Caudle receives big honor, offer
Neil Caudle has long been considered one of the top Class of 2006 quarterback prospects in the South.
Tuesday, Caudle was announced as the fourth invitee to the EA SPORTS Elite 11, confirming his status as one of the top QB prospects in the entire nation.
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"Making this (the EA SPORTS Elite 11) has been
a goal of mine since I first heard about it from my coach and saw the special
about the camp on ESPN two years ago," said Caudle on Monday when he accepted the
invitation.
Caudle's road the the EA SPORTS Elite 11 hasn't
been easy.
The 6-1 1/2, 191 pounder was a starter as a
sophomore at Spain Park, showing some signs early on that he might be on the way
to becoming a special player, as he passed for 1,241 yards and ran for another
665 yards as a 15-year old.
Caudle was on his way to a huge junior season
when he suffered a torn ACL in Spain Park's ninth game last fall, ending his
season prematurely.
Despite the injury, he still managed to throw
for 1,624 yards and 15 touchdowns in just over eight games, and also ran for 424
yards and four scores.
He also showed the ability, leadership and
toughness while on the field last fall that has led him to become one of the
more heavily recruited high school quarterbacks in the nation to this point, bum
knee or not.
The knee is now fine, as Caudle clocked an
outstanding 4.72 in the 40-yard dash at last month's NIKE Camp in Athens, just
seven months out from his injury. The rehab went better than expected and Caudle
will be at 100% this fall.
Aside from attending the EA SPORTS Elite 11
this summer, Caudle has a couple of other camp plans.
"I camped last weekend at Louisville, and I'm
going to Auburn this week and then Michigan the weekend after that," says Caudle
of his summer schedule.
Who else is he looking at aside from Auburn and
Michigan, who have long-been considered the front-runners for his signature on
Signing Day?
"LSU is up there, there's a chance that I might
go to their camp as well, and Miami just offered last week and they want me to
come down there also.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to make it to
Miami's camp, but I'll probably try and get down there on an unofficial visit if
I can't make the camp."
Caudle thinks he could be ready for a decision
sometime later this summer after all of his camps and visits, and would like to
have the decision done before the season starts in late August.
Caudle is one of four quarterbacks that have been confirmed for the 2005 EA SPORTS Elite 11, joining Pat Devlin, Mitch Mustain and Tim Tebow.
StudentSportsFootball.com will be the exclusive
home to EA SPORTS Elite 11 coverage come July and stay tuned for further 2005 EA SPORTS Elite 11 invitee announcements throughout June!
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