The Chicago regional of the Elite 11 was long on quality quarterbacks, but short on elite talents.
Saturday brought some of the finest quarterback recruits in the Midwest to the Elite 11 Chicago Regional. In all, I believe as many as 10 of the class of 2015 quarterbacks on hand could end up as FBS players, with a few more being in contention as well. The conditions inside the Chicago Bears indoor training facility were perfect, and multiple players took advantage.
The top player on hand was Drew Lock, of Lee's Summit (Mo.). Lock is a consensus four-star recruit and a recent Missouri commitment. He had one of, if not the strongest arm on hand, and consistently delivered an accurate ball. Lock also has great size, which doesn't matter all that much in an event meant to evaluate quarterback skills, but which matters quite a bit to colleges that must project players down the line. I think Lock will eventually play at 6'5, 220+ and he is one of the best quarterbacks I have seen in the 2015 class. An SB Nation video interview with Lock will be available Sunday.
The next best QB was Tommy Stevens of Indianapolis (In.) Decatur Central. Stevens does not have the best arm in the world, but he does have an extremely quick, compact release, and it is that release that helps him compete against quarterbacks who can put more RPMs on the football. This is the second time I have seen Stevens, after seeing him in March during the Atlanta camp, and he was better Saturday in Chicago. The 6'4, 200-pounder also has good mobility, and I think he may see his offer list increase in the coming months. His best offer at the moment is Michigan State. He doesn't have any visits planned as of now, but does believe he will take some in the future.
Ben Hicks, of Waco (Texas) Midway also had a very good day, and was selected as one of the "pressure cooker" finalists at the end of the event. Hicks is 6'2, 200, and has a smooth, easy delivery. He doesn't have the biggest arm, but did consistently put the ball on the money and had good footwork. Hicks holds offers from Houston and Southern Miss, and is expecting an Indiana offer soon. He will compete at the Texas Elite 11 regional, and if he performs well there, I would expect other BCS programs to begin taking a deeper look.
Ryan Brand, of Detroit, threw the ball extremely well all day. He was one of four to make the "pressure cooker" final, and did well there, too. I question Brand's height (he looks 5'8 or maybe 5'9), and while the Elite 11 folks don't care about height in evaluating QB skills in a competition setting, colleges definitely do. Still, Brand should have more offers from schools wiling to sacrifice height for some skills.
Best of the rest
Ryan Willis, of Mission (Kansas) Bishop Miege, did everything fairly well, and has some lower-level BCS type offers including Kansas and Kansas State. He is a KSU legacy. Michael Briggs, of Kansas City (Mo.) Archbishop O'Hara also threw the ball quite well. I do not believe he has any offers, and that should change. Briggs might not be a BCS player, but FBS schools should be taking a look at the 6'1, 195-pounder. Illinois commitment Jimmy Fitzgerald, of Champaign (Ill.) Centennial had a good day and does seem like a lower-level BCS player. He was consistently accurate throughout the session. Ramone Atkins, of Gary (In.) West Side, showed a very big arm. He is very raw, and the accuracy was not necessarily there, but a college that can clean up his mechanics and take advantage of his mobility might get a very good FBS-level player. Dalton Sneed, of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon is another player I'd expect to receive more interest from schools as the summer rolls on and teams are forced to move on from their primary targets. Sneed is 6'1 and had a nice blend of accuracy and footwork, though his arm was not the strongest.