Interview: Trent Dilfer Gives In-Depth Breakdown of Quarterback Play at the 2017 Elite 11

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

Action Photo Credits: Raymond Joyce

Twitter: @RJPSports

Since 1999 the Elite 11 has been the premiere national high school football camp for quarterbacks in the U.S. Regional Nike camps across the country routinely attract the best of the best gunslingers in the nation with a coaching staff guiding the rising talents through various drills evaluating their skillset in the process. If possible, the Elite 11 has soared to an even higher status in recent years in the high school and college football recruiting world with former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer overseeing the grueling process. Who else better for high school players to learn from than a former college football All-American (1993), NFL All-Pro (1997), and Super Bowl winning quarterback (2000).

As winter was giving way to spring in southern sections of the U.S., the 2017 Elite 11/Nike The Opening Regionals started scouting talents traveling to Houston on Feb. 4, then to Orlando, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and Charlotte ending in Oakland on May 21. The hundreds of hopefuls were put through agility, quarterback specific, and 1v1 drills giving multiple opportunities to separate their skill level from their peers gunning for the exclusive invite to Redondo Beach, California, on June 2 for the start of a three-day quarterback camp set to eliminate a field of 25 in the finals to 12 for The Opening. The list of finalist included:

Gerry Bohanon (Earle/Arkansas/uncommitted), Carter Bradley (Providence/Florida/uncommitted), James Foster (Lanier/Alabama/committed to Missouri), Joey Gatewood (Bartram Trail/Florida/ Auburn), Emory Jones (Heard County/Georgia/Ohio State), Dakereon Joyner (Fort Dorchester/South Carolina/uncommitted), Jaylen Mayden (Sachse/Texas/Mississippi State), Joe Milton (Olympia/Florida/Michigan), Re-al Mitchell (St. John Bosco/California/Iowa State), Jacob Sirmon (Bothell/Washington/Washington), Blake Stenstrom (Valor Christian/Colorado/Colorado), Jack West (Saraland/Alabama/Stanford), and Colson Yankoff (Coeur d’Alene/Idaho/Washington).

The Finalist heading to The Opening in Oregon included (12):

Cammon Cooper (Lehi/Utah/Washington State), Matt Corral (Long Beach Poly/California/USC), Justin Fields (Harrison/Georgia/then committed to Penn State, now uncommitted), Trevor Lawrence (Cartersville/Georgia/Clemson), Devin Leary (Timber Creek/New Jersey/N.C. State), Tanner McKee (Centennial/California/uncommitted), Quincy Patterson II (Solorio Academy/Illinois/Virginia Tech), Justin Rogers (Parkway/Louisiana/TCU), Tyler Shough (Hamilton/Arizona/uncommitted), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Bishop Gorman/Nevada/UCLA), Jack Tuttle (Mission Hills/California/Utah), and Jarren Williams (Central Gwinnett/Georgia/Kentucky).

With the last pigskin tossed and the last of the evaluations bantered about amongst the coaches, Coach Dilfer took time to breakdown all the action from the 2017 competition giving insight on players with a comparison to last year’s class, one of the best pure passing groups Dilfer had ever seen come through the Elite 11.

Interview

Trent, which quarterbacks have caught your eye this year forcing you to notice what they are doing on the field?

“Trevor Lawrence has been everything we thought he would be at the Elite 11. I didn’t know that much about him. You guys know about him but I honestly had no idea. I don’t know what any of these guys are ranked. He certainly fits the mold of a five-star, super star, “can’t miss guy.” He has not disappointed.

“I don’t think the gap is as extreme as many may think. Justin Fields, Tyler Shough, Matt Corral, Devin Leary – there are a lot of guys that have really impressed and also have top tier production with traits that are transferable to the next level. Those would be the guys off the top of my head.”

Has there been a quarterback in this year’s competition that each day has wowed you with his talents on and off the field?

“Quincy Patterson is probably the most fascinating quarterback in the group. He is as good as a human as you can find and he is brilliant. Just off the charts brilliant. His processing and his wisdom. He is a wise young man, and he is only 16-years-old. He is used to being in the shotgun. On Sunday, we had him under center, he has done well in all the drills. He has turned his back on the defense coming from under center, got deep into progressions, threw the ball on time, and has located well. He dealt from under center. That was impressive.”

