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Three-Point Stance: Elite 11, retired coaches, commits

National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with a stock report for the QBs at the Elite 11, along with some coaches he’d love to see come back to college football and his thoughts on a the slew of commitments from July 4.

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FACT OR FICTION: Oklahoma upgraded at QB with Caleb Williams | Neville's commitment will help Huskers with Fidone

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2022: Top 100

MORE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series

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1. ELITE 11 STOCK REPORT

Ty Thompson
Ty Thompson

The Elite 11 went off last week and ended with a bit of controversy as everything was skewed due to the coronavirus pandemic and a combination of film and on-field performance was used to determine the winner and finalists. I’ve watched a ton of the throws thanks to video from UC Report and here is my take on how each quarterback performed.

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ELITE 11: Woody's ranking of QBs

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STOCK UP

Ty Thompson — Thompson is an impressive kid all around, from his physical prowess to his arm strength and his surprisingly consistent accuracy. He was on for most of the event and I love the way he leads receivers and throws them open. Oregon could have a special one here.

Carlos Del Rio — Del Rio has a laser arm when he steps into the throw properly and his accuracy was solid. He gained confidence and was fluid in almost everything he did. Dan Mullen is going to like him at Florida.

Tyler Macon — After struggling a bit, Macon found his rhythm and really settled into a nice grove. He’s not the biggest kid but he can make all the throws and has some leadership swagger about him that comes out even on film. He can do many things in the Missouri offense.

Behren Morton — Morton is a big kid with a live arm who was accurate throughout. He has an elongated delivery but it doesn’t seem to hamper him and the ball arrives quickly. He throws receivers open well. He’s a good get for Texas Tech.

Maddox Kopp — Kopp wasn’t ranked heading into the event and is now a high three-star so he impressed. He’s raw and his accuracy was up and down but this is a big kid with a live arm whose best football is ahead of him. You can see he’s a lump of clay now but an intriguing one.

Kyron Drones — Drones is a good athlete and showed smooth balance and footwork. He can fill out some and that will help with arm strength but the ball still pops out pretty well. He fits Baylor’s system well as a kid who can move around.

STOCK DOWN

Tyler Buchner — Someone messed with the Notre Dame commitments mechanics as a sidearm, baseball sling is occurring often now. This leads to all sorts of issues from accuracy to the ball hanging at times. This was an odd performance.

Miller Moss — Moss is smooth and effortless at times but his arm strength concerns me a bit and it often looks like he’s trying to put too much touch on the ball rather than firing it in some situations. The USC commit is good but didn’t have one of the stronger showings in my book. The ball was in the air too long on too many throws.

Dematrius Davis — The Auburn commitment struggled with accuracy as receivers had to make adjustments to the ball often. He had some good moments of course but consistency wasn’t there.

Drake Maye — Maye didn’t look bad he just didn’t look as good as I expected. He was up and down with his accuracy which was odd and didn’t find his groove that often. He needs to get into his drops quicker but he certainly has the size and arm to be very good at North Carolina.

Kaidon Salter — Salter wasn’t bad he just didn’t show that cannon of an arm we’ve seen on film before. I’m not sure if he was dialing it back or not. Accuracy has always been a struggle on intermediate throws and that needs improvement. The Tennessee commit was undervalued as a high three-star in my opinion, so he might be under the stock steady category here as a four-star outside the Rivals250. I just expected more.

Christian Veilleux — Vellieux is a big, tall quarterback with a solid arm and can look very good at times. But when he’s off, he misses by quite a bit sometimes and that’s scary. The Penn State commitment has the tools but consistency has to be there.

STOCK STEADY

Caleb Williams — Williams has all the tools and he performed as expected. He can throw any pass and has excellent velocity and throws a nice ball. He wasn’t as consistent as he’d like but you can see the tools that make him No. 1 especially when moving around. The Oklahoma commitment has a great future.

Brock Vandagriff —Vandagriff is a strong, big kid who is going to be a monster in college at Georgia. His arm strength is evident as he rockets the ball downfield with ease and he’s usually on the money. He has good footwork for such a solid, muscular kid.

Kyle McCord — The Ohio State commitment was as expected at the event showing a strong arm and solid accuracy. He tends to aim here and there and can overshoot his target, but he got better and when he relaxed into a rhythm he was excellent.

J.J. McCarthy — The Michigan commitment throws a pretty ball that is very receiver friendly and he’s fluid in his drops and anytime he needs to move. He’s added size which has helped his arm strength and he’s emerging as one of the more consistent quarterbacks in this class.

Luke Altmyer — The Florida State commitment throws a nice ball and he was in rhythm for the most part. Sometimes he drops his release point and he can get worn down a bit.

Grayson James — James is a Group of Five quarterback but a potentially solid one at that and that’s what I saw in his performance. He has good size and is very thick but his mechanics are sloppy at times. He tends to fling the ball which leads to some inaccurate throws. He’s very raw with upside.

Garrett Nussmeier — The LSU commitment has a lot of upside and I like the way his ball pops especially on out patterns. He drives the ball downfield and his footwork is often excellent although it will lag at times. He was as expected which is very solid.

Jay Allen — Allen checks in as a low three-star after the event and that’s about what I expected. His arm strength is OK, but he sails the ball a lot and accuracy is erratic.

