Rivals QB Challenge Finals: Southeastern prospects shine

BALTIMORE – The finals of the Rivals Quarterback Challenge Presented by Under Armour took place in the shadow of Under Armour’s headquarters. Twelve of the top quarterbacks, qualified through four regional events, were in attendance. Here is a ranking of how each performed over the weekend.

RELATED: Live from QB Challenge Finals | Recruiting notes | Rivals Camp Series coverage | Rivals Recap

Recruiting wrap: Jones is committed to Kentucky, but Alabama, Arizona State, Indiana and Rutgers have recently offered and he is evaluating all his offers.

Performance: When considering the single most important characteristic of the quarterback position, opinions will vary. Let us propose that at the end of the day delivering when it counts is most important -- and that is exactly what Jones did. The Kentucky commit does not have the most sound mechanics and he does not have the biggest arm, but when the game was consistently hitting targets, Jones lapped the field and handily took home the big trophy while showing he is a competitor and a gamer.

Recruiting wrap: Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are the schools expected to be the strongest contenders for Lawrence.

Performance: A five-star prospect in the 2018 class, Lawrence probably would have been the quarterback most in attendance would have selected if they had one scholarship to offer this weekend's finalists. At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Lawrence was the biggest quarterback at the event and also showed the most college potential. Being just a sophomore, there are mechanical developments he can focus on in the coming years, but the raw talent is there in bunches. He has plenty of arm strength, a simple and repeatable delivery and was especially impressive with live targets.

Recruiting wrap: Tennessee still appears to be the team to beat, but Georgia and Ohio State are among the schools giving chase.

Performance: If Lawrence was not the quarterback most in attendance would have offered a scholarship to, then Jones would be that guy. An immensely talented passer with tons of potential in his arm, Jones is certainly a signal-caller college coaches would be ecstatic to add to their programs. He took home the Strongest Arm award for throwing a 65-yard pass in the long toss competition, but his performance was impressive for more reasons than just his arm strength. Jones spins a beautiful football and has the ability to hit all points on the field.

Recruiting wrap: Barker holds offers from Mid-American Conference schools Buffalo and Ohio.

Performance: The winner of the Columbus Quarterback Challenge regional, Barker continued that momentum from two weekends earlier and had a quietly impressive day. Because Mac Jones was running away with the points competition, Barker’s second-place finish may have been overlooked, but he was consistently hitting targets throughout the event. The left-hander spins a consistent football and was equally adept at hitting the deep fade target as he was going through the decision tree and making accurate throws.

Recruiting wrap: Arizona State, Washington and Washington State have offered White. His brother plays for Arizona State.

Performance: At just 6-foot-1 and 163 pounds, White was the smallest quarterback in attendance, but he was one of the biggest competitors on Sunday. White is also a legacy Rivals Camp Series national qualifier, with his brother Brady participating in the 2014 Rivals Five-Star Challenge. The younger White acquitted himself well in his national showcase, spinning a beautiful football and showing that despite his lack of size he can make all the throws. Were it not for a slow start to the day, White may have challenged for the overall title as he finished by making great throws on the seam and decision tree.

Recruiting wrap: Brice committed to Clemson in December.

Performance: If there was one word that sums up Brice’s weekend it was consistent. That has been the modus operandi of the Clemson commit since we first saw him during the 2015 Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour. Brice was the only return participant from the inaugural Rivals Quarterback Challenge finals last year, and he accounted for himself well with a very solid showing. Brice’s final points tally finished in a tie for second, though his arm did appear to tire as the day progressed.

Recruiting wrap: Early offers have come from Boston College, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Temple for Sitkowski.

Performance: The raw tools are extremely evident with Sitkowski, but the sophomore is still rough around the edges. When he polishes up the less refined aspects of his game, Sitkowski is going to be an outstanding quarterback. At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he has great size for the position and takes advantage of it with a high release. The game just needs to slow down for Sitkowski, and when it does his physical tools will allow him to be an outstanding distributor of the football.

Recruiting wrap: Houston, Louisiana-Monroe and SMU have offered Brock, with Oklahoma State, Utah and Washington among the schools showing interest.

Performance: It appeared that Brock has added some much-needed bulk to his 6-foot-3 frame in the short period of time since we saw him at the Dallas Rivals Quarterback Challenge in March. The Texas native still has a fairly lean frame and has developed a habit of clearing his head to get more juice on his throws. He was much more consistent on the shorter touch throws like the end zone fade than he was on the throws that required more zip, likely because of that habit of cocking his head to make the big throws.

Recruiting wrap: Arkansas State is Green’s only FBS offer. He made a visit to Tennessee recently.

Performance: There were two different reads on Green from Sunday’s event. From an objective standpoint, the three-star passer did accumulate decent points throughout the event. From a subjective standpoint, though, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound has a lot of polish that needs to be applied to realize his potential. Green has a very short and quick release. That is usually a good trait, but Green’s release is so truncated that he loses consistency and velocity. Green did improve as the day went on as he elongated his delivery a little and was not rushing his throws.

Recruiting wrap: Sears is aiming for a June commitment. He most recently visited Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Performance: Whereas some quarterbacks in attendance could benefit from being more focused on their mechanics, Sears looked too far in the other direction. The four-star passer was the most robotic of the 12 quarterbacks in attendance, with a deliberate and static arm motion. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Sears had one of the weaker arms at the event in terms of velocity, although his best throw on the day was the long toss into the net where he threw with proper trajectory and scored a pair of hits.

Recruiting wrap: George visited Bucknell just before attending the Quarterback Finals. He has also made recent visits to Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

Performance: The Dallas Quarterback Challenge regional winner had an off-day on Sunday. The three-star was not consistent hitting the static targets in the early portion of the event, then was consistently throwing behind wide receivers in the live session. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound George has shown solid mechanics in the past, but his technique broke down as the results were not what he expected. George has better days ahead of him and will be a good catch for whatever team lands him, but just had an off day on Sunday.

Recruiting wrap: Williams holds early offers from Florida State and Louisville.

Performance: It was a tough weekend for Williams, who was a step behind the other quarterbacks from a technique standpoint and was never able to throw a consistent football. From both an accuracy and an arm strength standpoint Williams struggled in comparison to the other quarterbacks in attendance. Until the sophomore is able to work on his throwing mechanics, develop a consistent release point and spin a good football, it will be difficult to project him to the position in college.