Changes at the top heading into final day of Elite 11 QB competition

South Carolina quarterback commit Brandon McIlwain is putting on a show at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon this week, catapulting up the leaderboard to No. 5 — tops among SEC commits — at the Elite 11 Finals.

Texas commit Shane Buechele holds at No. 1 heading into the final day of competition according to the Elite 11’s updated QB rankings:

The 2015 #Elite11 Finals rankings heading into the final day of the competition #KeepClimbing pic.twitter.com/7sOgo7TyIe

— Elite11 (@Elite11) July 10, 2015

The mechanically-sound McIlwain showed off a strong arm during Thursday’s 7-on-7 portion, connecting with Stanford commit Kaden Smith on one of his best back-shoulder fades of the afternoon.

South Carolina Qab commit Brandon McIlwain with a great throw. #Gamecocks https://t.co/PeOhmp7gmw

— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) July 8, 2015

#SouthCarolina commit Brandon McIlwain with a great throw. https://t.co/qhUWjtsbh9

— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) July 9, 2015

–@TravHaneyESPN told us one of organizers of Elite 11, unprompted, called Brandon McIlwain one of "most mature" they've ever had.

— Michael Haney (@Haney1075) July 8, 2015

McIlwain’s performance strengthened his overall ranking by five spots, leaping fellow SEC commits Shea Patterson, Jacob Eason and Jarrett Guarantano.