BEVO BEAT Football

Elite 11: Sam Ehlinger cracks our rankings from Saturday’s pro day

Posted June 5th, 2016

Ryan Autullo American-Statesman Staff

@autulloaas

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — After a mostly uneventful first day of throwing to stationary targets, the Elite 11 sped up on Saturday with pro day passing drills.

All told, it took four hours between the time Kentucky commit Mac Jones began and LSU commit Lowell Narcisse ended. Each participant moved down the field from eight different stations and attempted 20 throws of various routes and distances.

Texas commit Sam Ehlinger went third overall and had a good showing, cracking our top 11 (listed below). He was particularly good throwing on the run and rolling outside of the pocket.

Ehlinger has some work to do after entering the day outside of the official top 11 standings and needing to make an impression to land an invitation to The Opening next month in Oregon.

Sam Ehlinger at Elite 11 pic.twitter.com/NxpWF0IgsC

— Ryan Autullo (@AutulloAAS) June 5, 2016

Before we get to our top 11, a few thoughts/observations from day two of three:

• The Texas contingent has been just OK. Of the six in attendance, only Mesquite Horn’s Chris Robison and Ehlinger crack our top 11 from Saturday. DeSoto’s Shawn Robinson (TCU) and Cedar Hill’s Avery Davis (Notre Dame) struggled with intermediate throws, while Pearland’s Connor Blumrick (Texas A&M) and former San Antonio Reagan QB Kellen Mond were inconsistent. After day one, only Robison (7) and Davis (10) made the official top 11. The updated standings should come out Sunday morning.
• Clemson commit Hunter Johnson, who entered the day ranked second, did not participate because he returned to Indiana for a track meet. He’s expected back on Sunday.
• The nation’s top pro style QB (Dylan McCaffrey, Michigan) did not crack our top 11, while the nation’s top dual threat QB (Tate Martell, uncommitted) checked in at No. 10. Neither one of them had their best effort. Martell started off well but then fatigued and threw inaccurately. Still, he looks to be a lock for The Opening and is receiving consistent praise from Elite 11 head coach Trent Dilfer.
• The most impressive performance on Saturday didn’t count because it came from college QB Davis Webb, who ended the night with an impressive series of strong throws as he was being cheered on by this year’s participants. Webb, who couldn’t beat out Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, recently transferred to Cal where he’s expected to start this fall as a graduate senior. Texas goes to Cal on Sept. 17.
• Among the college receivers running routes was USC’s Ajene Harris, who made a couple of filthy one-handed grabs. Harris missed all of the 2015 season recovering from hip surgery.
• Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff, the first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, made an appearance and spent some time talking with Webb, who will replace Goff at Cal. Goff politely declined an interview request.

And, finally, our top 11 from Saturday’s pro day passing drills

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
2. Myles Brennan, LSU
3. Jake Fromm, Georgia
4. Mac Jones, Kentucky
5. Davis Mills, Stanford
6. Chris Robison, Oklahoma
7. Tommy Devito, Syracuse
8. Sean Clifford, Penn State
9. Sam Ehlinger, Texas
10. Tate Martell, Undecided
11. Chase Garber, Undecided

 

Sam Ehlinger (@sehlinger3) making the hardest throws look easy #Elite11ProDay #HookEm pic.twitter.com/HntZXYIP0Q

— Elite11 (@Elite11) June 5, 2016

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