Before this week, Drew Lock was the most recent Missouri quarterback to place at the annual Elite 11 high school quarterback competition. Lock was an All-SEC quarterback while in Columbia, leading the nation in touchdown passes as a junior in 2017, and is now an NFL starter for the Broncos.
If Tyler Macon — the newest Missouri commit to compete at Elite 11 — has a similar college career, Tigers fans will be overjoyed.
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Macon, a three-star Missouri commit from East St. Louis, Ill., was named one of the “Elite 11” at this year’s finals in Nashville, which hosted 20 quarterbacks. The organization did not release final rankings, but Macon told The Athletic he placed fifth.
“I can truly say this all was a dream come true,” Macon said on Twitter after the contest.
Five-star Caleb Williams, who is deciding between Maryland, Oklahoma and LSU, was announced as MVP.
As a junior at East St. Louis, Macon led the Flyers to a 14-0 record and passed for 4,241 yards and 39 touchdowns while running for 827 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s ranked as only the No. 22 dual-threat quarterback nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, likely because he’s only 6-foot and his numbers were aided by an offense loaded with Division I talent.
Now, after Elite 11, he has an impressive showcase performance to go along with his gaudy statistics.
“Tyler definitely throws the ball as if he’s a 6-foot-5 guy,” Matt Bierman, Macon’s quarterbacks coach at Elite Football training academy in St. Louis, said in March. “He’s very on top of the ball. Very tight mechanics. He has a very high release. He definitely gets leverage with his mechanics.
Macon said he benefited from talking to star Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, a counselor at the event. His East St. Louis teammate Keontez Lewis, a three-star receiver and major Missouri target, was also at the camp, running routes for Macon and the other quarterbacks. Macon said he likes the Tigers’ chances to land both Lewis and four-star Dominic Lovett, another East St. Louis standout.
The East St. Louis quarterback spoke with The Athletic about his Elite 11 experience, what he learned and Missouri’s recruiting success under new coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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How was the experience overall?
It was very eye-opening. It was very beneficial on the field and off the field. Some of the off-the-field things (learned) were just the way we look at life, and it’s bigger than football. With our platform and things going on now and in the future, we can change them with the platform that we have as quarterbacks.
On the field, it was some of the things from under the gun. Because at Mizzou, I’m going to have to be under the gun at times. It just made me better as a football player.
Who talked about the platform you have?
It was actually one of the coaches, coach Jerrod Johnson. We had done an activity. It was just about our huddles that we have on the field and off the field and some of the things that are going on in the near future, because the quarterback is the leader of the group because we’re the most educated. We did an activity talking about the platforms that we have.
What were some on-field activities you did?
I definitely got better the first day because we did a lot of play-action things from under center, which I haven’t done since little league because my high school runs the spread.
The second day, the pro day workout, it just helped me get a feel for what’s to come when it’s time to go to the NFL with some of the throws and footwork.
The last day helped me mentally because I know now that when you get tired and everything, that’s when you have to really emphasize your fundamentals — when your mind gets tired and you get physically tired. It just helped me gain mental strength.
I want to say thank you to all the coaches @Elite11 for an amazing experience , I can truly say this all was a dream come true and thanks to all the guys for making this a great 3 days , Some of the bonds created will be for a life time #MIZ #NewZou … I bet they know me now 🐯 pic.twitter.com/Jm8vW5ckjl
— Tyler “5IVE” Macon (@EstlMaco5) July 1, 2020
Who were the other quarterbacks attendees you bonded with?
Going in, I knew (Michigan commit) J.J. McCarthy and (Tennessee commit) Kaidon Salter. After the thing, I built bonds with (LSU commit) Garrett Nussmeier, (Oregon commit) Ty Thompson, (Penn State commit) Christian Veilleux and (Auburn commit) Dematrius Davis.
How did they go about doing this camp during the pandemic? What precautions did they take?
We had a maximum amount of people that we could bring with us. They emphasized social distancing two weeks before the event. We had to wear masks everywhere we went besides the field.
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I saw in the pictures you even had masks around your neck when on the field.
Yes. We had little Nike headbands. We pulled them up (over our mouths) when we came into contact with each other.
What were your biggest takeaways from the experience?
The biggest takeaways I had were off-the-field things. We did an event (with) NEGU — Never Ever Give Up. It’s kids that are fighting cancer. That really made me look at life differently. We’re worried about making a ranking and ‘“Are we going to win a game of football?” And they’re fighting for their life. That just made me look at life differently. It’s bigger than football. I’m actually going to become a big part of that in my city.
They had a representative, Ryan. He had beat his cancer. And then we had another Zoom meeting with a NEGU kid, Cade.
Note: NEGU is the motto for the Jessie Rees Foundation, which aims to help kids battling cancer by offering resources, encouragement, building connections and raising awareness.
Are there any conversations with other quarterbacks that came to mind?
We actually have a thing that’s like the NFL quarterbacks that came out. We’re all going to write a script and say it and record it ourselves like the NFL (players) did about what’s going on (with Black Lives Matter). We’re going to make that into a whole collage.
Caleb Williams was sitting on the idea for a minute, but he brought it up yesterday before everybody went home. We’re going to send (clips) to him at some point. I think we’re doing it in the next few days.
Missouri has been on a roll recruiting, which you’ve been vocal about. How are you feeling about the 2021 class after the flurry of commitments?
I feel really good about it. I feel like I played a big part with the latest commits, and I think we have more coming pretty soon, like in early July.
(Photo: Courtesy of Tyler Macon)
Peter Baugh is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in New York. He has previously been published in the Columbia Missourian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, Politico and the Washington Post. A St. Louis native, Peter graduated from the University of Missouri and previously covered the Missouri Tigers and the Colorado Avalanche for The Athletic. Follow Peter on Twitter @Peter_Baugh
