By Eric Spruill, The Edmond Sun, Okla.
Jul. 17–The Top Gun QB Challenge is back, and bigger than ever, as 22 of the state’s top signal callers come together at Edmond Memorial to see who’s Oklahoma’s best.
Top Gun QB Challenge was founded by brothers Jared and Jason Allen, and began in Arkansas, where the event just took place for the fifth time.
And since its inception, has now grown to include Oregon, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. One week from now the top two individuals from each event will meet in Tulsa, to find the best of the entire program.
Jared, who just got back from Oregon, said that he believed the challenge would grow as it has.
“I would not say that I am surprised, I had high expectations. In Arkansas we had 1,000 people out to watch this year, and we’re expecting a big crowd here in Oklahoma,” Allen said. “When we did the first event in Arkansas, we knew that we had to bring it to Oklahoma, because people are just as crazy about football here. Plus, there’s not a lot for football fans to do in July, besides sit and wait.”
The two-day event, which features local products Dax Dilbeck, of Deer Creek, Cody Crabaugh, of Edmond North, and Michael Hodges, of Santa Fe, will begin on Friday at Performance Sports Center, where the players will be put through both mental and physical challenges. Dilbeck announced Wednesday that he will be accepting a scholarship offer to Oregon State.
The Friday session will begin at run from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
Athletes will be put through a mini-combine which will include the 40-yard dash, shuttle runs, vertical leap, and a weighted throw, which tests individuals upper body strength, without having to do the bench press.
It concludes on Saturday with five events, which will take place on the Memorial practice field beginning at 7 p.m. The events will test the players speed, mobility, accuracy and arm strength.
The Top Gun QB Challenge crew evaluates talent throughout the football season to figure out who to invite the next season, though that will change in the ’09 format.
“We send out nomination forms to coaches, and we evaluate lots of film. We talk to college coaches and the media, to get a better idea of who we should invite,” Allen said. “We’re changing that up a little bit in ’09. Next year we’re going to hold 15-20 one-day events, where any quarterback in the state can come out and compete, because we know that sometimes a player may slip through the cracks. Then we will have the best from those events compete against the guys that we feel have earned the right to be there.”
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