Sooner State Shootout’s Top 18U Quarterbacks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Redzone 7v7 Circuit came through Oklahoma for the first weekend in March and it was the largest 7v7 tournament in the three years that Prep Redzone has been doing 7v7 tournaments. We've had a ton of content dropping all week, taking a look at the best players that stood out throughout the tournament. In this breakdown, we're putting that spotlight on the 18U division and the quarterback position. This breakdown features quarterbacks from six different states but there were still plenty more standout QBs from the 18U division. Check out our other team-specific breakdowns if you're looking for someone else. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ayden Wilhelm - 2026 - EMP1RE (Missouri)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 quarterback Ayden Wilhelm suited up for one of the EMP1RE teams that made the trip down from the Kansas City area. Wilhelm immediately got our attention with his ability to throw absolute darts. And on Sunday in particular, that was the day that separated a lot of the good quarterbacks from the decent quarterbacks. The wind really started picking up during bracket play on Sunday and Wilhelm was not effected. It didn't matter if the wind was at his back or if he was going into the wind, his execution looked the same, no matter what the conditions were. Wilhelm not only caught the attention of our content team but some of the field managers mentioned how strong he was as a QB. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brady Norman - 2025 - Prolific (Oklahoma)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prolific would make a run to the 18U championship game but they would come up short, losing to Sooner 7. Ironically, a former Sooner 7 signal caller would help Prolific make it to the championship game. Henryetta quarterback Brady Norman is the first of three 2025 quarterbacks on this breakdown that grabbed our attention throughout the weekend. Norman was very precise with where he put the football. I'm sure Norman had some bad passes at times but it didn't feel that way when we were watching. It felt like the football rarely hit the ground. Oklahoma's 2025 quarterback class was so incredibly deep but Norman is a guy that earned respect across the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='676467' first='Derek' last='Morgan'] - 2025 - Sharp 7v7 (Kansas)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharp 7v7 out of Kansas came down and had a good showing in the 18U division. [player_tooltip player_id='676467' first='Derek' last='Morgan'] was another 2025 quarterback that was getting one more shot to sling the ball around at the high school level. And Morgan had a really good performance, specifically on Saturday during pool play. Going up against one team that had legitimate D1 prospects in the secondary, Morgan absolutely lit them up. He would make throws to the middle of the field, which ended up being the weak spot and he was relentless with his attack. Morgan immediately got our attention with that performance and overall, he had a really good showing during the two days in Broken Arrow. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dylan Taylor - 2027 - 918 Elite (Oklahoma)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>918 Elite had two quarterbacks that played throughout the tournament and one will be covered in another article later today. But for this, we're putting the spotlight on 2027 signal caller Dylan Taylor and he continues to impress us every time we watch him in person. Taylor goes to Union and has also been a frequent camper at our Prep Redzone events. Every time we've seen him at those events, he's improved from the previous showing. This weekend was no different in a 7v7 tournament setting. Taylor was confident and precise with the football and he continues to be a name to know moving forward. Will he be QB1 for Union this fall? We don't know but he continues to trend in the right direction. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237071' first='Kemp' last='Keller'] - 2026 - Arkansas Diamond Boyz (Arkansas)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Arkansas Diamond Boyz program really impressed us from the 18U teams all the way down to the 10U teams. And 2026 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='237071' first='Kemp' last='Keller'] came away from this weekend with the reputation for being one of the best quarterbacks in the tournament. One of our field managers happened to be the state's all time leading passer and a guy who played D1 and CFL football. So he knows what he's looking for in a quarterback. He mentioned to me multiple times that Keller was the best quarterback that he saw on his field and that obviously got our attention. And Keller backed up the hype when we were watching. He has a couple offers already but that should increase moving forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Malik Carter -2028 - Da Elite Crew (Illinois)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Da Elite Crew (otherwise known as WTX Elite) came up to Oklahoma and they had multiple players that stood out to us on Saturday during pool play. It started with their quarterback. 2028 signal caller Malik Carter (who's actually from Illinois) immediately passed the eye test. He's a tall, rangy quarterback that can absolutely launch the football but he also clearly has the clutch gene. In one game in particular, DEC needed to score with less than a minute to play. Carter took the snap, his coach said "take what they give you," and Carter launched a bomb to the end zone and his receiver ran under it for the game-winning touchdown. It was a spectacular play from a young quarterback on the rise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Talon Shaffer - 2027 - Smoke 7v7 (Oklahoma)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 quarterback Talon Shaffer took the field for Smoke 7v7 this weekend and he's a quarterback that we've watched in person quite a bit over the last 12 months. Shaffer can absolutely sling the ball all over the field and that's one thing that certainly stands out to us about him as a quarterback prospect. Shaffer isn't the biggest quarterback from a physical standpoint and then you see him launch a 40-yard bomb like it's nothing and the size questions don't matter as much. It was an up and down weekend for Smoke 7v7 but Shaffer made some really good plays on Saturday in particular. Shaffer's accuracy on the deep ball is something that has always impressed us. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ty Bryson - 2025 - FOE Elite National (Texas)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our final quarterback standout was another 2025 signal caller. Ty Bryson and FOE Elite National came up to Oklahoma from south Texas and they nearly made it all the way to the 18U championship game. Bryson and the res of his teammates were absolutely dominant in bracket play but came up one point shy of playing for the championship. Bryson caught our attention on Saturday with his ability to pick apart defenses, no matter who the opponent was. And when you look at some of their scores from the weekend, you see an offense that was incredibly tough to slow down. Bryson was the conductor of that attack and they certainly performed at a high level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->