Maine South’s Alviti competes with elite

Updated: May 23, 2011 7:09PM

Matt Alviti isn’t afraid to go up against the best.

The Maine South sophomore is all about testing himself in an effort to become a better player.

“I like to see how I match up,” the 6-foot-1 quarterback said. “I want to learn about myself, and I want to know what I need to improve on.”

Alviti probably got a lot of feedback Friday when he participated in one of six regional competitions at Ohio State for ESPN RISE’s Elite 11 Quarterback Competition. The top quarterbacks for the Class of 2012 get invited to California in July, so Alviti will have to wait another year to play at USC.

“I was honored and surprised to be picked,” said Alviti, who led the Hawks to their third consecutive state championship last season by throwing for 3,066 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also ran for 592 yards and another 11 TDs. “Every high school quarterback knows what the Elite 11 is, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to go to and compete with the best in the country. I want people to know that Illinois does have good quarterbacks.”

Some of the past quarterbacks at the Elite 11 include five Heisman Trophy winners and three Super Bowl champions in Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers.

“I thought I did pretty well because I was in the top group toward the end,” said Alviti, who has offers from Indiana, Illinois and Northwestern. “There were all these great quarterbacks there. It was cool to see who is the best.”

Other than standing in the spotlight for an afternoon, Alviti has spent his offseason lifting weights and working with quarterback coach Ryan Healy at EFT in Highland Park. Alviti’s been with Healy since middle school.

“I doing I can to get better,” Alviti said. “I am working on my drops, watching film and breaking things down.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.