The Elite 11 Finals pit the top 20 quarterback recruits against one another in a competitive and developmental environment. Notable recent Big 10 quarterbacks to make the Elite 11 Finals include J.J. McCarthy, C.J. Stroud, Dante Moore, Drew Allar, Devin Brown, and so many more.
The competition is to give the top of the top rising senior quarterbacks instruction to help in their development. The list of top quarterbacks to partake is cartoonishly long and littered with elite playmakers and Heisman Trophy winners. This year’s crop is no different. The future of the Big 10 is seemingly in good hands.
Four Future Big 10 Quarterbacks Selected for Elite 11 Finals
Tavien St. Clair (Ohio State)
A five-star quarterback out of Bellefontaine, Ohio, Tavien St. Clair is rated as both the second-best quarterback and second-best overall recruit in the 2025 class. St. Clair has been committed to the Buckeyes since June 21, 2023, and has seen a meteoric rise in recruiting sites.
He’s grown as a passer in each of his three high school seasons to date. St. Clair has developed into a methodical passer with a matured anticipation on his throws. He uses his six-foot-four, 225-pound frame to his advantage and shows plenty of athleticism to create out of structure.
When facing off against the other top-rated quarterbacks in the class, St. Clair won the accuracy contest at Nike’s “The Next Ones” competition in February. Despite all of the movement in the Ohio State quarterback room, or lack thereof in some cases, St. Clair has often reaffirmed his commitment and is “locked in.”
Julian Lewis (USC)
Lincoln Riley and highly-rated quarterbacks, is there a better pair? Julian Lewis has been USC-bound since his commitment on August 8, 2023, and is the latest in a long list of five-star athletes to commit Riley.
At just 6′-1″ and 185 pounds, he is not going to intimidate defenders. However, he makes up for it with his play. Lewis is a phenomenal distributor of the football and is often lauded as a point guard on the gridiron. He can make the right decisions and can make accurate throws to any part of the field.
Lewis should be a rising junior this season but he reclassified to become a Trojan a year earlier. He will be looking to make an impact as one of the youngest players in the class and at the Elite 11 Finals.
Akili Smith, Jr. (Oregon)
Legacies are what make college football great. The son of Oregon legend and first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, Akili Smith, Jr. is set to pave his own way. The San Diego native pledged his future to the Ducks on July 31, 2023, and hasn’t looked back.
At six-foot-five, Smith has a commanding presence and is still growing into his frame. He has a fluid throwing motion and is considered a pure pocket passer. That doesn’t mean he’s a statue, however. Smith can make the throws while rolling to either his right or left. He has an impressive touch and knows when to float it in or put a little on it.
TJ Lateef (Nebraska)
The fourth future Big Ten Elite 11 Finals participant is headed to Lincoln, Nebraska. TJ Lateef is one of the Cornhuskers’ more recent commits as he made his pledge on the 12 of this month.
Lateef has been a star since his freshman season and has developed into one of the top Californian recruits for 2025. He’s primarily a pocket passer but has the athleticism to be utilized as a dual-threat option. Like Lewis, Lateef is not physically imposing but has a surprisingly strong arm. At the Elite 11 regionals, he wowed scouts by making throws at all levels and showing that he can uncork it if needed. Lateff is only one year behind phenom Dylan Raiola, so he could be next up for Nebraska.
The Rest of the Elite 11 Finalists
- Bryce Baker (North Carolina)
- Ty Hawkins (TCU)
- Tramell Jones (Florida State)
- Duece Knight (Notre Dame)
- K.J. Lacey (Texas)
- Husan Longstreet (Texas A&M)
- George MacIntyre (Tennessee)
- Alex Manske (Iowa State)
- Ryan Montgomery (Georgia)
- Luke Nickel (Miami (FL))
- Keelon Russel (SMU)
- Jaron Sagapolutele (Uncommitted)
- Kevin Sperry (Oklahoma)
- Kamario Taylor (Mississippi State)
- Malik Washington (Uncommitted)
- Matt Zollers (Missouri)
Photo courtesy: San Diego Union Tribune
