Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks need to see more from QB Akili Smith Jr. at Elite 11
The Elite 11 has brought a ton of fireworks to the field as the nation's top prep quarterbacks compete to land prestigious awards and beat out their peers. Through two days of action, one name has particularly stood out as not being named as a high performer. That's 2025 Oregon Ducks QB commit Akili Smith […]
The Elite 11 has brought a ton of fireworks to the field as the nation's top prep quarterbacks compete to land prestigious awards and beat out their peers. Through two days of action, one name has particularly stood out as not being named as a high performer. That's 2025 Oregon Ducks QB commit Akili Smith Jr.
The legacy recruit enters the final night of workouts with a chip on his shoulder as Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and the nation watch Smith perform.
Ducks QB Akili Smith Jr. Struggles at Elite 11
Performing well at the Elite 11 workouts guarantees nothing at the collegiate or NFL level, but it's sure not an event where top recruits want to fall to the wayside. Smith was not named by any attending outlet through either day thus far, and his performance has the Ducks wanting to see improvement.
A strong Day 3 performance could put the 4-star back on the map a little bit. His Day 2 showed a passer who has a strong arm but not much control of it. Several of his passes were badly errant, and he completed only 14-of-20 attempts in the pro day part of the program.
Losing in the accuracy and pro day part of the Elite 11 is a tough look. Smith failed to earn a top-11 ranking on either day of the camp, falling below multiple 3-star prospects who don't have the namesake of a former NCAA star and NFL top pick. But not all is lost for Smith even if Day 3 doesn't go well.
Smith had arguably the best throw of any player on Day 2, showing off his deep passing potential in this clip.
Consistency will be the name of Smith's collegiate journey, or lack thereof. Lanning and company should be trusted to continue developing his raw but impressive skill set. With the transfer portal being favorable for Oregon in recent years, we may not see Smith on the field until 2027 anyway.
