Previewing Elite 11 Austin Regional
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 24, over 50 of the mid-south's top quarterback prospects will congregate in Austin, Texas, to compete in an Elite 11 regional camp with the goal of being invited to Elite 11 Finals this summer.
Rivals will be on hand to evaluate the full group as well as collect information on the recruitments of a number of the participating players. Also in attendance of the camp will be various top position prospects from the region, participating in their own drills.
Here is a preview of the roster that will be in attendance on Sunday.
Who will be throwing?
According to the roster released by the Elite 11, there will be nine power four conference commits in attendance. The highest ranked prospect who will be throwing on Sunday will be Saraland (Ala.) KJ Lacey four-star Texas commit, who is the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2025 class. 2025 Denton (Texas) Guyer four-star Oklahoma commit Kevin Sperry and 2025 San Antonio (Texas) Johnson four-star TCU commit Ty Hawkins will also be competing.
Duncanville (Texas) four-star SMU commit Keelon Russell, Columbus (Texas) four-star Baylor commit Adam Schobel, Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal three-star Purdue commit Sawyer Anderson, Rockwall (Texas) three-star Wisconsin commit Landyn Locke, Edmond (Okla.) Memorial three-star Kansas commit David McComb, and Tulsa (Okla.) Union three-star Utah commit Shaker Reisig are the committed prospects in attendance.
Other quarterback prospects who will be in attendance will be 2025 Houston (Texas) North Shore's Kaleb Bailey, 2026 Mesuite (Texas) Horn's Legend Bey, 2025 Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss' Jax Brown, 2026 El Paso (Texas) Del Valle's Jake Fette, 2027 Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian Academy's Peyton Houston, 2026 Melissa (Texas) Noah Schuback, 2026 Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point's Romin Seymour, 2026 Spring (Texas) Grand Oaks' Grant Smith, 2026 Stillwater (Okla.) Connor Quintero, 2026 Austin (Texas) Westlake's Rees Wise, 2025 Miami (Fla.) Norland's Ennio Yapoor.
Storylines...
Marshall Levenson/Rivals
Who really is the top quarterback in Texas in the 2025 class?
The crop of quarterbacks in Texas is a bit down in comparison to past classes with the top quarterback not appearing in the top 40 prospects in the state. But right behind is Hawkins (TCU) at No. 41 in the state and Russell (SMU) at No. 42. With the top signal callers being ranked back-to-back in the state rankings, it will be intriguing to see how they match up in person.
Just a few spots down the list at No. 50 is Schobel (Baylor). Being not far behind Hawkins and Russell, Schobel has a chance to make a claim he is the top arm talent in the state.
A new wrinkle in the whole situation though is that Sperry (Oklahoma) announced on Saturday he would transferring to Denton Guyer from his previous high school in Oklahoma. Sperry is the highest ranked of the group in Texas at the time of his transfer, but will he be able to back that up?
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
2026 prospects to separate?
There will be a solid group of 2026 prospects competing who have stood out to this point in their young careers. But who will be the few players to rise above the others when being compared to others in the group.
One name I believe could prove to be the top 2026 prospect in attendance is Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point's Romin Seymour, who impressed recently at the Under Armour camp. I have also heard all positive things this offseason about 2026 El Paso (Texas) Del Valle's Jake Fette, who I am hoping puts on a show in this event. Mesquite (Texas) Horn's Legend Bey is another one who I am intrigued to see in person. Bey holds some impressive offers including Oklahoma, Oregon, and Arkansas.
One prospect I have seen several times I have high hopes for on Sunday is Spring (Texas) Grand Oaks' Grant Smith, who stands at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, and has a big arm.
Is KJ Lacey a 5-star talent?
Lacey, a Longhorns pledge, will be competing in the camp while he is in the city to visit Texas. The Alabama native is currently ranked as the No. 19 prospect in the class, which is just one spot behind the last ranked five-star prospect. Lacey's evaluation may be the biggest of the day to see if he will look the part as a five-star prospect, especially when being compared to other prospects at the camp.
Lacey is a prospect that possesses many of the traits colleges covet modern quarterbacks. He is a 67% career passer, so we know he has the accuracy. If he can display that on Sunday as well as show off some arm strength and ability to throw off-platform to different areas of the field, he could do a lot for his efforts of a five-star ranking.
