Rivals . National Recruitment Manager Adam G palm attended three consecutive days of Elite 11 this week in Redondo Beach, California. He say Dante Moorerating of Malachi Nelson–Nico Iamaleava debate and give his thoughts on the possible new five-star midfielders.
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ADD THREE POINT STAGE: Arch Manning effect, TV series rearrangement, more
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1. FLY FIVE STARS ABOVE THEIR HEAD?
I stood on the sidelines at Redondo Union High School on Wednesday night to watch Dante Moore completely ignited the pro-day event at Elite 11, where he and every other quarterback there went through a series of throws to test everything possible for a player in his position.
Detroit five-star Martin Luther King is brilliant, every pass is a dime, highlight-reel after highlight-reel. And I have to think.
Do we have an upside down five-star quarterback?
Right now, the list is Texas do Arch Manning, USC do Malachi Nelson, Tennessee promise Nico Iamaleava and then Moore.
But Manning hasn’t attended any national events and likely won’t for the rest of his career, so seeing him at an all-star game post-season is unlikely. It’s hard to really judge him without an apple vs apple comparison.
Nelson excelled in Elite 11 but Iamaleava, who missed the event because of a volleyball tournament, could well argue for the No. 2 quarterback in the class. The size, versatility and maturity he has shown through this season have been outstanding. Long Beach (Calif.) Poly QB was the best performer at Rivals Camp in LA, and he made a big impression at the recent OT7 event in Las Vegas.
And in 4th place is Moore. I think he was the best quarterback overall at Elite 11 over three days of training. He played with Orange Newtonof the club at OT7 and looks great. Perhaps more than any QB in this class, Moore has a unique way of getting the ball into the right spot on most pitches, and he executes it with a cool demeanor. He’s like a surgeon on the football field.
That got me thinking: If we flip four and five stars upside down, would that be the right move?
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2. FEMALE CALIFORNIA IN QBEC
A few years ago, there was a similar debate in California about which quarterback – Bryce Young or DJ Uiagalelei – should be rated higher. We picked Young with Uiagalelei right behind him, and it seemed like a fitting call as Young won Heisman and looks set to be an early NFL Draft pick after this season.
This hiring cycle will be a debate between USC do Malachi Nelson and Tennessee promise Nico Iamaleava.
There are definitely two competing factions here and both have a very strong case. Nelson is the smooth operator who can throw daggers all over the field and aside from a few hiccups in the junior season, he’s put up stellar numbers. For years, the five-star quarterback has excelled in games and in the off-season, and he’s stepping into the perfect spot with Lincoln Riley as his coach.
But for over a year, Iamaleava has been a phenomenon not to be missed. He has the best physics stuff of any quarterback in this class and it might not even be close. Over the past six months or so, Iamaleava has not only relied on those things, but he has gotten better with his decision-making, where he places the ball and his leadership.
Nelson played brilliantly at Elite 11, while Iamaleava did not attend because of a volleyball tournament. The debate will continue over who is the better California QB.
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3. SEE NAMES FOR FIVE-STAR QB
There are already four five-star midfielders in the 2023 division, so we don’t want to get in trouble and just keep adding talented players in that position. But there were two quarterbacks at Elite 11 last weekend that absolutely should be considered.
Christopher Vizzina: He’s not flashy. The Clemson commit just debuted daily at Elite 11 and looks like one of the best quarterbacks out there. He went through every drill and event with precision and he has amazing accuracy. In the same period, Vizzina reminds me a lot of Sam Darnold – and he went on to be the overall #3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Jackson Arnold: The Oklahoma pledged not to physically blow you away, but he was arguably the best arm of any full-back at the event. He pulls and rotates it like no other and that’s what makes him special. On target attacks, Arnold did a great job in placing the ball and then on mid and deep throws he got it into the receiver very quickly. Loved what I saw from him in three days.
Austin Novosad: Vizzina and Arnold probably have the best argument for the five-star consideration, but Novosad was excellent on all three days and should at least be seen. No other midfielder has the accuracy of Baylor promise everyone is considering Texas A&M and Ohio State as the four-star players received hits all over the field and even his misses were close.
JJ Kohl: The State of Iowa The commitment was possibly my biggest surprise from the whole event. You look at Kohl and think he’s going to be this big, sluggish pocket man with one long motion but nothing could be further from the truth. Ankeny, Iowa, stands out for being able to move, throw on the track, his tee shot short and short and there were moments when he looked like the best QB at the event.
