Montgomery set for Elite 11 finals

FINDLAY — Before he begins his senior season as quarterback at Findlay High School in August, University of Georgia commit Ryan Montgomery has another notable stop to make in his development as a player.

Montgomery will be one of the 20 prep quarterbacks from around the country participating at the 26th annual Elite 11 Finals in the Los Angeles area Tuesday through Thursday. The host site is Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

The Trojans’ 6-foot-3, 210-pound QB, who was named first team All-Ohio in Division I last fall, qualified for the finals from an Elite 11 regional held at State College, Pa., on May 18. It was one of eight regional sites.

He enters the finals as the ninth-highest rated quarterback nationally from his class of 2025 and one of the 10 four-star QBs. He is rated as the No. 114 recruit overall (all positions) in his class.

For Montgomery, the Elite 11 event holds special value in one specific area.

“Just being able to learn as much as you can,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of coaches there that have played the position in college and some in the NFL. We’re going to have a lot of opportunities to learn — on and off the field.

“You want to be a sponge and soak everything up from them and try to retain as much as possible. That’s the biggest thing. I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine, and I’m pretty locked in. I just want to go dominate.”

Montgomery has been following the Elite 11 Finals since 2017, when Justin Fields (Ohio State, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson, Jacksonville Jaguars) competed ahead of their senior prep seasons.

“This is an event he has had his eyes on since about eighth grade,” Ryan’s father, Mike Montgomery, said. “He is super excited for this unique opportunity, to say the least.”

There are four five-star quarterbacks in the finals, including No. 2-rated Tavien St. Clair, an Ohio State commit from Ohio’s Bellefontaine High School who is also the nation’s No. 2-rated overall player.

The other five-star QBs are Julian Lewis of Carrollton (Ga.) High School (No. 3 QB, No. 16 overall, Southern Cal commit), Husan Longstreet of Corona (Calif.) Centennial High School (No. 4, No. 28, Texas A&M), and George MacIntyre of Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy (No. 5, No. 30, Tennessee).

Notable by his absence from the competition will be the nation’s top-rated player overall from the 2025 class, Belleville (Mich.) High School’s 6-3½, 205-pound quarterback Bryce Underwood.

Elite 11 is an annual quarterback competition that since 1999 has showcased the top high school quarterbacks in the country. This event is aimed at helping the players develop the QB skills they need to compete well at the college and professional levels.

Former Central Catholic quarterback DeShone Kizer, who later starred at Notre Dame before playing in the NFL (Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders), competed in the 2013 Elite 11 Finals.

“I know some of the workouts we’ll be doing,” Ryan Montgomery said. “I know they keep you super busy, and they kind of run you through the ringer while you’re there. There’s not many breaks once you start. We’re going to be pretty busy.”

The 20 players will receive advanced, one-on-one quarterback instruction in a highly competitive setting. Included will be on-field drills, competition, classroom instruction, and off-field development.

Tuesday’s schedule includes opening drills, and Wednesday will be pro day and have an accuracy challenge. At the end of the event on Thursday, a 2024 Elite 11 (top 11 QBs) and an Elite 11 most valuable player will be announced.

“You’re supposed to make reads, but we’ll be running a lot of college concepts,” Ryan Montgomery said of the training. “That will be new to all of us, so we’re definitely going to have to have some coaching with that. We’ll see how it goes.”

From the 2023 NFL season, 27 of the 32 starting quarterbacks competed in the Elite 11 finals or regionals, as well as 16 of the past 17 quarterbacks who won the Heisman Trophy.

“For me, the biggest thing is just going to be the chance to learn as much as I can. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Ryan said, “so being able to learn as much as I can will help me in the future.

“I’m going to be surrounded by like-minded players who are just as good as me, if not better. I’m pretty excited for that.”

Contact Steve Junga at sjunga@theblade.com or on Twitter @JungaBlade.