STATE COLLEGE, Pa.- The Elite 11 workout at Penn State on Friday night featured several top performers from both the 2012 and 2013 classes. Here’s a look at the top five performers from the event.
Casey Cochran was one of the top performers during Friday night's Elite 11 workout in State College, Pa.
Kevin Olsen, Wayne (N.J.) Wayne Hills (Class of 2013)
This is the third time Olsen has impressed at an event this spring. Friday, he was the top prospect there. The 6-foot-3, 196-pounder again showed sound footwork and fundamentals and continues to be extremely accurate in the intermediate passing game. A coaches son, Olsen is advanced in his intangibles (knowledge of the game, etc.). Olsen has early verbal offers from Miami (Fla.), Florida State, Central Florida, East Carolina and Rutgers. The Olsen camp was impressed with Pirates offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley when they visited Greenville unofficially. Olsen’s brother Greg is a tight end for the Chicago Bears.
Casey Cochran, Monroe (Conn.) Mausk
Cochran, another coaches son, displayed terrific footwork and was always in balance whether he was on the move or in the pocket. He was one of the most consistent performers at the event. When we spoke with him, we could tell immediately he was a very intelligent individual with a high football I.Q. Cochran holds an offer from Boston College and is getting interest from Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Temple, Syracuse and a number of Ivy League programs. The Owls, Eagles, Orange and Notre Dame all have been by the school in recent weeks to check up on him. He believes the Commodores and Huskies could be the closest to offering. We believe Cochran is a prospect that will pick up several more offers during the spring evaluation period and into the summer.
Ryan Burns, Ashburn (Va.) Stone Bridge (Class of 2013)
Burns easily had the strongest arm at the event and has one of the strongest arms we’ve seen in any class during this recruiting cycle. Burns is still growing into his 6-foot-4, 215-pound body (one area he can improve is his foot quickness), but it’s clear that he can flat-out fire the football. Burns holds an early verbal offer from Boston College and is getting interest from North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Auburn and Alabama. He will camp at Stanford and most likely Florida this summer. The Cardinal, Tide, Auburn and Arkansas are four schools he said stood out to him at this early stage. We think as long as his film checks out next season, he has a chance to be one of the more highly-recruited players in Virginia for the 2013 class.
Ryan Spelman, Monore-Woodbury (N.Y.)
A complete unknown heading into the event. Spelmen impressed with his footwork, compact release and overall athleticism. He first caught our eye throwing on the run during passing drills and continued to impress through the remainder of the event. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder isn’t the biggest quarterback out there, but he is big enough. Arm strength is a question mark and could keep the BCS programs away. Army is the current leader for Spelman and he very well could end up playing at West Point, which is 20 minutes from where he lives. Buffalo, Syracuse, Akron and Bowling Green are all showing attention. He’s been on unofficial visits to Army, Syracuse and Buffalo this spring and plans to camp with the Orange this summer.
Class of 2013 quarterback Ryan Burns had the strongest arm at the event.
Corwin Cutler, Chesapeake (Va.) Indian River (Class of 2013)
Cutler is a tall, wiry prospect with very long arms. He stood out in footwork drills and threw a catchable ball with a high spin grate. He showed quality arm strength with the ability to stretch the field vertically. Cutler, who is somewhat of a unknown after missing all but three games of his sophomore season with a broken bone in his throwing hand, likes South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M early on. The Aggies have invited him out to College Station for summer camp.
Quick hitters
-Four-star Brendan Nosovitch (Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic) was probably the best Class of 2012 prospect at the event, but this type of setting is not where he is at his best. He seemed to be a little tight and was not overly accurate on his passes and in this setting, his athleticism and playmaking ability can’t be showcased. That being said, he still displayed outstanding feet and was quick and athletic in his drops. He is always in balance and gets the ball out quickly. Virginia, South Carolina and Temple have offered.
-Three-star Brandon Napolean (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep) was at the event after running in the Penn Relays earlier in the day. He wasn’t at full speed after slightly pulling his hamstring during the track and field event. On the recruiting front, Napolean still favors North Carolina, followed by Rutgers and Virginia Tech. He was in Blacksburg two weeks ago for the Hokies’ spring game and has trips planned to Indiana and Michigan in mid-May. He feels like the Wolverines, along with Central Florida and Connecticut, could be the next to offer.
-Clark Livingston made the journey from Orange Lutheran High in the Los Angeles area to compete at this event and he may have been the most accurate passer during the latter portion of the event when receivers were running a variety of route combinations. Livingston is flying under the radar at the moment as only Colorado is showing significant interest. On film, he’s a good running threat as well and his accuracy shows up.
-Malik Bush (Hackensack, N.J.) is a tall prospect with a strong arm and was for the most part accurate. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is a prospect to watch in this class and is getting attention from Rutgers (where his brother plays) and others.
-Blake Rankin (Bloomsberg, Pa.) had some good moments. He has a compact release and gets the ball out quick. He’s also got good size. Rankin struggled with his footwork at times and wasn’t the most consistent throwing the ball. Still, we believe he has upside. Rankin has a verbal offer from Rutgers and is getting interest from Michigan State, Syracuse, Connecticut and Pittsburgh. He attended junior days at Rutgers, Pitt and Penn State.
-Class of 2013 prospect Myles Nash (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) is a big, athletic individual who threw the ball well. He’s got two more years of high school and has only scratched the surface of his potential, but his potential is there.
-One prospect watching the event who will be competing at Saturday’s Nike Football Training Camp was defensive end Eli Ankou (Ottawa, Ont./St. Peter). He has verbal offers from UCLA, Vanderbilt and Virginia and is getting interest from Syracuse, Michigan State, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Washington State. The Orange is the closest to home- about a three-hour trip via car for Ankou.
National Recruiting Analyst JC Shurburtt contributed
- Gerry Hamilton
- National Scouting Director - 247Sports