Elite 11 performance confirms what Oklahoma fans are hoping about Bowe Bentley

Recent Oklahoma 2026 quarterback commit Bowe Bentley was among the top performers at last week's Elite 11 quarterback competition held in Los Angeles.

Bentley, who pledged his commitment to the Sooners on Friday, one day after this year's Elite 11 event ended, is one of a number of promising young high school quarterbacks who have taken part in the past in the select quarterback competition and went on to start at quarterback for Oklahoma.

Since the introduction of the Elite 11 in 1999, some of the best college quarterbacks of the past quarter century have gone through its ranks. It's alumni include Teddy Bridgewater, Matt Leinart, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Tua Tagovailoa, Tim Tebow, Vince Young and Jameis Winston, as well as Oklahoma's Kyler Murray.

In the 27 years the Elite 11 has been held, Oklahoma has had a finalist participant in 15 of them, including seven of the past eight years. In the past eight years of the Elite 11, three Oklahoma recruits have won MVP honors: Spencer Rattler (2018), Caleb Williams (2020) and Jackson Arnold (2022).

All of the Elite 11 finalists have star-studded high school resumes, and a number of them, but not all, go on to outstanding college careers. Jackson Arnold, for example, was a top quarterback recruit in the 2022 class nationally and an Elite 11 MVP. He failed to live up to expectations at OU and transferred to Auburn after one season as the Sooners' starting quarterback.

Bentley had 4,200 yards of total offense and accounted for 63 touchdowns as a junior in leading his Celina High School to the 2024 Texas Class 4A state championship. He chose the Sooners over LSU and was among the 20 finalists in this year's three-day Elite 11 quarterback competition featuring the top high school quarterbacks from the 2026 recruiting class.

After Day 2 in the Elite 11 finals, Bentley ranked third behind Keisean Henderson, the No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 class, according to 247 Sports, and Dia Bell, a Texas commit.

Five-star Texas commit Bell was named the MVP of this year's Elite 11 competition, but Bentley was among the more impressive participants, which is positive news for Oklahoma football. Bell is rated the No. 5 quarterback in the 2026 class nationally, according to 247Sports. Bowe is ranked No. 7 by the same service.

It is interesting to point out that four-star QB recruit Jaden O'Neal, who had been committed to Oklahoma since June 2024 before decommitting this past weekend and flipping his commitment to Florida State, was not an Elite 11 finalist participant.

Read more about OU football