Ryan Puglisi Speaks About Experience at Elite 11 Finals and His Heartfelt Saying
The Elite 11 finals are among the best competition-driven national events for quarterbacks, especially. Consistently hosting highly touted prospects like Matthew Stafford, Aaron Murray, and Ryan Puglisi this year. Puglisi joins Dawgs Daily to speak about his experience at the Elite 11 finals and a heartfelt saying he tells himself.
The three-day event consisted of a variety of competitions to rate prospects in a variety of different ways. Day one consisted of a "Rail Shot Challenge," where all 20 QBs threw to a specified area on the field to test accuracy. Day two consisted of each QB's "Pro Day," which was their chance to show off their arm, throwing various routes. Finally, Day three was a 7v7 tournament for all quarterbacks, where each quarterback got four drives to score against a live defense. This event is supposed to create many things, but two things it will always create are competition and relationships.
Ryan Puglisi and Dylan Raiola are joining a short list of names who competed in the same school and were consistently competing against each other; the last to do that from UGA was Aaron Murray and Zach Mettinberger. "I think the reason they did that is because we've embraced it," Puglisi mentioned when asked about this, "I think that's how it should be. You're gonna compete no matter where you go, wherever you are, and I think the best way to go about that is to embrace it. We've built a great relationship already, and I'm just excited for the future."
"I definitely built relationships that will last a long time," Puglisi mentioned when asked about his experience the past three days. Puglisi has done this before coming to Los Angeles, having a relationship with Dylan Raiola and Dante Reno, a South Carolina commit who finished just above Puglisi in the Ball Score test. Dawgs Daily asked the 4-star if he had built any other relationships since being there, and Puglisi provided some great insight into his thoughts before the game.
"CJ Carr and I were just talking about this; on our way here, we thought there was going to be cliques - that was not the case at all. We all came in and are in the same room right away; it was like we met each other three years ago. [Everyone] here is greater [people]."
Off-the-field activities are great for players to have a chance to build these relationships. The Elite 11 finals provided plenty of opportunities for this to happen, and it also provided an opportunity for the participants to meet Mike McVay.
When asked what he took away from the plethora of off-field activities provided, Puglisi noted how your "mindset" is very important, and McVay helped him understand how. "He told us, 'You need to have one saying that is going to guide you through tough times.' I built my own, and it's personal - and you can't just say a saying without having something to back it up."
Puglisi's saying hits home to him and truly is the definition of personal -
"I had one of my good friends pass away because of cancer, and she lived across the street from me - she used to work out daily no matter what it was. I looked out of my window one day - I was about ten at the time - and she had no muscle, no hair, and she was still out there walking. I mean, if she can do that, I can do whatever."
