Elite 11 Finals: Dylan Raiola, Jadyn Davis shine on first night of competition
LOS ANGELES - The first night of the Elite 11 Finals, the nation's premier competition for rising high school senior quarterbacks, took place on Wednesday at Redondo Union High School. The opening session consisted of group drill work and then an individual throwing competition.
Here are the quarterbacks who stood out on night one.
SBLive's QB tiers factor in on-field performance only. The Elite 11 will release their own rankings that may draw from activities done when media weren't present.
TIER 1 - RAIOLA, DAVIS, SAYIN
Dylan Raiola
Photo by Steven Davis
The top two ranked quarterbacks at the event, Georgia commit Dylan Raiola and Michigan commit Jadyn Davis, separated themselves on night one. Alabama commit Julian Sayin also put himself into tier 1 with a strong performance.
Raiola throws a football with real power. His accuracy was on full display and he's fantastic on the run. There's a reason he's the No. 1 ranked prospect in the country.
Out of the 20 finalists, Davis throws the best ball. He has excellent mechanics and exclusively throws tight spirals. He's a player you want to watch throw more and more, even against air.
Sayin also has great mechanics and throws a fantastic ball. During a rep in a drill, one of the coaches told the Crimson Tide pledge "that was perfect."
TIER 2 - JACKSON, LAGWAY, HEJNY
Hauss Hejny
Trever Jackson, one of the two uncommitted quarterbacks in the finals, really improved his stock on Wednesday. He throws a beautiful ball and has very good technique. He won the rail shot competition to end the night beating out Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in the process.
Florida commit DJ Lagway had some good moments too. His athleticism and strength is visible with every rep he takes. A good workout from Lagway on Thursday night could elevate him to tier 1.
TCU commit Hauss Hejny has some real pizzaz to his game. He excelled in the rail shot competition and just overall seems like a gamer. Hejny is under 6-foot, but he's strong and could develop into a very good Power Five QB.
TIER 3 - WILLIAMS, KROMENHOEK, KAELIN, GRUNKEMEYER
Demond Williams
Steven Davis, SBLive Sports
Ole Miss commit Demond Williams, Florida State commit Luke Kromenhoek, Nebraska commit Daniel Kaelin and Penn State commit Ethan Grunkemeyer make up the third tier.
Williams was the most consistent performer in this group. He doesn't have the wow factor like a Raiola or Sayin, but he's very solid and put together a strong showing. He's accurate and has good throwing mechanics.
Kromenhoek and Kaelin also had really good technique. They certainly caught the eye. Grunkemeyer excelled in the rail shot competition to end the night finishing in second.
