The first calf looks to have the pieces to make at least a county fair level competitive steer. He doesn't appear fine boned, maybe you see him as too moderate in frame? Pushing protein to a younger steer can help mitigate that to some extent. He looks fleshy, deep and balanced. Overall, of the three, I prefer this one's structure and ability to finish out nice.
The second calf is very middle of the road. Nothing terribly wrong with him, but nothing that makes me think he will be a competitive steer either. My biggest concerns with this one are the way he breaks in the top line behind his shoulder and he appears to lack natural muscle expression in his hip.
The third calf looks to be one that will gain enough if pushed, but is going to have some structural issues that will keep him from being functional. Even in the calf picture, you can see he is a bit posty on those hocks and has a super high tail head, is a touch over in the knees, and is tight/shallow in the fore rib. Depending on the level of competition and the knowledge of the exhibitor, he may not be the best choice. He won't stand much competition as a fat, and anyone who knows the tricks to keep him sound in the end is going to go with a better overall animal.
Look for a calf that is functional. Good lines, clean legs with adequate flex in the hock but not banana legged, fills their tracks, looks deep in both fore and rear flank, and has some natural width over their top and muscle expression from front to back. After that, docility, hair, front end extension, and color....none of these are necessary for a competitive steer, but adding each of these extras ups the level the steer can play ball at. Of course, if the exhibitor is younger or inexperienced, docility should be at the start of the entire list IMHO. :2cents:
