Rivals Recap: Los Angeles QB Challenge
LOS ANGELES -- The first stop of the 2016 Rivals Quarterback Challenge Presente by Under Armour hit Southern California on Sunday and some of the West Coast’s most talented signal callers turned out for the star-studded event. Here’s a rundown of news, notes and observations from the event.
MORE: Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour | Live from LA QB Challenge
I WAS IMPRESSED WITH...
The four-star San Clemente, Calif. prospect came into the event as one of the highest-ranked competitors and proceeded to go onto win the entire competition and the “Accurate Arm” trophy that goes with it. Sears pretty much lead wire-to-wire and punched his ticket to Baltimore for the Quarterback Challenge Finals by taking home the victory. Sears has double-digit offers and has visits coming up next month to Tennessee, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Notre Dame.
I WAS SURPRISED BY...
The younger brother of current Arizona State quarterback and former Rivals250 prospect Brady White, Brevin White put on quite a performance. The 2018 prospect already has offers from the Sun Devils and Washington and he walked away with the “Rocket Arm” award after showing terrific arm strength in the various settings at the event.
Class of 2018 Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou quarterback Stephen Barber made waves after impressing at the 2015 Rivals Camp Series stop in California and on Sunday he was in the mix until the end. Barber is better when throwing on the run and is still a little raw mechanically, but he made the finals of the event before finishing fifth overall.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS...
Rivals100 quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hails from the same high school as Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and on Sunday he did a good job of carrying the flag for the islands. He made it to the finals of the event and earned the “Mobile Marksman” award after showing a terrific ability to throw the ball on the move. The dual-threat prospect appears like a heavy lean to USC, but said on Sunday he’s still keeping his options open.
Class of 2019 quarterback Hank Bachmeier was one of the most accurate quarterbacks in attendance when it came to throwing the deep ball and was awarded the “Touchdown Touch” honors for his showing. Although he’s just a rising freshman, Bachmeier already has an offer from Colorado and more are likely to come his way down the line if his performance was any indication of how he will throw for college coaches this spring and summer.
Class of 2017 quarterback Nick Sipe is the nephew of 1980 NFL MVP quarterback Brian Sipe and he looked a lot like his uncle on Sunday as he played his way into the final group. Sipe threw one of the prettiest balls of all the quarterbacks in attendance and was given the “Perfect Spiral” award for his efforts. Sipe has an offer from Colorado State but it wouldn’t be surprising to see more schools on his list once things shake out with the quarterback dominoes later in the cycle.
Class of 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Sheldon quarterback Chance LaChapelle probably earns the title of “best sleeper performance” for his efforts on Sunday. LaChapelle has good size and showed a technical proficiency with his footwork and throwing motion that earned him the “Mr. Mechanics” award. Schools like Oregon State and San Jose State have shown interest in LaChapelle, who is still waiting on his first offer.
The final group of quarterbacks who competed for the spot in Baltimore that Sears ultimately won included a number of under the radar prospects, including 2017 Sebastopol (Calif.) Analy quarterback Jack Newman and 2019 Graham (Wash.) Graham-Kapowskin quarterback Dylan Morris. While Morris has plenty of time to catch the eye of college coaches, Newman will hope to parlay his success on Sunday into his first scholarship offer.