For the third-straight year, a Tennessee quarterback commit has earned a place among the top quarterbacks at the Elite 11 Finals.
On late Wednesday night, the official Elite 11 Twitter account announced the camp MVP and the rest of the Elite 11 quarterbacks, and Vol quarterback commit Kaidon Salter made the cut. Five-star Caleb Williams earned MVP, but Salter was one of the 11 other quarterbacks who scored high enough to earn the “Elite 11” title.
The Elite 11 doesn’t reveal the numerical standings outside of the MVP, choosing instead to list the quarterbacks alphabetically. The rankings were determined by the Elite 11 coaching staff and was based 50 percent on camp evaluation and traits and 50 percent on the quarterback’s junior season film and performance because of how this year’s camp had to change due to weather and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salter joined five-star Notre Dame commit Tyler Buchner, three-star Baylor commit Kyron Drones, three-star Missouri commit Tyler Macon, four-star North Carolina commit Drake Maye, five-star Michigan commit JJ McCarthy, five-star Ohio State commit Kyle McCord, four-star USC commit Miller Moss, four-star LSU commit Garrett Nussmeier, four-star Oregon commit Ty Thompson, and five-star Georgia commit Brock Vandagriff as Elite 11 quarterbacks.
The 2020 Elite 11 ?
Determined by #Elite11 coaching staff – 50% junior season film & performance, 50% camp evaluation & traits.
Listed alphabetically. pic.twitter.com/DRVS5UWLBs
— Elite11 (@Elite11) July 2, 2020
Salter was one of 20 quarterbacks invited to his year’s Elite 11 Finals, becoming the third Vol QB commit in three years to attend the finals. In fact, Salter is the fourth Vol quarterback commit to make it to the Elite 11 Finals over the last six years (Harrison Bailey in 2019, Brian Maurer in 2018, Jarrett Guarantano in 2015). He also joins those other three quarterbacks as Vol commits to earn the Elite 11 title at the event.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound dual-threat quarterback from Cedar Hill, Texas committed to the Vols on May 10th of this year and has continuously moved up recruiting rankings. He’s now the No. 62 overall prospect and No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class on 247Sports.
Despite a slow start at the Finals on Monday, Salter bounced back on Tuesday with a strong showing during pro day-style workouts, finishing just outside the top five in scoring. Wednesday saw a shift in plans as inclement weather forced the camp inside, and the quarterbacks participated in an “accuracy gauntlet.” Though Salter didn’t perform as well during that event as he did on Tuesday, he still did well enough overall to place among the top 12 quarterbacks at the finals.
In his first season at Cedar Hill last year, Salter completed 60.8 percent of his 245 pass attempts for 2,550 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just six interceptions while also running for 616 yards and 10 scores on 100 carries. He was named the District 7-6A MVP after leading Cedar Hill to a 9-3 record.
