Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge: Top quarterbacks

ATLANTA – Hunter Johnson lived up to his five-star billing and led the way as eight of the top high school quarterbacks in the country were showcased at this past weekend’s Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour. We look at how their performances stacked up.

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The most consistently impressive quarterback performer from beginning to end on Saturday was Johnson, and that is why he took home the MVP trophy. A Clemson commit, Johnson’s performance is exactly what you expect from a five-star. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder looks like he was born to throw a football. The ball comes off his hand beautifully every time and he throws with both velocity and accuracy. He adjusted to the speed and athleticism of the best receivers in the country without issue and was able to throw receivers open. The question with him has been decision-making and there were a few misjudged routes, but all in all he checked that box as well.

Like Johnson, Mills looked effortless in his performance throughout Saturday’s event. The Stanford commit is a kid who just lets the game come to him and does not appear to feel a lot of pressure. It is hard to pick out weakness in his game. We like that Mills is a solidly built kid at 6-foot-4 and 194 pounds and he has plenty of pop in his arm, but does not feel he needs to throw his fastball on every pitch. Mechanically there are few flaws in his delivery and that produces a very consistent football. It was not a “wow” performance from Mills, but it was an exceptionally solid showing in Atlanta.

Clifford was on a bit of a roller coaster Saturday, starting off looking really sharp before dipping in the middle and showing arm fatigue. He finished on a high note in the evening 7-on-7 portion, though, accounting for eight touchdown passes en route to leading his team to the championship. A Penn State commit, the progression we have seen in his game over the last year is very noticeable. He certainly has the moxie you’re looking for out of that quarterback position and the confidence in his arm is definitely there. The touchdown he threw on a post to wide receiver Jamire Calvin may have been the pass of the day, so he has the ability to make the special happen.

To finish in the top half of this group after the whirlwind week Jones had leading up to his arrival in Atlanta is another feather in the Jacksonville quarterback’s cap. Jones participated in multiple big camps leading up to the Five-Star Challenge and also switched his commitment from Kentucky to Alabama three days before arriving in Atlanta. Jones would go on to be one of the quarterbacks on the victorious Team Armour 7-on-7 team, throwing seven touchdowns in the process. The 6-foot-3, 181-pounder is known as a very accurate passer with average arm strength, and that was the case again on Saturday. The arm strength comment should come with a footnote, though, and that is Jones does have very good timing on his throws which mitigates the issue.

There are no physical limitations for Robison, and that was evident again. The Oklahoma commit is a very talented passer who spins a beautiful football and has the arm strength to hit all points on the field. When issues arose for Robison, they usually were due to a couple of factors: footwork and decision-making. On the second point, I am going to recommend something I have never recommended before for a quarterback: humility. Robison is almost too confident in his arm, and because of that he forced some bad passes. At the end of the day, Robison’s issues are fixable and he had an overall solid performance in Atlanta.

Allen did not appear to have any particular issues early in the day, but the difference between he and the top tier of quarterbacks was evident in the 7-on-7 tournament where he threw just three touchdown passes – less than half that of his teammate Mills – despite his team making the finals. Completion percentage was not tallied for the event, but Allen did appear to have a lower percentage than his fellow quarterbacks. Always known as a light thrower, he just did not seem to adjust to the speed of his receivers, or the defense. Accuracy is not an issue, and the timing will come, but even with added weight on his frame, the Florida commit still lacks ideal velocity.

The excitement over Narcisse is not about where he is today, but about where he can be tomorrow. The talent the LSU commit possesses has been evident since I first saw him two years ago. He has rare athleticism for the quarterback position and plenty of talent in his arm. The issue is that he has not learned to reign that talent in and develop consistency. Narcisse has the ability to make all the throws that Johnson or Mills or Clifford can make, but he does not do it nearly as frequently. His first pass in 7-on-7 was woefully under-thrown to a wide open running back in the flat. However, the Five-Star Challenge coaches noted Narcisse was very coachable and made strides from the beginning of the day to the end.

The only underclass quarterback invited to the Five-Star Challenge, Jurkovec was likely a little more nervous than the upperclassmen who are more used to the spotlight. He looked cautious early on, like he was trying not to make mistakes instead of showcasing his abilities. The concern I have had from watching Jurkovec at the regional and national Rivals Camps is that his arm motion is static and slow. That limits both velocity and, obviously, timing, and to be honest he does remarkably well considering those issues. What the Notre Dame commit does do well is throw a deep ball. His motion is less of an issue there, and he spots that deep ball well.