Elite 11 News: Oregon’s Starting QB

[duckstar1320]

Sounds like Dillon made quite an impression as an Elite 11 counselor. From Bruce Feldman’s article in The Athletic:

A different quarterback take: Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel​

Gabriel was at the event as one of the college counselors, and he made a big impression. On the first night, Gabriel and Sagapolutele, a fellow Hawaiian, made it to the end of their “rail shot” competition among all the quarterbacks and counselors.

“Dillon would’ve nailed that throw 27 times in a row, but when he got to the end with Jaron, he just kinda threw it up in the air so Jaron could win. He was awesome with the kids. Total rock star,” Stumpf said. “I think he exceeded expectations from what everybody would’ve thought of him from a throwing standpoint. He was a dude and a leader and super charismatic. All the high school kids were just raving about him.”

Also, for those concerned that Akili Smith Jr hasn’t been getting more props for his performance out there (I’ve read some good stuff), Feldman has this to say about the quality of this years QBs overall:

This year’s crop of quarterbacks at the Elite 11 had the staff raving; several coaches told The Athletic that the Class of 2025 group was one of the most impressive ever seen at the camp. That’s saying something, given the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, Bryce Underwood, wasn’t in attendance.

“This is as talented a group as I’ve seen, from 1-20,” said coach Justin Hoover, who has worked with the Elite 11 for the past 12 years. Hoover noted that, typically, the lower-ranked quarterbacks at the camp flounder as they try to keep up with the competition: “Sometimes, it gets bad-bad.” But there “wasn’t much of a gap” this year, as all of the quarterbacks showed they belonged.