COLUMBUS, Ohio -- About 80 quarterbacks participated in the Columbus edition of the Rivals Quarterback Challenge Presented by Under Armour. Many of quarterbacks had strong performances despite the cold and windy conditions but here are some that drew a lot of attention.
MORE: Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour | Rivals Recap: RCS Columbus
I WAS IMPRESSED WITH...
Alex Barker had to deal with the tall task of replacing 2015 West Virginia signee David Sills as quarterback of Elkton (Md.) Eastern Christian Academy and he has really come into his own. Placing first overall and winning the Accurate Arm award on Sunday, Barker currently holds offers from Buffalo, Ohio and Youngstown State. The lefty was on target all day and handled nearly all of the drills with ease.
I WAS SURPRISED BY...
Normally quarterbacks that weight a little more or have a lot of muscle mass win the Touchdown Touch award but Connor Degenhardt showed off that strong arm despite being pretty lean. The Westford (Mass.) Westford Academy signal caller has a good throwing motion and does a good job of harnessing all of his power to put a lot behind the ball. The way Degenhardt threw the ball downfield with a lot of touch shows how advanced a passer he is.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Artur Sitkowski and Will Levis were the only two underclassmen to win awards on Sunday. The Rocket Arm award went to Sitkowski. At 6-foot-5, 205-pound, the Old Bridge, N.J. star is an imposing figure behind center and the way the ball jumped off his hand caught everybody's attention. So far Rutgers, Maryland, Boston College and Temple are the only schools to offer him.
Levis, out of Middletown (Conn.) Xavier, was such a smooth passer and the ball seemed to come out of his hand nearly the same way every time. The way his passes cut through the windy conditions earned his the Perfect Spiral award.
Western Michigan commit Tanner Morgan shined during the roll-out drills. The Union (Ky.) Ryle star was throwing darts when on the move to the left and right, earning the Mobile Marksman trophy.
Detroit (Mich.) East English Village's Delvin Washington is a big, athletic quarterback and he was accurate for most of the day. That's due in large part to his throwing motion. There is very little wasted movement and it helped him win the Mr. Mechanics award.
