OT7 Finals: Top performers from opening day

Yahoo

3 hours ago

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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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*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.