Biggest Elite 11 MVP snubs since 1999, from Matt Leinart to Dante Moore

Every year, the nation's best quarterbacks compete to be called the best by winning the Elite 11 MVP.

This year, 20 top QBs are in Los Angeles, looking to claim that honor and join an elite group. Founded in 1999, the Elite 11 has produced several notable names but has also seen MVPs that didn't pan out at the next level.

For those who didn't quite make it, there's usually one or two other standouts in the class who did find success beyond the tournament. Unfortunately for some of the MVPs, the guys they played alongside ultimately became college football legends and made it to the NFL.

Here are 10 players who went on to have better college or professional careers than the player named the Elite 11 MVP for their class.

2000: Matt Leinart

MVP: Brodie Croyle

Breakdown: Croyle may have played four years at Alabama, but in comparison, it's hard to stack his college career up to Leinart.

In three seasons at USC, Leinart led the Trojans to a record of 37-2, back-to-back national championships in 2003-2004, and he also won the Heisman Trophy in 2004. For his college career, he completed 65% of his passes for 10,693 yards and 99 touchdowns with only 23 interceptions.

Arizona selected him with the 10th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and he spent seven seasons in the league.

2001: Vince Young

MVP: Ben Olson

Breakdown: The other half of that historic 2006 Rose Bowl showdown, Young took a backseat to Olson when it came to the Elite 11. As far as college careers go, though, Young's was one for the ages.

A three-year starter for the Longhorns, Young led Texas to 34 wins during that stretch, including the program's first national championship since 1970. He completed 62% of his passes for 6,040 yards and 44 touchdowns to go along with 3,127 yards and 37 more touchdowns on the ground.

Tennessee selected him with the third pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and he spent six seasons in the league.

2007: Andrew Luck

MVP: Blaine Gabbert

Breakdown: Gabbert by no means had a bad college career and was also a first-round draft pick. However, his NFL career never panned out as many expected, and Luck became a generational prospect.

Luck turned Stanford into a contender during his three seasons with the Cardinal. He completed 67% of his passes for 9,430 yards and 82 touchdowns. As a sophomore and junior, he threw for over 3,300 yards and had more than 30 touchdowns in each season.

Indianapolis took Luck with the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons in the NFL before deciding to retire ahead of the 2019 season.

2010: Teddy Bridgewater

MVP: Jeff Driskel

Breakdown: Driskel never found success in his four seasons at Florida but shined in his final college season with Louisiana Tech. Bridgewater started three seasons at Louisville and while his freshman season was rough, the next two were far from that.

As a sophomore, Bridgewater threw for 3,718 yards and 27 touchdowns, and the Cardinals finished 11-2. The next year, Bridgewater completed 71% of his passes for 3,970 yards and 31 touchdowns, leading Louisville to a 12-1 record.

The last pick of the first round in the 2014 NFL Draft, Bridgewater bounced around the league, and while he did spend the 2025 season as a backup in Detroit, he stole headlines in the 2024 season, leading his old high school, Miami Northwestern, to a state championship.

2012: Jared Goff

MVP: Asiantii Woulard

Breakdown: There may be no bigger discrepancy on this list than Goff and Woulard. Goff enjoyed a successful career at Cal while Woulard never took a snap at quarterback in college.

Goff was a three-year starter for the Golden Bears, completing 62.3% of his passes for 12,200 yards and 96 touchdowns. As a junior, he was at his best, throwing for 4,719 yards and 43 touchdowns.

The Los Angeles Rams selected Goff with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and he played a pivotal role in leading them to Super Bowl LIII. Los Angeles traded Goff to Detroit in 2021 and he's continued to play as one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league.

2013: Deshaun Watson

MVP: Sean White

Breakdown: Deshaun Watson's NFL career has been a rollercoaster between injuries and controversies. However, his college career is still talked about while White's is not.

Watson played in eight games as a freshman and was given the reins to lead Clemson as a sophomore. He thrived in that role, throwing for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns. As a junior, he was even better, throwing for 4,593 yards, 41 touchdowns, and leading the Tigers to their first national championship since 1981.

Houston selected him with the 12th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and he's currently with the Cleveland Browns.

2014: Kyler Murray

MVP: Blake Barnett

Breakdown: Barnett was touted as the best quarterback in the country for his class, but Murray had what many considered to be the greatest high school career of any player to come out of Texas.

In that head-to-head, Murray would go on to find success while Barnett did not. Murray played for Texas A&M and Oklahoma, but his 2018 season with the Sooners won him a Heisman Trophy. That year, he completed 69% of his passes for 4,361 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Arizona selected him with the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he was recently traded from the Cardinals to Minnesota.

2017: Trevor Lawrence

MVP: Justin Fields

Breakdown: This class was headlined by Fields and Lawrence, with Lawrence coming out as the top-ranked player in the class while Fields took home Elite 11 MVP honors.

Both went on to have great college careers, but Lawrence won a national championship during his freshman season. In three years with the Tigers, he completed 67% of his passes for 10,098 yards and 90 touchdowns with only 17 interceptions. He also ran for 943 yards and more touchdowns.

Both Fields and Lawrence were taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but Lawrence was taken first by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fields has had a bit of a journeyman career, while Lawrence is still with the Jaguars and has thrown for over 4,000 yards in three of his five seasons.

2018: Jayden Daniels

MVP: Spencer Rattler

Breakdown: Rattler's college career was by no means a flop as he found some success at Oklahoma and then shined in his two seasons at South Carolina. While he's now in the NFL, another quarterback from that same class found just a little more success both in college and the NFL.

Daniels had three good seasons at Arizona State, including two where he threw for more than 2,300 yards, before transferring to LSU. In Baton Rouge, he found success. In his final season with the Tigers, he threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 more touchdowns en route to the Heisman Trophy.

Washington selected him with the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he's regarded by many as one of the NFL's best up-and-coming talents.

2022: Dante Moore

MVP: Jackson Arnold

Breakdown: Coming out of high school, Arnold and Moore were part of a loaded quarterback class that also included Arch Manning and Nico Iamaleava.

Arnold and Moore have since had two very different college careers. After three seasons at Auburn and Oklahoma, Arnold is not at UNLV trying to find the hype he had coming out of high school.

Moore transferred from UCLA to Oregon and is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. In his first full season as the Ducks' starting quarterback, he led Oregon back to the College Football Playoff, completing 72% of his passes for 3,5656 yards and 30 touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biggest Elite 11 MVP snubs since 1999, from Matt Leinart to Dante Moore

Reporting by Joseph Spears, USA TODAY High School Sports / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 12:35 PM.