For the second time in four years, Penn State will have a quarterback recruit attending The Opening at the Nike headquarters. Jake Zembiec was the 18th and final quarterback to receive an invitation to compete in the Elite 11 quarterback camp next month.
The 18th & final invite to The #Elite11 Finals…Aquinas Institute (NY) QB Jake Zembiec (@jakezembiec). #WeAre pic.twitter.com/Kqf69A1u5a
— Elite11 (@Elite11) June 15, 2015
The Elite 11 all-star camp will be held July 5-10. He will also have the opportunity to compete in a 7on7 tournament with many of the nation’s top recruits as part of The Opening. This should be a terrific opportunity for Zembiec to improve his skills against some of the best talent in the nation before arriving at Penn State in 2016. Zembiec is currently listed as a three-star prospect in the 247 Sports composite rankings, so a good showing in this event should figure to have a good chance to help improve that overall outlook by the scouting services. He is listed as a four-star pro-style quarterback by 247 Sports and Rivals.
Zembiec will be joined in Oregon by a few other quarterbacks making their way to Big Ten programs in 2016. Messiah Deweaver (Michigan State), Dwayne Hashins (Maryland), Patrick O’Brien (Nebraska), Brandon Peters (Michigan) and Anthony Russo (Rutgers) have all been invited. The entire roster of quarterbacks is below…
The 2015 #Elite11 Finalists #KeepClimbing pic.twitter.com/C1aR9rNiew
— Elite11 (@Elite11) June 15, 2015
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Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg was among the standout stars of the 2012 Elite 11 camp, receiving top billing from Sports Illustrated with his performance in red zone drills and under pressure. Other quarterbacks attending the camp included USC’s Max Browne and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett. Browne is coming off a very strong 2014 season that, for some reason, seemed to fly under the radar. I am not sure the last time a USC quarterback put up his kind of numbers and barely earned a peep in the Heisman conversation, but he should be in that conversation this fall if USC has a good year. Barrett, of course, stepped right in for an injured Braxton Miller in Columbus to elad the Buckeyes to an 11-1 regular season to earn a spot in the Big Ten championship game. His season-ending ankle injury against Michigan put him on the shelf for Ohio State’s postseason run. Hackenberg had a rough 2014 season but showed flashes of why he was among the top quarterback recruits when he was recruited. Entering his junior season, Hackenberg has scouts eager to see if he makes the jump to the NFL a year early.
Regardless of how Zembiec does at The Opening and Elite 11, this continues to be a good sign for Penn State’s path as a program. Having two quarterbacks, or rather quarterback recruits, in recent years is a sign that Penn State has been recruiting some good talent at key positions. Bill O’Brien made getting Hackenberg one of his top missions during his short stay as head coach, and James Franklin continues to pus forward by recruiting as much quality depth as possible. It continues to be a bit of a work in progress, but having players attend this new high-profile all-star camp can be a valuable recruiting tool for Franklin and the entire staff as well. As is always the case though, success will be determined by what the staff can do to develop that talent and max out the potential of the players once they get into the program.
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