced Rivals100 that he was one of the nation’s best and it looks like the rest of the country has caught on. Ranked as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback and a four-star prospect, Patton is all the rage with college coaches now. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Patton has a top group of Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and UCLA.

Not since Vince Young ripped defenses apart two years ago, has there been a more talked about dual-threat quarterback in Houston than Galena Park (Texas) North Shore four-star selection Robbie Reid. Reid is just really coming into his own, but still managed to earn all-district honors last season and is picking up scholarships from across the nation. Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Syracuse and Tennessee are just a few of his top teams at this point, but the nation’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback is definitely taking Houston and the nation by storm.

Ranked as the nation’s No. 6 dual-threat quarterback and a four-star selection by Rivals.com, Matthew Tuiasosopo is a very well-known name for fans of football out West. He’s the younger brother of former Washington Husky and current Oakland Raider Marques Tuiasosopo, but there is nothing little brotherish about his play. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound signal-caller has offers from some of the nation’s top teams and is looking hard at Nebraska, Notre Dame, USC, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.

Land O’ Lakes, Fla., is home to four-star selection Drew Weatherford and if you look at the 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback’s resume you would be very impressed. He threw for more than 2,400 yards and 37 touchdowns, but the most impressive number was his two – yes that’s right – interceptions. In more than 200 attempts, Weatherford, who is likely Florida State bound, only threw two picks. It’s that reason why he’s ranked as the nation’s No. 6 pro-style quarterback.