Changes Made to Gameday's Elite 10
Moving up the most in the Elite 10 is Sherando quarterback Ross Metheny. After a real solid performance at UVA's one-day camp, there's a lot more excitement in Charlottesville about Metheny...
Photo By: Gameday Magazine
The camp and combine season is officially over, which for us, means there's some shifting that needs to be done for our Elite 11. Different players have made themselves heard and have put themselves on the map in a whole new way, namely Bryn Renner. For the entire month of July, he dominated the recruiting headlines after qualifying for the Elite 11, which is another huge step forward for this area. No matter who you are, it's great to see a local player go on to be featured on the national stage.
Yet while Renner stole the spotlight for the entire month of July, there were others making a big impact elsewhere. We moved them up as well, and their changes in the Elite 10 rankings are noted below...
BRYN RENNER (NORTH CAROLINA)
Quarterback, West Springfield
Prior: #3
Current: #2
Without a doubt, the player who has had the most impressive offseason is Renner. Coming from relative obscurity, Renner hopped onto the national stage this past July as he was chosen to compete in the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp. As if being selected to the camp wasn't a big enough accomplishment, Renner started to outshine every other quarterback at the camp. After just missing out on the Golden Gun award for being the most accurate passer, Renner was still named 'Most Improved.' What's tough for Renner is that he's behind De'Antwan 'Rocket' Williams, who we feel is one of the more special players to come out of this area in a long time. Yet make no doubt about, Renner is officially onto the national stage, and he'll likely stay there throughout the year. In just one month, he's created a new buzz down in Chapel Hill as Tar Heel fans are anointing him to be the one to take their program back to prominence.
ROSS METHENY (VIRGINIA)
Quarterback, Sherando
Prior: #7
Current: #5
Moving up the most in our revised Elite 10 is Metheny. After turning in a stellar performance at UVA's one-day camp last month, it's clear his leg injury hasn't affected him one bit. In fact, judging from various camp reports, he's improved quite drastically over the offseason. His top-notch performance last month is evidence of that, and it's now quite apparent that those at UVA are very high on him at this point. In fact, if it wasn't for the stellar play of Renner last month, Metheny would be the one grabbing all the headlines. Now that the combine and camp circuit is over and done with, it will be interesting to see how much more he can move up during the season.
BRIAN SLAY (N.C. STATE)
Defensive Line, Stone Bridge
Prior: #9
Current: #8
We haven't heard much from Slay over the summer, and like his teammate Wang, he won't see much press from the recruiting gurus because of his very early commitment. Nonetheless, in the reshuffling of the Elite 10, we moved Slay up one spot because he's certainly flown under the radar way too much. We have a feeling the Wolfpack faithful and those in the recruiting world will be reintroduced to Slay in a big way during this upcoming year, so it's only fitting we start moving him up now.
LUKE BOWANKO (VIRGINIA)
Offensive Line, Centreville
Prior: #10
Current: #9
We always found it extremely tough to put a player like Bowanko at #10, and are more than comfortable with moving him up. Let's not forget here that he's one of the best offensive lineman in the entire state, and with his size, he has the potential to become an all-conference lineman when down at UVA. For now, we'll leave him at #9, but he'll more than likely move up the rankings as the year goes on.
JAY WEATHERINGTON
Offensive Line, Woodbridge
Prior: NR
Current: #10
Having Weatherington on our list makes up for a total of five linemen on the Elite 10. He's the new guy to the group, but after mightily impressing down at Virginia Tech, it's clear that he is on elite status. Tech has talked about offering, but with just a handful of scholarships left, he may have to wait on 11th hour for it to come his way. Not to worry, Weatherington still holds five other offers, but with the news coming out of Tech's camp, it's clear he is in fact a big-time prospect.