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2. COACHES THAT COULD MAKE SUCCESSFUL RETURNS

Mark Richt
Mark Richt (AP Images)

Mack Brown returned to college football to many critics and skeptical eyes but he has set the recruiting world on fire and has North Carolina on the rise in the ACC. That got me to thinking about some other coaches currently out of football I’d like to see return (or perhaps make their debut) to the college game. The key here is currently out of football.

1. Urban Meyer — OK, this is a no-brainer at the top of the list. Meyer has been linked to the potential opening at USC if Clay Helton is fired. We need Urban back.

2. Bob Stoops — Stoops still has plenty of gas in the tank and an amazing track record. It’s obviously his choice as he could easily land a big job as they open.

3. Chris Petersen — Petersen was awesome at Boise State and very solid at Washington so his decision to leave coaching is an odd one and he would be welcomed back.

4. Mark Richt — Things didn’t end great at Miami but Richt is a very good coach and a middle-tier Power Five program would jump at him.

5. Steve Spurrier — Spurrier isn’t a spring chicken at 75 years old, but he coached in the AAF in 2019 and would be fun to watch someplace. He could still do some work.

6. Rick Neuheisel — Neuheisel has been out of the college game for nine years and it’s a tad puzzling. Yes there were infractions at Colorado in the 1990s and the whole March Madness bracket nonsense at Washington but this guy is a bright mind who belongs in college football as a coach and not a broadcaster.

7. Gene Chizik — Chizik was a failure at Iowa State but remember this is a guy who won a national title at Auburn. His last year at Auburn was ugly but he’s a good coach who had a winning record in the SEC and won a natty.

8. Houston Nutt — Nutt didn’t have a great finish at Ole Miss and recruiting violations didn’t help but the job he did at Arkansas was very impressive. He’s a very good and entertaining coach.

9. Mark Mangino — Mangino last coached in 2015 and has always battled weight issues but this guy led Kansas to a 12-1 Orange Bowl season and was always fun to listen to. It’s a stretch of course but I’d love to see him back.

10. Ralph Friedgen — Who gets fired after winning nine games and ACC Coach of the Year honors? Big Ralph does. He last coached in 2015 and, like Mangino, he’s always battled weight issues but this guy could coach.

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3. RECENT COMMITS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Isaiah Brevard
Isaiah Brevard (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

And finally the Fourth of July holiday weekend felt a bit like National Signing Day with so many commitments. This has always been a busy day but things stepped up a notch this year. Here are some of the key commitments from the weekend.

QB Caleb Williams, Oklahoma — What can I say? Another five-star quarterback to Oklahoma and perhaps another Heisman winner down the line. This was expected but still very big.

WR Isaiah Brevard, Oregon — Once again Mario Cristobal shows his national recruiting prowess by going into Mississippi and landed a huge, athletic target.

WR Keon Coleman, Kansas — Coleman can run and is an amazing athlete so this is about as big as it comes for Kansas. He could put up monster numbers with the right quarterback play.

DB Latrell McCutchin, Oklahoma — The former Alabama commitment was coveted by Nick Saban and has the length and ball skills to help the defense early. A lot depends on how he recovers from a knee injury.

WR Latrell Neville, Nebraska — He might not have had a monster junior season but he showed his potential as a sophomore and he’s a very good get from Texas for the Huskers and will help them recruit the state.

ATH DJ Harvey, Virginia Tech — Harvey is an important get for the Hokies and while he’s not local he’s very athletic and can play numerous positions. If defensive back doesn’t work he can be a wide receiver.

DB Tyreek Chappell, Texas A&M — Another good get from the Northeast for Jimbo Fisher and company, Chappell will keep the national recruiting going for the Aggies and has skills as a lockdown corner.

LB Martez Thrower, Kentucky — The Cats need to recruit the Southeast more so landing an athletic linebacker such as Thrower will help that. He brings speed and athleticism to the defense.

DE Keanu Koht, LSU — Florida is a place LSU wants to make more of an impact and Koht is a nice get there as a quick outside pass rusher. He had eight sacks and 13 quarterback hurries as a junior.

WR J. Michael Sturdivant, Cal — Sturdivant can go up and get it and run after the catch as his 87 receptions for more than 1,000 yards illustrated last year.

LB Jackie Marshall, Baylor — Nearly half of his 82 tackles last season were for a loss and he had 11 sacks. He’s athletic enough to have played running back and wildcat quarterback as well.

DT T.J. Sanders, South Carolina — A very good in-state keep, Sanders is a hoops player with defensive tackle size and athletic ability. His feet are light and he can chase plays down.

TE Frederick Seabrough and Cedric Seabrough, NC State — I’ll lump the two together and I feel that they are a very solid tandem. Each put up solid numbers despite projecting at the same position.

TE Erik Olsen, Colorado — Olsen is an important in-state get as a tall, angular tight end who has a frame to grow on and run after the catch.

OL Garrett DiGiorgio, UCLA — An important positional need, DiGiorgio is a massive tackle with good length and has basketball feet.

DE Stone Eby, SMU — Eby can do it all from rushing the passer to chasing the run and batting down passes. He had an impressive six pass deflections last season.

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