Elite 11 Finals: Schools with most signees from top QB showcase

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Earning an invite to the Elite 11 Finals is a rite of passage for top high school quarterback recruits, dating back nearly three decades.

The alumni list includes (but is not limited to): Carson Palmer, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Tim Tebow, Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Tua Tagovailoa, Jameis Winston, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Justin Fields and Jayden Daniels. There are dozens of Heisman Trophies, All-Pro honors, All-American awards and nearly every other quarterback recognition you can think of between the more than 400 prospects who have participated in the event since it began in 1999.

It’s also an event where each year, fans of 15-20 college football teams get a chance to look at their — hopeful — quarterback of the future. They can instantly claim bragging rights depending on how their QB commit performs, though a strong few days in L.A. isn’t always a predictor of college or NFL success. The Elite 11 MVPs over the past decade or so have been a mixed bag at the college level, with the likes of Tagovailoa, Caleb Williams, Stroud and Fields more than living up to the hype.

As the event kicks off later this week, Rivals looks back at which schools have signed the most Elite 11 finalists (which does not include quarterbacks currently committed in the 2027 class):

Georgia – 17

The Bulldogs haven’t had much of a claim to being Quarterback U in recent years — despite multiple national titles — but no program has signed more highly-ranked quarterbacks over the past two-plus decades than the Bulldogs. Their run of Elite 11 finalists began in 2000 with D.J. Shockley, an Atlanta native who is regarded as Mark Richt’s first official recruit in Athens. Despite playing only a part-time role early in his career, Shockley eventually took over the starting gig and was a finalist for the Associated Press national player of the year as a senior.

Honors for the most successful UGA quarterback at the pro level go to none other than Matthew Stafford, though. The No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2026, he rewrote the record books in Athens after a storybook high school career in Texas. Stafford was taken No. 1 overall by the Detroit Lions in 2009 and has since been named an All-Pro three times, won a Super Bowl in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams and was named the league’s MVP last season at 37 years old.

Alabama, Oklahoma, USC – 15

Along with UGA, these three have as much of an historic claim to the QBU moniker as anyone with the level of quarterbacks they’ve recruited and developed. You’ll be hard-pressed to argue against the Crimson Tide, who can count Bryce Young, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones (not an Elite 11 Finalist) among their recent alums. The Tide are also the last team to put two quarterback commits into the same Elite 11, dating back to when Paul Tyson and Taulia Tagovailoa did it in 2018. They’ll do so again this week when Trent Seaborn and Elijah Haven (the country’s No. 1 QB) don Elite 11 shirts together.

The Sooners and Trojans can count plenty of long-term success at the quarterback position, but have also been helped mightily in their quarterback recruiting in recent years by Lincoln Riley. The QB whisperer, who was the coach at OU from 2017-21, landed an Elite 11 Finalist every year he was in Norman. He has two camp MVPs in his bag as well with Spencer Rattler (2018) and Caleb Williams (2020). Pre-Riley, the Sooners signed the likes of Rhett Bomar and Landry Jones, who threw for more than 16,000 yards and 123 touchdowns in his OU career.

Only one quarterback played for Riley at both schools, and that was Williams, who later went on to win the Heisman and was drafted No. 1 overall by Chicago. Since taking over in Los Angeles, Riley has signed an Elite 11 finalist in in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Two of those three, Husan Longstreet and Malachi Nelson, both finished as five-star recruits but transferred from the program after one season. That’s just a small piece of the Trojans’ quarterback history, though. Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart were both Elite 11 Finalists who went onto win the Heisman and be selected as first-round picks, while Mark Sanchez was a top-5 pick after three years in L.A.

Florida – 14

Of any school on this list, the Gators might have the biggest mixed bag of Elite 11 finalists who later signed with UF. At the top of the heap is none other than Tebow, considered by many to be one of the greatest college football players ever after winning a Heisman, twice being named an All-American and winning two BCS national titles as a player. Second to him is former teammate Chris Leak, himself a national champion and BCS title game MVP.

John Brantley, an Elite 11 MVP who was seen as the successor to Tebow, was a five-star recruit plagued by injury during his time in Gainesville and ultimately never played a down in the NFL. Brock Berlin, one of the first star quarterbacks of the recruiting media era, played in 12 games over two seasons behind Rex Grossman before transferring to rival Miami. And one of the Gators’ two most recent Elite 11 finalist signees, DJ Lagway, spent two seasons at UF before transferring to Baylor after head coach Billy Napier was fired this offseason. Gators fans hope that this year’s commit, Davin Davidson, can help solve the program’s recent quarterback woes.

Ohio State – 12

The Buckeyes have earned their reputation as Wide Receiver U under Ryan Day and Brian Hartline, who took the head coaching job at USF this offseason. But their recent quarterback production also shouldn’t be slept on.

That list includes current starter and Heisman hopeful Julian Sayin, who actually signed with Alabama but transferred to the Buckeyes before ever attending classes in Tuscaloosa. C.J. Stroud has established himself as one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks, but before that he was a Heisman finalist who threw for 85 touchdowns across his two seasons as a starter in Columbus. Among the other notable OSU Elite 11 alums are Dwayne Haskins, a Heisman finalist and first-round pick, as well as Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman winner who is still the only Buckeyes quarterback to win the award.

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