MALIBU, Calif. — Every national scouting service made its way to California this week to observe Elite 11 quarterbacks on hand. While viewing each of the 24 participants, scouts took note of BYU recruit Tanner Mangum and Utah recruit Travis Wilson.
Mangum, in particular, received a heap of praise on his way to winning co-MVP camp honors.
"For the second straight day Tanner Mangum won the accuracy competition at the Elite 11 and it's an especially rewarding accomplishment for the Eagle, Idaho, pro-style quarterback who thrived at The Opening and has followed that up with another strong showing so far this week," said rivals.com Adam Gorney after the second day of camp.
George Whitfield, one of the four top evaluators at the camp, had this to say through his Twitter account: "Tanner Mangum continues to define himself as one of America's best QBs. Red-hot performances. Ice-cold nerves. Extremely talented!" Barton Simmons of 247 Sports said, "No one else had a performance that was in the same stratosphere as Mangum on Thursday. While many prospects were dragging, struggling with their reads and physically lethargic, Mangum stepped under center and immediately brought energy, confidence and excitement to the huddle."
Following his 5-for-5 showing, Trent Dilfer remarked, "That might have been perfect. We may have just had our first perfect session. Included in the session was a deep out route that was one of the best throws of the entire event. In fact, Mangum has been the arm behind arguably the three best throws throughout the entire week."
Simmons also had good things to say about Wilson, "Phillip Rivers has an unorthodox throwing style but the ball gets out quick and it is on target. Rivers’ college quarterback coach, Norm Chow, clearly saw something in Rivers that he liked and Chow may have seen the same thing in Travis Wilson. Like Rivers, Wilson’s mechanics are unorthodox but he has one of the quickest releases in Malibu and he also has one of the best frames at the event."
Bryan Fischer of CBSsports said, "Utah commit Travis Wilson has the frame to put on a few pounds of muscle but the 6-foot-6 quarterback has all the tools to make it at the next level. His release might be the best part of his game, as the ball comes out quickly and effortlessly."
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney