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Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
OT7 Finals: Garcia's takeaways from Saturday's action
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The pool play rounds of the 2025 OT7 Finals are now behind us as more of the nation's top prospects turned heads in South Florida on Saturday. Rivals was again on hand and provided some fresh takeaways from the action. OT7 FINALS: Recruiting Rumor Mill | Top performers from opening day CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State The Saturday Quarterback Clinic The initial day of OT7 featured play-making from every position, but the quarterbacks were especially dominant on Saturday. We counted single-digit interceptions tossed on the entire day and night while high point totals were simultaneously achieved. Advertisement In amassing a top performers list, at least half of a top 10 would include passers who sprayed it all over the field from Dereon Coleman (Miami), Derrick Baker, Briggs Cherry (Louisville), Gavin Sidwar (Missouri), Maika Eugenio (Hawaii), Neimann Lawrence and many more. The clear weather was an indicator of precise QB play on this day. Jared Curtis Settles In The big-time passer headed to Georgia has a big frame and the big arm attached to it, something he has showed off on routine at OT7. When power and/or distance is needed, the five-star is seemingly at his best. He admitted there has been an up-and-down pace to his first club 7-on-7 event, but when Curtis has been right, it has looked plenty good to the point the Matt Stafford comparisons seem to make more and more sense. Advertisement His team has taken some tough losses, so he'll be up against elimination early on championship Sunday. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GEORGIA FANS AT Cam Newton's Calls The former Heisman Trophy winner commands his own attention in any setting, and he doesn't run from it, but there should be more said and/or written in regards to his longevity and true involvement with C1N. He is calling plays, letting his emotions fly and most importantly orchestrating perhaps the emerging favorite of this national tournament. Newton's squad, captained by breakout quarterback prospect Derrick Baker, goes for a 'one-point gamble' after every score and it has executed on a high enough level to convert well more than not. Youth Movement Among the stars of Saturday were a trio of 2028 recruits, from IMG Academy's do-it-all talent Eric McFarland, who kicked off the day with multiple scores and the type of yards after contact that already separates him as a national recruit, to more dominance from Brysen Wright on the outside. The Jacksonville native made the play of the day Friday and continued to get behind defenders on Saturday in another multi-score showing. Advertisement South Floridian Amir Sears continues to look like one of the more lengthy and instinctive players regardless of class or position, making plays at both wide receiver and defensive back. Maika Eugenio's Flowers There is just a buzz when the Lo-Pro quarterback, who is committed to Hawaii, takes the field. He pilots the nation's top 7-on-7 club, which exited the weekend as not only the No. 1 seed for the championship on Sunday, but ran through its schedule undefeated and scored the most points along the way. Eugenio has the charisma to lead, but his play doesn't get spoken of enough. He processes like few passers nationally and can deliver to all three levels with both great accuracy and timing. Sure, he's small in stature and won't project like a potential No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick, but he just racks up wins at Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman High School and everywhere in between. I wouldn't bet against him continuing to prove his worth at Hawaii either.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
OT7 Finals: Top performers from opening day
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The first full day of action at the OT7 Finals in South Florida kicked off on Friday with a loaded field. Some of the teams that made the championship round were delayed thanks to Mother Nature, but there were plenty of big-time players and performances to take in before and after that point. Rivals was on hand and takes a closer look at the best in show. OT7 FINALS: Recruiting Rumor Mill CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State 1. Derrick Baker The Sunshine State native now at Milton (Ga.) High School was back at his old high school field and dialed in. Baker was able to work through progressions quickly and fire in footballs with high RPMs through tight windows. Advertisement It led to a bevy of scores against just one turnover that wasn't even his fault (tipped by wide receiver) on an undefeated first day. Baker even got to flash the wheels and situational awareness in avoiding the blitz and picking up chunks with his legs during the nightcap. 2. Tylan Wilson Among the bulk of the games we took in, there wasn't a safety who made as many plays on the football as the Mississippi native wth Texas A&M buzz to his name. Wilson has excellent range and comes off the hash with a purpose, separating the ball from the wide receiver on several occasions upon arrival. Advertisement Even when the PBUs didn't rack up, Wilson was in position to make plays well more than not. The length and instincts are also strong within the four-star's game. 3. Jamar Owens The 7-on-7 game is about possessions and Owens not only flipped the field with a pair of interceptions, but he took each tender to the house for points. The first was an instinctive jump on the football for a walk-in score but the second was even better, coming off of one wide receiver to play the lane and snag the INT. Owens made other plays down the field, including in the end zone, even somehow showing some physicality along the way. 4. Larry Miles It was another day at the office for Miles, who commits on July 1. He is crafty in and out of his breaks and certainly flashes top speed in short order with the ball in his hands. But the element that the four-star flashed most on this day was his strong hands. Advertisement He collected the football in traffic on routine, particularly in his first game en route to three touchdowns, and gripped it away from his frame with ease. 5. Jonas Williams The USC commitment stood in ready to launch from the outset on Friday. He pushes the ball down the field with true ease and while he showed that part of his game off, he was even more impressive in tight quarters and near the end zone. Williams can work a fast ball but also layered it well over the middle. Just as importantly, there were no glaring mistakes in his game, he took what the defense gave him or dirted the ball when nothing was presented. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT 6. Zion Crumpton The recent Mississippi State commitment didn't collect the volume of receptions some of the others on the list did, but the flashes were among the most head-turning of the day coming from any position. Crumpton hit the high point on a pair of touchdown grabs, drawing audible reactions from the crowd on each – and one right after the other. The bounce and ball skills may have been the best of the day and the final snag sent a game to overtime. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MISSISSIPPI STATE FANS AT 7. Devin Fitzgerald The NFL legacy stole the show at the All-Star Game on Thursday night, taking home MVP honors after multiple touchdown grabs, and he had another pair of scores to his name in the national television showcase to end the evening. Advertisement Fitzgerald has added good weight to his frame but, to the surprise of few, he carries the mass well and shows polish as a route-runner out of his breaks. The rising senior's score on a 7-cut at the back pylon was a sample of his all-around game on one play, getting the defender off of his hip without much wasted motion before a snag away from his body. 8. Naeem Burroughs The Clemson commitment is known for speed and he showed it off on multiple occasions, including on a bang-8 route in which he created separation on multiple defenders in the end zone. Burroughs has more polish than given credit for and that was on display, too, in two of his touchdown grabs to round out his first game. One came in tight quarters in traffic and the other came with all of his momentum pushing him toward the sideline, extending for the football while dragging his feet. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH CLEMSON FANS AT 9. Aaron Gregory The Texas A&M commitment is steady and just makes plays. On this day he flashed on both sides of the ball, making his initial plays at safety with a pair of PBUs and a key interception during C1N's upset of SFE. Gregory got back to what he does best in the night camp, snagging plenty of passes away from his frame in the end zone for touchdowns and conversions alike. Gregory has great body control and maximizes a classic X frame to present a large target for the passer. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH TEXAS A&M FANS AT 10. Gavin Sidwar The Mizzou quarterback commitment put up consistent points to kick off his OT7 Finals slate, both working the ball all over the field but also manipulating speed along the way. Advertisement He anticipated well from the outside in and even threw some of his targets open against tight coverage. It isn't flashy, but the blue-chipper moves the football and keeps his team in the thick of it. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MISSOURI FANS AT NOTES *The talk of the morning session was the offseason debut for five-star quarterback Jared Curtis. The Georgia commitment needed some time to settle in with a team and targets he has known for some 24 hours, but when it looked right, the big passer answered the bell. He showed competitiveness and plenty of arm talent in pushing the football down the field on routine. Advertisement *The catch of the day belonged to one of the youngest players in attendance in rising-sophomore Brysen Wright, who skied for a one-handed snag along the sidelines despite contested work from the defender. *A matchup worth the price of admission we may see more intensity from provided several strong samples Friday when Jordan Clay and Danny Odem tangled. The rising-seniors each made tough plays against one another in the end zone, sparking the type of tension that may carry over to the weekend. *Lorenzo Aguirre led the RG3 team to the upset of the night, a late comeback win over Cam Newton's squad and it came with two of the prettiest deep balls of the entire day. The winning "onside throw" got behind several FBS secondary recruits. *There weren't many players who snagged multiple interceptions on a somewhat limited day, but Houston commit Kah'ni Watts did just that. The first came early in the action, snagging the INT and taking it to the house without much contention. The second showcased some instincts and more ball skills, picking one off after a deflection and nearly taking that one the distance.
