After an impressive performance at the Elite 11 camp in California, Brian Maurer made the cross-country flight home on Monday and immediately passed out upon hitting his bed.
The 3-star quarterback from West Port High in Ocala, Fla., was one of the surprising stars at the camp, earning an invite to The Opening Finals as one of the best 11 quarterbacks in the country.
When Maurer woke up, he quickly realized his secret was out — and his recruitment was about to really ramp up.
“Yesterday was crazy,” Maurer told VolQuest.
:I woke up to 30-40 text messages and my Twitter and Instagram were blowing up. I didn’t really know what was going on. I knew I had been invited to the finals out in California because Trent Dilfer told me out there, but I didn’t know that they posted it yet. But I wake up, and I have messages from Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, James Franklin, Jake Spatial. All these top, big dog coaches. It was a good feeling knowing that I’m finally getting recognized.”
After a solid junior season for West Port where he threw for 2,500 yards with 24 total touchdowns and 13 interceptions, Maurer turned heads throughout the camp circuit this spring. The strong-armed 6-foot-4, 190-pound prospect continued his steady showings out in California, holding his own with a slew of higher-ranked blue-chip quarterbacks.
“The whole experience was definitely rewarding. It was a life-changing experience. Top of the class training, just top of the class learning. We ended a meeting at 12:30 a.m. to waking up at 4 a.m. to do hot yoga blindfolded. It was lots of new experiences I wasn’t used to,” Maurer said of the Elite 11 camp.
“It’s not just a football camp. It teaches you more about life and how to act. We spent more time in the classroom than on the football field. My mindset was to just go out there and become a better person and compete my ass off because I was fighting to get in that final 11.”
Schools across the country, including Tennessee, had started to circle Maurer’s name this spring as buzz around the Sunshine State native grew. The 3-star prospect currently holds 14 offers, with West Virginia recruiting him the hardest right now. Others are quickly jumping into contention, though, with both Ohio State and Penn State maintaining steady dialogue for the last month. The Vols reached out to Maurer three weeks ago and he’s stared to build a relationship with offensive coordinator Tyson Helton.
“Coach Helton wants me to come up and camp but I won’t be able to do that. I definitely will get up there for a visit but my June is slam packed,” Maurer explained.
“I have four 7-on-7 (tournaments), team workouts. I know July is a dead period and that makes it (tough). I’ve been in contact with Tyson for the past two or three weeks now. We’ve just been texting and DM’ing but we’re set to get on the phone here soon and talk about some things.”
In the last 24 hours, Maurer has heard from West Virginia, UT, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas A&M, UCF, UF and UCLA. He’s slated to visit UCF on Wednesday and participate in a 7-on-7 camp at Florida on Friday.
“Being that it’s later in the recruiting process, I’m definitely going to have to speed things up,” Maurer said.
“A lot of top dog schools are calling now. It’s definitely getting hectic.”
