Zach Kline at the Elite 11 (Days 1 and 2)

Cal has somewhat of a notorious history with its previous Elite 11 quarterbacks. A number of quarterbacks under Jeff Tedford were invited to EA's Elite 11 QB Camp which invites some of the nation's top QB prospects. The list includes: Nate Longshore, Kyle Reed, Kevin Riley, Brock Mansion, Allan Bridgford, and incoming QB Kyle Boehm. In fact, pretty much all of Tedford's QB highly touted QB recruits since Aaron Rodgers have been invited to the camp other than former Bear Beau Sweeney.

Despite the high accolades in high school and the subsequent camp invitations, most Bears fans are very much aware of the varying levels of success these prospects have had at the collegiate level with the Bears. It's yet to be determined with some of them, but needless to say, by now most know it's no sure thing that an Elite 11 QB equals quarterbacking success at Cal.

However, most have keenly watched the development of Cal's next QB recruit Zach Kline is who is ranked as one of the top pro-style quarterback prospects in the nation. Naturally, he was invited to the Elite 11 Camp this year, which actually interestingly enough has expanded its field of participants to 24 this year.

So it goes without saying that any have been interested in Zach Kline's performance at this year's camp. You can follow along with the day's writeups over at ESPN's recruiting site, but I've gone through the trouble of including some key blurbs about Kline after the jump.



Prior to the camp starting

Adam Gorney from Rivals asked if Kline could bounce back from his "subpar" performance at the Opening.
The Danville (Calif.) San Ramon Valley quarterback who's committed to California had a sub-par performance at The Opening and could use the Elite 11 to wrap up another fine summer.

Kline, the second-best pro-style quarterback in the class, was out of sorts at times at The Opening, throwing too many bad passes and interceptions and not looking comfortable in the pocket.

Numerous times, including the Stanford Elite 11 regional camp, Kline has looked really sharp and skilled so we expect him to return to that form. He has one of the strongest arms in the class and could use this opportunity to bounce back.

Note: Gorney also has a writeup on Kline's performance at the opening here.

Day 1
ESPN's Tom Luginbill had the following to say about Kline after Day 1.
"While we wish Kline did not prop the ball up so high in his carriage, there may not be anyone in attendance who consistently spins the ball as tightly as he does. Many prospects who prop the ball to ear level are "pushers," not passers. Kline is a passer. As we have mentioned in the past, he reminds us of a stronger-armed Jake Heaps with more natural wrist velocity."

ESPN's Mike Grimala included Zach Kline's group as the most impressive which also included Gunnier Kiel and Nick Patti.
"Kline, a wiry gunslinger from San Ramon Valley (San Ramon Valley, Calif.), showed impressive arm strength, throwing several rockets while on the move in mobility drills.

“I think my arm strength is pretty good,” said the ever-confident Kline, who has committed to Cal. “I like throwing routes where the windows are tight, because I can throw hard and I can get the ball in places where a lot of other guys can’t.”

Kline declined to call his arm the strongest at Elite 11, but the denial wasn’t very convincing."

Day 2
Kline was included in the "On the Rise" group by ESPN's Tom Luginbill:
"The most important trait Kline needs to develop is touch and how/when to use it. His natural inclination is to drive and hum the ball with speed and velocity, but there are times for him to become a finesse passer depending on the route or coverage. This goes against his nature so it is a challenge for him and a good one. There is no doubt he can fit the ball into tight spaces, but he needs to be able to just play pitch and catch, too. Can't get enough of that release though."

Scott Kennedy of Scout has Kline the 10th best QB based on the first 2 days of camp.
"Kline is just a notch below the arm strength of guys like Winston and Kiel. For him, it's a matter of trusting his arm. Scout's No. 1 quarterback of 2010, Jeff Driskel, had a similar transition through the Elite 11 week as he over threw the ball early, only to settle in and put on a show the rest of the week. Kline has the arm strength, but he needs to relax more and not try to over throw everything."

CBS Sports writes that Zach Kline has been "repping" the West Coast.
Danville (Calif.) quarterback Zach Kline had one of the shortest commutes to the Elite 11 from the Bay Area and though he is used to going down to the beach or enjoying a cool summer day, the experience with 23 other top quarterbacks at the Elite 11 has been eye-opening for him.

"It's been awesome," Kline said. "Nothing is like it, ever. It's the best thing I've ever been to and you have the best players here."

The California kid was sporting a Rafael Nadal-like look on Tuesday with long hair and a headband. Though he was one of the most outgoing and relaxed players on the field, that masked his workman-like approach to learning as much as he could from the coaches and counselors at the event.

"A lot of things like making every throw count and the little things matter the most," he said about what he learned. "Even the smallest thing down to a drop, the fake on the play action matters more than anything and is the difference between a completion and an interception. And just kind of getting to know these guys and the things that they see."

In between meals and film sessions, the Cal commit has been able to take time to bond with his fellow campers, many of whom he is already close with.

"I know these guys real well," Kline said. "Connor Brewer I've been friends with for awhile, for a couple of years. Jake Rodrigues I've been friends with for a long time as well. Tyler Matthews same deal. Gunner Kiel, I was at the Elite 11 last year as a ball boy with him. He's the man, he's a great quarterback and just a cool dude to hang around with. Same for all of those guys, every single one of them."

Regarded by many as the top quarterback on the West Coast, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is confident in himself and showed that he can make all the throws on the field, going neck-and-neck with other highly ranked players like Winston and Kiel. Still, despite actually belonging with the best in the nation, Kline knows there's still something left for him to prove.

"Definitely," he says before identifying the biggest reason why. "Tanner Mangum is giving me a run for my money. He's good, a great quarterback and a great dude too. He's a good friend of mine as well and he's going to do big things at BYU, just an awesome quarterback, can't wait to watch him."

Kline so far has yet to win any of the challenges that we know of, with BYU commit Tanner Mangum taking the Golden Jersey Acuracy Challenge two days in a row, and Austin Appleby taking the honors with the playbook portion of the camp.