Friday Night Drive’s 2024 Offensive Player of the Year: Mount Carmel’s Jack Elliott

No matter how an opposing coach or player broached the subject, Jack Elliott always seemed to come up after a game against Mount Carmel this season.

Sometimes the conversation started after a question about how difficult it is to stop Elliott.

“Just watching him on film and seeing him in-person, even when you think a guy’s got an angle on him, he just outruns him,” Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski said. “He’s pretty shifty and he looks like a running back that can really throw the heck out of the ball too.”

Other times Elliott came up unprovoked.

“Jack’s a hell of an athlete,” Loyola senior quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald said. “He’s probably, in my four years playing, obviously I’ve faced off against Darrion [Dupree] and other guys, but Jack is just all-around, he can do it all, but he’s got that it factor. That’s why they’re really successful. He’s something that coaches want.”

Regardless of how Elliott came up, after a win or a loss, the sentiment was nearly always the same.

“That’s the best player in the state, Jack Elliott,” St. Rita head coach Martin Hopkins said. “He does a lot for that team and he’s a special athlete. His will and determination says a lot about him. You can see he has that it factor.”

Elliott’s “it” factor made the difference in a season where he and the Caravan overcame obstacles in order to win the program’s IHSA-record 16th state championship and third straight crown. That “it” factor is why he’s Friday Night Drive’s 2024 Offensive Player of the Year.

The honor came after a season that didn’t go the way Elliott expected or wanted. Elliott garnered plenty of attention heading into his senior season after he contributed to the 2021 Class 7A state champion as a backup and then transitioned to the starter seamlessly as a junior, winning another championship as a starter.

After committing to Vanderbilt in April, Elliott seemed poised to end his high school career to lead a dynamic offense to impressive numbers once again.

Then the continuous roadblocks began.

Week 1: An AC sprain in his throwing shoulder along with cramps in different parts of his body against The Hun School from New Jersey.

Week 3: Damaged ligaments in his throwing hand against Nazareth.

Week 5: Re-injured shoulder against Benet.

Despite never feeling 100% from the start of the season, Elliott only missed one of the Caravan’s 14 games.

“I was going to will our team to win no matter what,” Elliott said. “It did turn out to be probably the hardest state championship out of the three.”

Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch had to adjust the Caravan’s offense because of Elliott’s injury. Lynch couldn’t use Elliott’s full potential as a dual threat and the Caravan needed to rely on their new playmakers like senior Cooper Leham, sophomore Quentin Burrell and freshman Marshawn Thornton.

Lynch could tell the injuries frustrated Elliott even though he didn’t show it. Elliott continued to lead on and off the field despite his personal obstacles.

“There’s two types of kids in this world: There’s a kid that has, especially in this day and age, a scholarship offer, you could have easily packed it in and just supported on the sidelines and not rushed back and got ready for his future,” Lynch said. “But this kid’s got a SEC offer, he’s committed, but the only thing he wants to do is win a state championship and be on the field, so he rushes back and helps his team win a state championship.”

Once Elliott reached as close to 100% as he could for the playoffs, the Caravan showed off their full potential. Mount Carmel averaged 50.2 points per game in the playoffs and became the first Caravan three-loss team to win a title. Elliott also broke the IHSA Class 7A state championship game with six touchdown passes.

“That’s the best player in the state, Jack Elliott. He does a lot for that team and he’s a special athlete. His will and determination says a lot about him. You can see he has that it factor.”

—  Martin Hopkins, St. Rita head coach

Elliott finished the season with 3,147 yards, 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions and led the team with 858 rushing yards and 18 more touchdowns. He earned the CCL/ESCC Blue Offensive Player of the Year and Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State honors.

Although it didn’t go the way he planned, Elliott showed how dangerous he can be when close to 100%.

“Jack is a guy that when he gets in rhythm, you’re screwed on the other side of the ball,” Lynch said. “Whoever’s playing him, you’re in trouble. You better burn three timeouts in a row to slow down some kind of momentum because he will start going off and he gets this level of confidence and this competitiveness that is, especially for a 17-,18-year old kid, it’s scary. It’s scary to see.”

Lynch doesn’t doubt Elliott will bring that tough mentality with him to Vanderbilt. He felt like schools under recruited Elliott given his tangibles both as a passer and rusher.

Elliott’s ready to make himself part of the conversation at the collegiate level.

“No one’s better than me,” Elliott said. “Doesn’t matter if you’re SEC or anything. I mean, I feel like I was overlooked and recruited, and Vanderbilt gave me the one opportunity. So I’m gonna give them my all.”