The Good: The Elite 11 is an opportunity for quarterbacks to receive quality coaching from a staff that has a high-level of knowledge. I learned a lot back in the day about what to look for in a quarterback by watching the drills they would do. For a kid who is physically polished and mature the Elite 11 allows them to to increase their skills that much more. Former Spartans like Jeff Smoker, Drew Stanton, Keith Nichol and Andrew Maxwell were all players who were Elite 11 finalist. All of them were players that as rising seniors in high school they were ahead of the curve from a physical and developmental standpoint.
The Bad:The Elite 11 is not a good way to judge players who may have a lot of "potential". For example. Kirk Cousins was not a player who was Elite 11, but when we saw he we knew he was a kid who had all the tools, he just needed to add size and strength. Guys like Connor Cook and Damion Terry were raw, but had a lot of upside potential. The Elite 11 is not a way to judge kids like that. The Elite 11 is more what a kid is now, not what he will be. Another aspect the Elite 11 is guilty of is being focused on kids having a big arm. All they did was rave about guys like Shane Morris and Robbie Schoenhoft, they failed to consider that they had very mundane high school numbers.
The Ugly: I was told by not 1, but 2 Elite 11 Coaches that Zeke Pike had the worst tryout they had ever seen by a kid who had offers. They went on to say that he was by far one of the worst quarterbacks at that event. That event included several other quarterbacks including Michigan State commitment Tyler O'Connor. Pike was a 4-star/top 100 level recruit at the time and committed to Auburn. I thought he was the most over-hyped kid I ever saw. Sure enough though, he was selected Elite 11. That is when I fully realized that getting selected is as much about politics as it is talent.
Overall: The Elite 11 has become more of a money-making marketing even than a actual QB development. Sure they still evaluate players and coach them, but their is a reason why Conner Cook and Kirk Cousins did not make it and Keith Nichol and Andrew Maxwell did.
I know it is on ESPN, but I don't waste my time watching it. I think they are getting some extra quality coaching, but that is about the only reason I think it is good for a MSU kids to make it. To me it means nothing about whether they will be successful or not at Michigan State.
The Bad:The Elite 11 is not a good way to judge players who may have a lot of "potential". For example. Kirk Cousins was not a player who was Elite 11, but when we saw he we knew he was a kid who had all the tools, he just needed to add size and strength. Guys like Connor Cook and Damion Terry were raw, but had a lot of upside potential. The Elite 11 is not a way to judge kids like that. The Elite 11 is more what a kid is now, not what he will be. Another aspect the Elite 11 is guilty of is being focused on kids having a big arm. All they did was rave about guys like Shane Morris and Robbie Schoenhoft, they failed to consider that they had very mundane high school numbers.
The Ugly: I was told by not 1, but 2 Elite 11 Coaches that Zeke Pike had the worst tryout they had ever seen by a kid who had offers. They went on to say that he was by far one of the worst quarterbacks at that event. That event included several other quarterbacks including Michigan State commitment Tyler O'Connor. Pike was a 4-star/top 100 level recruit at the time and committed to Auburn. I thought he was the most over-hyped kid I ever saw. Sure enough though, he was selected Elite 11. That is when I fully realized that getting selected is as much about politics as it is talent.
Overall: The Elite 11 has become more of a money-making marketing even than a actual QB development. Sure they still evaluate players and coach them, but their is a reason why Conner Cook and Kirk Cousins did not make it and Keith Nichol and Andrew Maxwell did.
I know it is on ESPN, but I don't waste my time watching it. I think they are getting some extra quality coaching, but that is about the only reason I think it is good for a MSU kids to make it. To me it means nothing about whether they will be successful or not at Michigan State.