Understandably, I’m guessing a lot of the kids probably have a case of the jitters or nerves the first day or so before they settle down showing what they can really do. Has there been any quarterbacks that jumped out at you on the final day of the competition as a player that has put all the weekend’s activities together to shine at the right time?

“Cammon Cooper came on big time during the competition on Sunday. He is as pure a passer in a 7v7 setting as there is out there. Guys having success in the NFL are good at anticipating when it is time to throw. They process quickly and go through their progressions quickly. Cam has that ability. He won’t wow you in a drill setting but he will wow you in testing. He is a great athlete. But in a 7v7 setting he is impressive. He was one of the guys I was impressed with during the Elite 11.”

Re-al Mitchell put on a showcase during his pro drill on Saturday and lit it up on Sunday showing command of the offense while being really accurate. What are your thoughts on his performance throughout the competition?

“Re-al Mitchell is very under stated. He processes very quickly. He is a Saint John Bosco guy. They do a phenomenal job with their kids. They kind of have a graduate level of understanding of the game when they get here. He had an advantage there. He is accurate and a great athlete. He handles himself in a very mature way. He is very engaged. Re-al is a guy that I am impressed with as well.”

What are your thoughts on Tanner McKee?

“Tanner had a great weekend. I use a lot of NFL analogies around these guys – he’s a Drew Bledsoe. He makes very difficult things look easy. They both have long frames but even though they are long limbed they both play compact. He has a feel, a real-real feel for the passing game. Again, he’s another one of the guys in this group with a big body but is also a great athlete. Our testing numbers this year from an athletic standpoint are better than they have ever been. These guys are freaks. And if they can pass too that means they have a lot of opportunities ahead of them. McKee is one of those guys that fits that mold.”

How does this class rank overall with some of the more recent classes?

“Last year’s group came in as the best passing group of all-time. Everyone one of them could pass. This one I was not sure of. This is the most athletic and biggest group of all-time. I would say the top half of these guys are as good – I think.”

They could be?

“Yeah, they could be.”

From what the players brought to the camp to what they have incorporated into their game from the Elite 11 training, what are your thoughts on the overall mental aspect of the game this year’s class brings to the field?

“Our coaches have done an incredible job preparing these guys. They are highly prepared and have learned a ton. This is probably the most engaged group, from a learning standpoint, and probably the most processed driven group meaning they want to win the competition. They are diving into the process and trying to become the best they can be not worried about the guy next to them. I am really proud of this group.”

After interviewing half the players at this year’s camp, it seems that the classroom work about the mental approach to the game with Michael Gervais has made a big impression. What was the focus behind Gervais’ message to the kids?

“I think the way we gave Gervais more time, more meat, and the front and center message really helped. My message became secondary to Gervais which I think was really beneficial to the camp because he was really tapping into how to think, how to handle adversity, and gave them the skillset – the mental mechanics to thrive. They all just jumped in and totally did it.”

Was there a surprise quarterback in the group?

“I’ll give you one – Blake Stenstrom. Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR) is another. He’s had a great week. DTR has not had a lot of reps on the field in action playing behind Tate (Martell – 2017 Ohio State signee), but I have zero doubts that he will be everything people think he will be this year once the pads are on. He has great poise and is obviously very talented. I think he has been hardened by the adversity of Tate moving in there and him having to move positions and wait his turn.

“Another guy I want to mention is Carter Bradley. I think Bradley like Stenstrom will be really successful in college. They will be very successful college players.”

Last year when we did an interview for the 2016 Elite 11, as mentioned a minute ago, you were really high on those kids as pure passers but more because of the spread offense. With what you have seen on the field with guys going under center, does this group have a good chance of being pro-style quarterbacks at the next level or beyond?

“Here’s the thing about the kids these days or just football in general, they can do whatever you ask them to do but they are not asked to do a lot. I get it. I’m not criticizing high school or college coaches; they have limited time with them. They have a lot of things they are trying to balance beyond developing a quarterback. I’d probably run the spread if I was a high school coach but it does limit the quarterback’s growth. We try to balance that with teaching pro-style.

“What I have learned is they do the pro stuff as well as the spread stuff because they can do anything you just have to teach them the right way. With that, there are more guys here that can do tomorrow stuff because they are physically so big and so confident that if you put them into a pro-style offense I think they would like it even more.”

Trent, thanks for your time today and congratulations on another successful Elite 11 competition.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: recruitingnewsguru.com; Trent Dilfer at the 2017 Elite 11.