Tuesday concluded the four-day Nike event known as The Opening. The finals started on June 30th and ran through July 3rd, and some of the most elite prospects in the 2019 class were invited to participate in the event. Only 12 quarterbacks were invited, and one of those QBs was Tennessee commit Brian Maurer.
Maurer pledged his commitment to the Vols a week ago, and his stock was already climbing at that point. Now, he’s caught the attention of the recruiting world after his performance at The Opening.
The three-star pro-style quarterback out of Ocala, Florida started off fairly strong and was impressing with his strong arm and ability to make some big passes. But consistency was holding him back from truly hanging with the top quarterbacks at the event. That is, until the final day of The Opening. Then Maurer really shined.
The final day saw a final 7-on-7 tournament where all the quarterbacks could show their passing acumen against a defense. And Maurer was one of the better overall performers and finished as the No. 5 quarterback among the 12 QBs in attendance according to Luke Stampini of 247Sports.
“The Tennessee commit improved greatly on the final day of seven-on-seven play to up his overall completions percent by 10 points from the first day,” Stampini wrote. “The Ocala (Fla.) West Port signal caller completed 65 of 103 passes for nine touchdowns to just three interceptions. We have been asking for more consistency from Maurer all week, and he delivered just that on Tuesday.”
Maurer, just the No. 492 overall player and No. 18 pro-style quarterback right now per the 247Sports Composite rankings, finished ahead of top-100 overall player and No. 3 pro-style QB Dylan Morris, top-100 player and No. 4 pro-style QB Graham Mertz, and four-star Alabama commit Taulia Tagovailoa among others. The top pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class, Spencer Rattler, won the event according to Stampini.
Recruiting analysts still want to see what Maurer can do as a senior in high school, but make no mistake: The Vols’ 2019 quarterback commit is due for an upgrade in recruiting rankings. He may not get his fourth star just yet, but it’s likely on the way.
As a junior, Maurer completed 57.5 percent of his 388 pass attempts for 2,512 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions according to MaxPreps. He also ran for 259 yards and six scores on just 51 carries, giving him an average of 5.1 yards per carry.
If Maurer can improve on those numbers as a senior and show that his performance at camps this summer was no fluke, then he’ll be an even hotter commodity than he already is on the quarterback market. The Vols may have a fight on their hands to keep Maurer committed if that’s the case, but expect Tennessee’s coaches to not shy away from any of those battles.
