Elite 11 Los Angeles Preview
The final Elite 11 regional before the Elite 11 Finals! Los Angeles is gonna be big and there will be a handful of Arizona QBs and QBs with Arizona ties present. Let's take a look at some of the local, and familiar names that'll be participating.
Boise State '23 QB commit CJ Tiller is also the new Rancho Cucamonga QB played his first three years in Arizona before leaving for Cali his senior year. The pro style passer saw his recruiting stock trend upward all spring with solid 7s, and camp throwing sessions. Asked him about this weekend and Tiller told me "It’s always been a dream of mine to make it to the finals for elite 11, and I’m ready to just compete that’s something I enjoy doing a lot!" Tiller has Elite 11 experience having done the event once before.
Israel Carter the '23 Arizona State QB Commit from Corona Centennial the dual threat QB is absolutely hypnotic with his feet, and will be on hand to showcase his passing skills.
Jamar Malone Higley's '25 QB that craves competition once told me "There's another QB there? Good, I don't want anything handed to me anyways." I asked him how long Elite 11 had been on his radar he told me "I have been following Elite 11 every year since I was 8 years old. Each year as a family we track the participants, especially the Q's we know and we especially like to watch each of the Panini Spotlight Profiles of the top 11 to learn more about their story, and we follow their journey and successes as they move forward." Los Angeles being such a big stage I asked Malone if anything in particular excites him he said "Two things. First, I'm excited and looking forward to competing in Los Angeles CA, my home state and city against some of the best signal callers in the nation. Equally, I am looking forward to the overall experience because I know it will assist me in improving my skillset on and off the field as I move forward in my journey."
Brady McDonough the talented '24 Flamethrower from Desert Mountain that broke the mold. "Kids don't get offers off freshmen film Chilly!" is all I heard. Think again. He turned heads his freshmen year with a campaign that saw him throw 50+ touchdowns in 8 games on the freshmen level. Arizona threw him an offer. I asked McDonough how long he had been following Elite 11 and what he was looking forward to and this is what he told me. "I have been following the elite 11 event for many years now, and I look forward most to being able to compete against the best QB’s in the country." Now as you know this will be prep for him next year, since only will be seniors (23's) qualify for the finals.
Dylan Raiola the '24 QB Ohio State commit from Arizona powerhouse Chandler. Fresh off Clarkson's QB retreat I caught up with Raiola, at Arizona State's Session 1 7s tournament, and he said "Oh yeah, Im looking forward to Elite 11 in Los Angeles." Raiola made a movie at ASUs 7s event where he led his Chandler team to the championship. When it's all said, and done he may be the best pocket passer to come out of the state of Arizona.
Elijah Joplin the '23 QB from Marana had a solid junior year that saw him throw 30 TDs, and has also performed well on the 7s circuit with nationally recognized Tucson Turf.
'23 signal caller Carter Crispin was the first junior to start at QB for Red Mountain in almost a decade. Crispin throws with good velocity, and accuracy, also had a very good junior year statistically.
Sean Fogel started his HS career in Arizona for making his way to Wisconsin where he played last year for Beloit Turner. The '23 QB still trains in Arizona with coach Giovando's Elev8 academy.
'24 Luke Moga mostly played receiver last year but is transitioning to QB for Sunnyslope. He has been sharp in 7s and looked good at Rivals QBX earlier this off season. Moga seems to have a feel for QB, and is getting better and more comfortable every time I see him. Moga told me that growing up he would watch Elite 11 videos on youtube with his friends I asked him if there was any that he remembers Moga said "The video that stood out was Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields competing against each other. It’s super exciting knowing that I get an opportunity to compete at the regional and put myself in the same shoes they were once in." Asked about how he expects inexperience to factor in the super athletic Moga said "I just started playing ball last year. I have a lot of developing to do. I think I’ve come a long way, but not where I want to be. I'm looking forward to competing with the best guys across the country. I'm excited to get coached by the Elite 11 coaches. I know I can compete on the biggest stage, I just needed an opportunity to prove it."
'25 Xavier Buckles the 6'1+ Williams Field transfer QB had a solid freshmen campaign playin freshmen level, and will gain valuable experience goin through the Elite 11 process early.