Smith72 Moderator No. 1 Share Posted June 20 Like father like son, it's great to have a Duck family in the flock. Oregon Football QB Commit Akili Smith Jr. Impresses In First Day of Elite 11 Finals WWW.YARDBARKER.COM LOS ANGELES, CA - Four-star Oregon Ducks QB commit Akili Smith Jr. entered the 2024 Elite 11 Finals competition on Tuesday looking to make... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted June 20 He did not make the finals, but he still looked impressive. As one fellow said on another site...."he will blossom later like his father." Probably true! 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCDuck1 No. 3 Share Posted June 20 Smith72, Thanks for that article on the Elite 11 Finals. I believe Akili Jr. has out-performed expectations, and become even more accomplished than the selection committee expected. You and Mr. Fishduck are correct: Akili Jr. is already blossoming as a QB and competitor - he has pushed himself in preparation. He wasn't one of the main selections, but he was selected as others fell away due to other choices. He made the most of his opportunity! The article stated the toughest throw in the competition was "the rail shot challenge, which was the last competition of the [first] day. The challenge, which consisted of a rail-shot [flat, minimum arc, hard & fast due to the defense] pass to the left side of the field against Cover 2 thrown without loft in the ball on a five-step drop, is one of the more difficult throws of the camp." So, Akili Jr. was not one of the top four, but he will continue to improve and excel, and that is a "must-do" in the Duck competition pressure-cooker. A lot more is expected of the best QBs now than when Akili Jr's father played, and yet, just as then, if one wants to be the best, one has to train to be so; he's doing that now. There was a picture published of Akili Jr. and Dillon Gabriel standing next to each other. I don't imagine that was at the Elite 11 Finals site in Manhattan Beach; but, if it was, thanks to Dillon Gabriel for supporting Akili Jr. Our QB is a heck of a team player! Perhaps Coach Stein ought to consider intgrating the "rail shot challenge" into Spring Tng (as they have time). Our Offense may need to pull some rabbits out of their hats now-and-then, just like DL used the fake punt against Colorado. Our Ducks will face some purportedly very good secondaries in the B1G. Would enjoy seeing that Statue of Liberty and the Swinging Gate plays our Ducks used against UM successfully executed. Best regards, and Go Ducks! KCDuck1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 4 Share Posted June 20 From what I’ve seen, Akili Smith, Jr. has a good arm, throws a nice deep ball and is mobile. If he has the maturity and patience then Oregon is definitely the right place for him to develop as he’ll be able to sit behind Dante Moore for a couple of years. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCDuck1 No. 5 Share Posted June 21 All, ON3's Director of Scouting and Rankings was asked to provide comments on each of the Div 1 Elite 11 Finals counselors. I have copied his comments about Dillon Gabriel who was one of the four counselors. They all threw the ball and executed the drills. They led by example. Impressive! "On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power was on hand to take in the various workouts and provide some feedback on how this year’s crop of college quarterbacks performed. Among the participants this year were Oregon‘s Dillon Gabriel, USC‘s Miller Moss, Clemson‘s Cade Klubnik and Liberty‘s Kaidon Salter. Here’s how Power evaluated each. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon Dillon Gabriel, Oregon© On3 The headline name in the group at the Elite 11, Gabriel will be one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024 after transferring from Oklahoma to Oregon. He should help ease the transition from Bo Nix, who was himself a Heisman finalist last year. After throwing for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns last season, while also rushing for 373 yards and 12 scores, Gabriel will be looking to do it again on a playoff contender. He impressed out West this week. “I think from watching this group, though he wasn’t able to go through the Pro Day, I think Dillon Gabriel was clearly the best of the college quarterbacks that we saw out here,” Power said. “He went through Day 1, going through drills with the high school quarterbacks, then the rail shot challenge. I thought what we saw from Dillon Gabriel during the rail shot challenge was the best glimpse that we saw from the college quarterbacks. “He was really impressive just getting the ball up and out, was able to drop it into small windows consistently, generated good velocity. And you can tell Gabriel is dialed in with his mechanics. I was impressed. “He’s obviously not the biggest, but he has maximized his physical ability and he was impressive throwing that rail shot challenge. We’ve seen a lot of top quarterbacks throw that, and it’s not an easy throw. You have around a 5-yard kind of window to drop the ball in, and the speeds of the receivers vary out here, and Gabriel was able to throw with velocity and touch and location. I thought from what we saw of each college quarterback he was the top arm out here.” Rght or wrong, ON3's Director of Scouting and Ranking is exceptionally impressed with the Ducks' QB and leader. VR, KCDuck1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
