[2024] 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, superstar DBs like Robert Dehn and Nat Turner to try and stop our QBs and big time weapons like Joseph Fleming and Geordi LaForge. This entire weekend is going to be full of fireworks, get ready for the show!"

Before we continue, please see below for the Favorites to Win Elite 11 and the list of quarterbacks that were invited to the finals:

Finals Invitees:

#84373 (5*) Joseph Dering - Midwest MVP - Utah State Commit

#84676 (4*) Willis Humphrey - Midwest Qualifier - Michigan Commit

#84341 (5*) Igor Simone - Pacific MVP - North Carolina Commit

#84531 (4*) Jeffrey Winkler - Pacific Qualifier - Ohio Commit

#84595 (4*) Gregg Oconnell - Pacific Coaches Pick - Clemson Commit 

#84329 (5*) Rudolph Carlos - Southwest MVP - Houston Commit

#84524 (4*) Jesus Sanchez - Southwest Qualifier - TCU Commit

#90923 (5*) Thatcher Papafinkel - Southeast MVP - Alabama Commit

#84330 (5*) Douglas Burns - Southeast Qualifier - South Florida Commit

#84347 (5*) Dennis Lee - Southeast Coaches Pick - Baylor Commit

#84653 (4*) Jonathan Jackson - Southeast Coaches Pick - Notre Dame Commit

#84800 (4*) Joshua Trbovich - Mid-Atlantic MVP - Temple Commit

#84562 (4*) Michael Beckmann - Mid-Atlantic Qualifier - Pittsburgh Commit

#84848 (4*) Charles Granberry - Film Room Pick - Florida State Commit

#84874 (4*) Leonard Harlow - Film Room Pick - Tennessee Commit

#84873 (4*) Solomon Walker - Film Room Pick - Western Michigan Commit

#84745 (4*) Philip Hajdik - Film Room Pick - UTSA Commit

#84695 (4*) Richard Gapinski - Film Room Pick - Appalachian State Commit

#84890 (4*) Randall Milan - Film Room Pick - Indiana Commit

#84516 (4*) Xin Perry - Film Room Pick - Northern Illinois Commit

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 end 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."

"Thatcher Papafinkel was outstanding, and so were Dennis Lee and Leonard Harlow. Southeast QBs were really on fire. Awesome accuracy from that trio. Real tough showing for a potential Elite 11 MVP Joseph Dering, the Midwest MVP only hitting the target 5 times. Film room picks Charles Granberry and Richard Gapinski also struggled with their command of the challenge.

The Skeleton Challenge Scores:

Thatcher Papafinkel - 10

Dennis Lee - 10

Leonard Harlow - 10

Michael Beckmann - 9

Rudolph Carlos - 9

Jeffrey Winkler - 9

Willis Humphrey - 8

Joshua Trbovich - 8

Igor Simeone - 7

Solomon Walker - 6

Douglas Burns - 5

Jesus Sanchez - 5

Randall Milan - 5

Joseph Dering - 5

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Xin Perry - 4

Jonathan Jackson - 3

Gregg Oconnell - 2

Richard Gapinski - 1

Charles Granberry - 1

Philip Hajdik - 1

Event #2 - The Railshot Challenge

"Now that the kids have had some reps in for their accuracy, it’s 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."

"What a show. Michael Beckmann and Igor Simeone went blow for blow like nothing I've ever seen. Both studs left it all on the field until their arms just gave out on the last throw to tie. Midwest MVP Joseph Dering once again struggled, the Utah State commit just had a bad Day 1 overall. Real tough showing for the super athletic Jonathan Jackson and future Roadrunner Phillip Hajdik. When you test the best of the best, there are always winners and losers."

The Railshot Challenge Scores:

Michael Beckmann - 9

Igor Simeone - 9

Thatcher Papafinkel - 8

Dennis Lee - 8

Leonard Harlow - 7

Willis Humphrey - 7

Rudolph Carlos - 6

Jeffrey Winkler - 6

Joshua Trbovich - 5

Xin Perry - 5

Douglas Burns - 4

Jesus Sanchez - 4

Richard Gapinski - 4

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Gregg Oconnell - 3

Solomon Walker - 3

Charles Granberry - 3

Randall Milan - 3

Joseph Dering - 2

Jonathan Jackson - 1

Philip Hajdik - 1

Day 1 Rankings:

#90923 (5*) Thatcher Papafinkel - Southeast MVP - Alabama Commit - @thatfunk

#84347 (5*) Dennis Lee - Southeast Coaches Pick - Baylor Commit - @Vivid

#84562 (4*) Michael Beckmann - Mid-Atlantic Qualifier - Pittsburgh Commit - @TheLiberator

#84874 (4*) Leonard Harlow - Film Room Pick - Tennessee Commit - @tsweezy

#84341 (5*) Igor Simone - Pacific MVP - North Carolina Commit - @Tryggr

#84329 (5*) Rudolph Carlos - Southwest MVP - Houston Commit - @mahrowkeen

#84531 (4*) Jeffrey Winkler - Pacific Qualifier - Ohio Commit - @Traith Kreios

#84676 (4*) Willis Humphrey - Midwest Qualifier - Michigan Commit - @subsequent

#84800 (4*) Joshua Trbovich - Mid-Atlantic MVP - Temple Commit - @SandyToez

#84330 (5*) Douglas Burns - Southeast Qualifier - South Florida Commit - @iToxicKiddy

#84524 (4*) Jesus Sanchez - Southwest Qualifier - TCU Commit - @Danger

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#84516 (4*) Xin Perry - Film Room Pick - Northern Illinois Commit - @Ape

#84873 (4*) Solomon Walker - Film Room Pick - Western Michigan Commit - @Jieret

#84890 (4*) Randall Milan - Film Room Pick - Indiana Commit - @Piercewise1

#84695 (4*) Richard Gapinski - Film Room Pick - Appalachian State Commit - @dearden

#84373 (5*) Joseph Dering - Midwest MVP - Utah State Commit - @Ewade

#84595 (4*) Gregg Oconnell - Pacific Coaches Pick - Clemson Commit - @Spoof

#84848 (4*) Charles Granberry - Film Room Pick - Florida State Commit - @Kirby

#84653 (4*) Jonathan Jackson - Southeast Coaches Pick - Notre Dame Commit - @LordLittlebutt

#84745 (4*) Philip Hajdik - Film Room Pick - UTSA Commit - @Dakotagreer

[Vivid]

His name is Lee. Dennis Lee! QB of the future