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Rivals Recap: Rivals QB Challenge Finals

BALTIMORE – The Rivals Quarterback Challenge Finals Presented by Under Armour were held Sunday and some of the top quarterbacks in the country worked out. Here are the players that impressed and surprised the Rivals.com team of analysts.

RELATED: Live from QB Challenge Finals | Recruiting notes | Rivals Camp Series coverage

Kentucky QB pledge Mac Jones
Kentucky QB pledge Mac Jones
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WE WERE IMPRESSED BY...

Four-star Mac Jones ran away with the competition. The Kentucky commit was consistent through every drill, was great throwing on the run and showed a competitive drive throughout the entire day. Jones wants to be the best on the field, he’s tough on himself, and the four-star proved it all day as he threw the long ball well, had nice touch on the fade throw and was especially good throwing while being flushed out of the pocket. In second place was Clemson commit Chase Brice, but Brice a good distance behind Jones’ numbers.

Trevor Lawrence is a 2018 five-star for a reason – because the Cartersville, Ga., standout has tremendous size, a huge arm and he can also make all the throws. Lawrence, who won the Instant Impact award for the player who looked most college-ready during the live action throws to receivers, can zip the ball with the best of quarterbacks and he can also put great touch on passes when needed. The five-star also has a great mind for the position, knows exactly where the ball needs to be and Lawrence has the talent to put it on the money.

Looking for a quarterback who gets the ball out fast with a snap release? It’s 2018 four-star Emory Jones, who won the Strongest Arm award for many reasons, one of them being that he chucked the ball 64 yards to beat out the others at the event. Jones not only fires the ball all over the place, but it comes out so fast with a flick of the wrist. The ball rarely sails over the target, too, so accuracy isn’t an issue. Jones made a big statement this weekend and the Franklin (Ga.) Heard County quarterback proved to be one of the better ones in his class.

WE WERE SURPRISED BY...

Brevin White has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the West for the 2018 class and he’s taken it national now. The West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade recruit throws a perfect spiral almost every time, he’s got a surprisingly strong arm even though he’s skinny and he’s an intelligent quarterback who puts it only where the receivers can get it. As White continues to develop physically, if he can continue to spin it so well and keep the pace on the ball, he could really become a special prospect. White had a great performance here and showed he can do it all.

From a physical and arm strength standpoint, Artur Sitkowski is one of the most impressive quarterbacks in the 2018 class. He does need to learn to put some touch on some passes and be more compact through his throwing motion, but the Old Bridge, N.J., four-star has a lot of talent, can throw the football through a brick wall and looks great at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds. On the deep throw, Sitkowski put it on a line, didn’t loft it into the end zone and hit a bunch of targets.

Two other quarterbacks that had strong performances through the event were Elkton (Md.) Eastern Christian Academy’s Alex Barker and Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes’ Isaiah Green. The lefty Barker has great zip on his passes, spins it well and threw especially well going against the grain (to his right) hitting targets almost every single time.

Green spins it really well, too, and was especially good on the timing routes – slants and speed outs – with the receivers. The three-star also had one of the best deep throws into the net, zipped it well and showed off a great arm.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

Four-star quarterback Jack Sears could tighten up his release some and get the ball out more quickly, but the San Clemente, Calif., prospect throws a nice ball and does a nice job rolling to his right.

Brice sometimes gets too much air on his long ball but has a strong arm and can deliver it all over the field. His consistency wasn’t great but Brice has brought the goods before and remains one of the better quarterbacks in this class.

College Station, Texas, four-star Ty Brock continues to develop physically and was especially good on timing routes to receivers. He threw well on the speed out routes and put it only where receivers could get to it. But Brock did struggle on the deep ball and showed average arm strength mainly on those long passes.

Jarren Williams had some tough moments through the event but the 2018 prospect from Lawrenceville (Ga.) Central Gwinnett was really good on the timing routes. His mechanics need work but Williams has good arm strength, spun it well during that session and was accurate.

Three-star Brandon George had good mechanics and his footwork was fine but the Jones, Okla., prospect had just average arm strength and struggled with accuracy at times.

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