[2021] Elite 11 - Day 1

[SageBow]

Nashville, TN

"Day 1 of the Elite 11 Finals is simple. We're going to put these kids arms to the test," says Coach Jim Jebow, head of the SIMFBA Elite 11 committee. "All the kids have gotten in the past few days, and with the QBs, we've gotten some of the elite prep players in the country, super star DBs like Brad Crow and Jeremy Cabral to try and stop our QBs and big time weapons like Patrick Hernandez and Harlan Smith. This entire weekend is going to be full of fireworks, get ready for the show!"

 

Before we continue, lets show the list of quarterbacks that were invited to the finals:

 

Finals Invitees:

#14 (5*) Tavarres Washington - Southeast MVP - North Carolina Commit

#17 (5*) Brandon Savage - Southeast Qualifier - Tennessee Commit

#21 (5*) Sheldon Yanda - Pacific MVP - Boise State Commit

#44 (4*) Vic Hill - Southwest MVP - North Texas Commit

#63 (4*) Paul McCullers-Sanders - Pacific Qualifier - Tulane Commit

#103 (4*) Jon Fitts - Southwest Qualifier - Colorado Commit

#111 (4*) Alcides Holden - Pacific Coach's Pick - Utah Commit

#114 (4*) Kyle Ham - Film Room Pick - Stanford Commit

#161 (4*) Jeff Jones - Southeast Coach's Pick - SDSU Commit

#167 (4*) Rick Martes - Film Room Pick - UNLV Commit

#177 (4*) A.J. Piscotty - Northeast MVP - UCLA Commit

#184 (4*) Cooper Williams - Northeast Qualifier - Virginia Commit

#208 (4*) Frank Webb - Film Room Pick - Texas State Commit

#220 (4*) JR Stephens - Film Room Pick - Utah State Commit

#280 (4*) Brad Harrison - Film Room Pick - Oregon Commit

#292 (4*) Melvin Velasquez - Film Room Pick - Bowling Green Commit

#330 (4*) Cameron Jimenez - Southwest Coach's Pick - Missouri Commit

#406 (3*) Caushaud Posey - Midwest Qualifier - Toledo Commit

#457 (3*) Jace Smith - Southeast Coach's Pick - Louisville Commit

#462 (3*) Jason Ellis - Midwest MVP - Uncommitted

 

Event #1 - The Skeleton Challenge

"The Skeleton, a fearsome name for a simple drill," described Jebow. "We're testing how accurate these kids are under pressure. 10 passes, 3 short distance, 3 in the middle, 3 long, and a moving target made courtesy of the kids at Vanderbilt's engineering program. The kids start off with a screen to the left, then a screen to the right, and ending the short course with a 4 yard out route to the right touchline. Then, three passes 15 yards down field, left, middle, and center. The long course is the same, three targets 30 yards down field, left, middle, and center. Finally, a target 20 yards downfield is pushed from the left to the right. Our players have 40 seconds to navigate this course."

 

"Simply put, Brandon Savage dominated the course. His nine targets topped the day, chased by 7 players that hit eight targets. Other guys I thought did a great job of navigating the course was our guy #1, Paul McCullers-Sanders who was unlucky enough to draw the short straw, but stunned the crowd with how well he scored. Also J.R. Stephens from the film room pool. Crazy improvement since his regional events.

 

The Skeleton Challenge Scores:

Brandon Savage - 9

Paul McCullers-Sanders - 8

J.R. Stephens - 8

Vic Hill - 8

Jon Fitts - 8

Tavarres Washington - 8

Jeff Jones - 8

Cooper Williams - 8

Sheldon Yanda - 7

Cameron Jimenez - 7

Melvin Velasquez - 6

Jason Ellis - 6

Rick Martes - 6

Frank Webb - 6

AJ Piscotty - 6

Brad Harrison - 6

Alcides Holden - 5

Jace Smith - 5

Caushaud Posey - 5

Kyle Ham - 5

 

Event #2 - The Railshot Challenge

"Now that the kids have had some reps in for their accuracy, its time to test their power. The Railshot challenge, an Elite 11 Favorite! The rules are simple, you receive a shotgun snap at the 35 yard line, and you have to push the ball downfield to the pylon for a streaking receiver, one of the elite guys at the camp. Complete the pass at a quality good enough for the coaches, you go back in line to do it again. Underthrow? You're out. Sail it? You're out. Lob it? Also out. We're looking for darts and we're looking to see how many of those these kids can do in a row to test their arm strength to the limit."

 

"Shockingly, we had a threeway tie at the top of this event. Brandon Savage, Tavarres Washington, and Melvin Velasquez all made it to 10 reps but all failed on the 11th rep. Great showing by all the kids, but these 3 stood out. It's a hard event, especially after all the precise throwing in the skeleton. The two rep lead shows just how exceptional these guy's arm strengths are."

 

The Railshot Challenge Scores:

Brandon Savage - 10

Tavarres Washington - 10

Melvin Velasquez - 10

Jason Ellis - 8

Sheldon Yanda - 7

Paul McCullers Sanders - 7

Cameron Jimenez - 7

JR Stephens - 6

Vic Hill - 6

Jon Fitts - 6

Jeff Jones - 6

Cooper Williams - 6

Frank Webb - 6

Jace Smith - 5

AJ Piscotty - 5

Kyle Ham - 5

Rick Martes - 5

Brad Harrison - 5

Alcides Holden - 4

 

Day 1 Rankings:

#17 (5*) Brandon Savage - Southeast Qualifier - Tennessee Commit

#14 (5*) Tavarres Washington - Southeast MVP - North Carolina Commit

#292 (4*) Melvin Velasquez - Film Room Pick - Bowling Green Commit

#63 (4*) Paul McCullers-Sanders - Pacific Qualifier - Tulane Commit

#21 (5*) Sheldon Yanda - Pacific MVP - Boise State Commit

#44 (4*) Vic Hill - Southwest MVP - North Texas Commit

#103 (4*) Jon Fitts - Southwest Qualifier - Colorado Commit

#330 (4*) Cameron Jimenez - Southwest Coach's Pick - Missouri Commit

#161 (4*) Jeff Jones - Southeast Coach's Pick - SDSU Commit

#184 (4*) Cooper Williams - Northeast Qualifier - Virginia Commit

#462 (3*) Jason Ellis - Midwest MVP - Uncommitted

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#220 (4*) JR Stephens - Film Room Pick - Utah State Commit

#208 (4*) Frank Webb - Film Room Pick - Texas State Commit

#177 (4*) A.J. Piscotty - Northeast MVP - UCLA Commit

#167 (4*) Rick Martes - Film Room Pick - UNLV Commit

#280 (4*) Brad Harrison - Film Room Pick - Oregon Commit

#457 (3*) Jace Smith - Southeast Coach's Pick - Louisville Commit

#114 (4*) Kyle Ham - Film Room Pick - Stanford Commit

#111 (4*) Alcides Holden - Pacific Coach's Pick - Utah Commit

#406 (3*) Caushaud Posey - Midwest Qualifier - Toledo Commit

[subsequent]

Dang, Brandon Savage living up to his name.

[tsweezy]

oh HELL yeah, Brandon is going to be a starter for us the second he walks on to campus if this keeps up