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MANHATTAN BEACH — Orange Lutheran’s TJ Lateef and his fellow quarterbacks at the Elite 11 were asked a probing, self-reflection question before the three-day camp this week.
The group of touted, collegiate recruits were invited to think about their “intention” for the competition. Lateef pondered his goals and inner resolve, and held on tight.
“My intention,” he said, “(was) to compete against the best quarterbacks and learn from each quarterback.”
“And (learn) not just on the field,” he added. “Off the field, too.”
On the third and final day, Lateef displayed his drive and growth. After a slow start to the event, the Nebraska commit finished strong Thursday by completing 17 of 23 passes (74 percent) with four touchdowns to hold his own in 7-on-7 workouts.
Lateef (6-2, 195) was especially sharp in his final possession by driving for a quick score before time expired.
“It was fun,” he said. “(The camp) was probably one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. … It was like a big brotherhood. Everybody poured into each other.”
Greetings from the #Elite11 finals where #Nebraska commit @TJ_Lateef9 of @OLuFootball looked sharp in his 7on workout w/ 4 TDs, including this one late @OLuFootball pic.twitter.com/go33r6ztHl
— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) June 20, 2024
Lateef said he learned from his struggles early in the camp.
“I had some ups and some downs but that’s part of the process,” he said. “The first day I was too amped up ready to get out here and throw. I felt I just got to calm down, breathe. Breathing was another thing that we learned, which helped me a lot. And not letting the moment be bigger than what it is.”
Lateef plans to take the lessons back to Orange Lutheran for his senior season.
He’ll lead an offense that returns wide receivers Chris Flores Jr., Tyler Hennessy and Nicholas Bland, plus Arizona State committed tight end AJ Ia.
Former Orange Lutheran standout wide receiver Austin Pettis is the new offensive coordinator.
“I love him,” Lateef said of Pettis. “I feel like he has a great plan. I feel like he’s going to develop these receivers to probably be the best receivers we can ever have.”
“(The offense) is going to look different,” he added. “It’s going to be faster (paced).”
Orange Lutheran is playing a challenging schedule before the Trinity League. The Lancers open at Serra of Gardena on Aug. 23 and play Rancho Cucamonga, St. Frances Academy of Maryland, Bishop Gorman of Nevada and Sierra Canyon before league.
Lateef is excited and confident about the challenge.
“We’re going to play the gauntlet from the start, so it’s going to be fun,” he said. “I go by this thing called ‘Me versus Me.’ I compete against myself, against the man in the mirror.”
“I know what I can do,” he added. “This is the year (for Orange Lutheran).”
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