Elite vs Elite

For athletes, events like The Opening are a great way to increase exposure and test themselves amongst skilled peers. For coaches and evaluators, it’s a chance to see the athletes outside of their usual comfort zone. These events are also good way for coaches to gauge an athlete’s competitive spirit and ability to take instruction while trying to adapt to a high-pressure environment.

Sunday’s Nike event at Arlington Lamar High School was no different – an elite group of high school players came out to compete for a trip to The Opening’s final camp in Oregon. There were big name high school recruits everywhere; all looking to be the best at their position groups. While standing in line to check in, ten of the top twenty-five players in the HornSports Top 50 came through the entrance.

Malik Jefferson, an alumnus of last year’s The Opening, was home on break from school and decided to attend the event. Texas A&M signee Kyler Murray, who was out to support some of his high school teammates, joined Jefferson at the event.

During media check in a murmur went up through the crowd as Killeen Shoemaker tackle Kendell Jones arrived. Jones is an absolute mountain of a young man at 6’4, 360 pounds, and drew a physical reaction from anyone who saw him. Jones is also a popular personality who the other players gravitated to due to his easygoing nature and sense of humor.

Arlington Bowie offensive lineman Tope Imade showed up ready to compete and was excited about the prospect of testing his skills against the best. “I’m just out here trying to get open”, Imade said with a smile. “I’m trying to see other athletes, other linemen to see how they do. I’m trying to learn from them to fix my game. It’s all about improvement right now”.

Imade was one of a handful of players from Arlington competing and talked about the talent assembled from his home city. “It’s not only me, you got Shane Buechele, Kofi Boateng, Chris Owens so it’s not only me”. Credit Imade with a life-saving assist – he deflected an errant pass from quarterback warm ups that was headed for my face during the interview.

North Mesquite offensive tackle Jean Delance who recently de-committed from Oklahoma was also on-hand and chatting during warm-ups. “I’m looking forward to dominating some defensive ends and getting physical”, Delance stated when asked what he was most looking forward to. Delance is very competitive and was looking to take on all comers. We asked Delance if there was any one player he was looking forward to facing, “Not specifically you know, if they got the body size and they got the physicality come up to me.”

Houston MacArthur star Isaiah Chambers was a candidate to battle with Delance. Chambers checked in at 6’4 255 pounds, and he said he knew he would be up against some stiff competition, “Just looking forward to going against some of the best tackles in the nation. They got the number one lineman and the number two player overall out here so I’m looking forward to going against them and to get a chance at getting an invite to The Opening.”

During positional warm ups, the quarterbacks were taken to another field to begin the Elite 11 competition. Texas commit Shane Buechele had an advantage by competing at his own high school, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Buechele was sharp in the drill portion and received positive feedback from several position coaches.

Desoto quarterback Tristen Wallace struggled at times, but the big athlete took coaching and improved as the drills progressed. Trent Dilfer, who serves as Elite 11’s head coach, commented several times on Wallace’s improvement.

Mansfield Timberview product Devin Williams is overlooked due to a lack of ideal size, but the dual threat quarterback was fearless in drills and showed great arm strength to go along with sharp accuracy and arm mechanics. Manvel quarterback D’eriq King was another player who didn’t let a lack of size hold him back. King looked very comfortable in his drops, and his compact throwing motion allows for a quick release with great spin.

Westfield product Dillon Sterling-Cole was a surprise at last year’s event and performed well again this year. Sterling-Cole was awarded the camp MVP for quarterbacks and was the only passer to be invited to the Elite 11 finals from this camp.

Channelview’s Jalen Hurts was another player who turned heads during passing drills. The electric Hurts has been labeled a runner, but he showed he could function in an organized passing camp against the best.

Following the passing drills, Dilfer brought the quarterbacks in for a pep talk before the team segment began. Dilfer talked about leadership being a big part of the position, saying that quarterbacks should be thermostats and not thermometers – thermometers take the temperature of the situation, while thermostats set the tone.

Dilfer then delivered the line of the day to his charges, “There are a bunch of prima donna receivers down there, and offensive linemen flexing their muscles but you have to set the tone. It’s a comfortable 72 down there, we’re going to turn it up to 80 because that’s how we roll.”

13 players received invitations to the final camp in Oregon, but for some, Sunday’s event was the end of the line. However, the coaches made it clear that they will continue to evaluate players against those at upcoming stops, which could result in a few more area prospects receiving invitations to Oregon. Naturally those that didn’t receive invitations are disappointed, but they benefitted from a full day with top level coaching.

It is not surprising that a talent rich state like Texas produced big results – Sunday’s event set the record for the most invitations to the finals in The Opening’s history. The next step will be to see how the Texas prospects compete once they arrive in Oregon.

For the photos and videos taken live at yesterday’s event, click