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The Air Force Falcons usually don't get the highly touted or rated prospects due to the restrictions placed on the size of the athlete, but what is even more odd is the Falcons landing an elite passing quarterback. The usual Air Force quarterback is an athlete who is very capable of running an option-based offense and at times can throw reasonably well.
The latest commit for the 2015 class is University Of Detroit Jesuit's Ryan Brand who is an Elite 11 quarterback finalist and on his way to participate in The Opening.
Brand was rated as just a three-star -- the lowest rated of the other Elite 11 quarterbacks -- but he was getting interest from a handful of Big Ten and Ivy League schools, so he is talented and smart in the classroom.
Here is what Scout.com's Brandon Huffman says about Brand leading up to the Elite 11 finals:
One of the true underdogs in the field, Brand committed to Air Force this week, and is the first-ever Air Force commit ever selected to The Opening or the Elite 11 Finals. He was in the final four at the Chicago NFTC and landed the 17th invitation to The Opening.
An underdog might be an understatement as Brand is lowly rated and also is small in stature at 5-10, 190 pounds, and rated as just the nation's 45th dual-threat quarterback. However, 247Sports and ESPN have Brand rated as a three-star prospect while Scout and Rivals have not rated him, yet.
The website SonofaCoach.com breaks down Brand's potential, and see's him as a good fit in a triple-option offense, which so happens to be what Air Force runs.
Watching Brand's film, it is pretty evident he has a tough climb ahead of him in order for him to be an FBS quarterback. Most of the other quarterbacks his height that have achieved success were players that were dynamic athletes. Brand is a good athlete, but he isn't in the same league as someone like Kyler Murray. He has proved a lot of people wrong already by earning an invitation to the Elite 11 and I hope he continues to prove people wrong and develop into a starting quarterback at the BCS level.
Check out the highlights of Brand to see what earned him a spot to the Elite 11 Finals.