Commit Fit: The best QB fits from the Elite 11
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - The Elite 11 is finished and 20 of the best quarterbacks showed their stuff throughout the multi-day event. Which ones look like great fits for the programs they committed to?
Here is our top 10, listed in alphabetical order.
MORE ELITE 11: Gorney's takeaways | Recruiting rumor mill from Elite 11 Finals, OT7 Nationals
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Elijah Brown, Stanford
New coach Troy Taylor’s Sacramento State team went 12-1 last season and averaged nearly 43 points per game with quarterbacks named Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara. Taylor is now running a very similar offense at Stanford and Brown just committed over the weekend. The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout put up excellent stats last season and while he’s a little understated and not the rah-rah type, Brown is as cool as a cucumber on the field and can run an offense. He should be a perfect weapon to unleash Taylor’s offense in the Pac-12.
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CJ Carr, Notre Dame
A serious debate could be had that Carr is the most talented - and prepared - quarterback to commit to Notre Dame since Jimmy Clausen more than a decade ago and while he is still unproven at the college level, Carr has all the tools to be really special in South Bend. The Saline, Mich., standout was not overly spectacular at the Elite 11 but he did every single thing well and showed a competency that not many other quarterbacks had throughout the entire event. He committed early and showed no signs of wavering and he has elite potential at the next level and beyond.
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Jadyn Davis, Michigan
The five-star quarterback has a lot of talent and a lot of tools but the Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day also has an obvious dip in his throwing motion that will be problematic once he gets to the Big Ten. Davis drops the ball quite significantly which is just aching for edge rusher to knock it away and it could complicate timing in his routes. So who can fix it? How about a former NFL quarterback whose pro career spanned more than a decade? His name just happens to be Jim Harbaugh.
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Hauss Hejny, TCU
The Aledo, Texas four-star quarterback is not the biggest and it does take all his power to get the ball deep but Hejny is incredibly competitive and focused - and that was obvious throughout the Elite 11. He’s the type of player who will do anything it takes to win and that reminded us of former TCU quarterback Max Duggan, who was a few inches taller. Still, Hejny should fit perfectly in coach Sonny Dykes’ offense and his dual-threat capabilities could be maximized in that program.
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Luke Kromenhoek, Florida State
Mike Norvell was once a try-hard receiver at Central Arkansas who worked his way up the coaching ranks from Tulsa to Pitt to Arizona State to Memphis and now Florida State and his quarterback commitment in this class is definitely someone with a lot of fire and competitive drive as well. Kromenhoek is relatively new to the quarterback position with last season being his first on varsity and already he was at the Elite 11 and shows tremendous upside. He’s more athletic than he looks, he competes really hard and he, Norvell and position coach Tony Tokarz should work seamlessly.
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DJ Lagway, Florida
Texas A&M and other regional programs were going hard after Lagway but the Willis, Texas four-star and top-rated dual-threat quarterback committed to Florida in December and has not looked back. One of the biggest reasons why the Willis, Texas standout chose the Gators was because of his relationship with coach Billy Napier and the staff. Lagway is a super nice and super pleasant person to be around and fits Napier’s style well plus he has elite size and playmaking ability as well. He’s a big reason why the Gators could be the biggest threat to flip five-star WR Jeremiah Smith among others.
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Air Noland, Ohio State
With the embarrassment of riches Ohio State has at wide receiver - and the players the Buckeyes are bringing in - any quarterback with a pulse could look elite throwing to those guys. Noland is far from just someone with a heartbeat, though, as the Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes lefty could push toward five-star status after his showing at the Elite 11. What also stands out about Noland is that he is a little on the quieter, more reserved side and will let the receivers be the stars of coach Ryan Day’s and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline’s offense. He’ll just be the one putting up the huge numbers.
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Ryan Puglisi, Georgia
Stetson Bennett was not exactly a desired commodity at Georgia as he first walked on there and then went to Ellisville (Ga.) Jones College before returning to the Bulldogs. There were five-star quarterbacks and others on the roster but Bennett eventually won the starting job and won back-to-back national titles. Puglisi is a better QB at the same stage but still has some of that never-say-die attitude and while five-star Dylan Raiola has garnered a lot of the accolades, and deservedly so, Puglisi plays like someone who isn’t going to back down from a challenge.
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Dylan Raiola, Georgia
Raiola is super talented and super competitive and fits the model of what Georgia is looking for at basically every position: the best. The five-star quarterback and No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class has all the tools to be special not only in Georgia’s offense but beyond, he has the physical makeup to be ready in Athens from Day 1 and he’s someone from an NFL family that knows what it takes to be the greatest. Sounds like a Kirby Smart guy to me.
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Julian Sayin, Alabama
Sayin and Bryce Young are different in many ways but they also share some similar traits with the main one being smarter than nearly anyone else on the field along with a quiet competitive drive that’s off the charts. Sayin didn’t come to the Elite 11 to lose - so he made sure he won it. He could’ve gone back to beautiful Carlsbad, Calif., and hung ten but instead drove to Golden West College for the OT7 Nationals and was one of the best players at the whole event. He’s someone coach Nick Saban will trust with the program’s keys early on and Sayin has the smarts and the talent to run the offense incredibly well.