Several of the West’s best will be in Las Vegas this weekend for the fifth
annual New Level Athletics Elite 7-on-7.
The tournament begins on Saturday, and continues on Sunday, and there will be plenty of talent on the field at UNLV, just as it has been the last
four years, when some of the elite prospects across the country converged on Vegas.
Prospects from Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, Utah and Washington will be amongst the talent on hand as well as the
Goon Squad, with players from all over the country as well as a team from Canada
this year.
The unique format features select teams. Some of those squads include two-time defending
regional
champions Team B2G (Los Angeles-based B2G Elite Football Program), the 2011
National Champions Team 1925 All-Stars (Los Angeles-based team), Team Gridiron Football Academy (Inland Empire-based GFA)
and Team Pro-Sports USA (San Jose-based Pro-Sports USA), to go with other in-state
teams from Washington and Utah and regional teams from places like Central
California, the Inland Empire, Sacramento and San Diego.
It will be a 7-on-7 format, with teams playing in a championship and consolation bracket.
Here is the first look at a few of the familiar California teams who've
participated the past few years, and found great success, in Vegas.
B2G is back to defend their title from 2010 and 2011, the lone two-time winner
of the Las Vegas event, and they have three teams in the field, B2G 5-Stars, B2G
Malice and B2G Scorch.
The headliners for Team B2G's 5-Stars includes a trio of Scout 100 members, all
in the secondary, five-star safety Priest Willis out of Tempe (Ariz.) Marcos De
Niza and Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) teammates Tahaan Goodman, a four-star safety
and Chris Hawkins, a four-star cornerback.
Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey cornerback Daquawn Brown,
rounds out the vaunted secondary
One of the premier tight ends in
the nation, Riverside (Calif.) J.W. North's Marcus Baugh
is an offensive weapon
for Team B2G that is in the Scout 300. Other B2G prospects to watch are
quarterback Kelly Hilinski from Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame, receiver Drew Wolitarsky from Canyon Country (Calif.) and Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne
receiver A.J. Richardson. Both Hilinski and
Wolitarsky made the all-underclass team a year ago in Vegas. Freshman receiver Trent Irwin
from Newhall (Calif.) Hart played in the tournament as an 8th grader last year
and was selected to the all-Underclass team last year.
Players to watch from B2G Scorch include Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey receiver
Delvon Hardaway and safety Jayme Otomewo, San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills cornerback Devin Holiday and Redlands
(Calif.) East Valley safety Tre Wilcoxen.
Team 1925 won the NLA Elite 7on7 National Championships last July in Dallas,
and while the majority of their squad signed with D-I programs, they bring back
the most important part of a 7on7 team, their quarterback. Harbor City
(Calif.) Narbonne four-star passer Troy Williams led 1925 in Dallas and then won
City Section Player of the Year honors after leading Narbonne to the City
Section title, so he's on a hot streak of winning major titles. He's the
only familiar face offensively, with sophomore cornerback Malik Cyphers from
Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian.
With Bryce Treggs and Jordan Payton gone this year, 1925 will turn to a slew
of four-star receivers to take their place. The headliner there is Mission
Hills (Calif.) Alemany's Steven Mitchell, a top 100 prospect by Scout.com and a
four-star. A similar receiver to Treggs, he'll play opposite a similar
receiver to Payton, and a teammate of his at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks
Christian, Francis Owusu, another four-star receiver. The third four-star
receiver is John Ross from Long Beach (Calif.) Jordan. Another receiver
who's gotten Pac-12 offers is Xavier Shepard from Lakewood (Calif.).
Defensively, Encino (Calif.) Crespi safety Tyler Foreman is one of the standouts
as is teammate and fellow safety Brandon Arnold,
and sophomore Dwight Williams, a linebacker from Gardena (Calif.) Serra is
another to watch.
DB Guru from Fresno will rival B2G for one of the best secondary's in the
event, with a pair of Scout 300 defensive backs, Fresno (Calif.) Central safety
Hatari Byrd and cornerback L.J. Moore. Offensively, sophomore Michiah
Grimes, also from Fresno (Calif.) Central, will be the featured receiver for
Fresno (Calif.) Edison quarterback Khari McGee.
Gridiron Football Academy finished in the semifinals two years ago and in the
quarterfinals a year ago and they will again have a strong team in Vegas, led by
Scout 100 receiver Sebastian LaRue from Santa Monica (Calif.), who jumped on the
scene here a year ago. He'll be joined at receiver by La Mesa (Calif.)
Helix's Kendal Keys and sophomore receiver Jeremy McNichols from Lakewood
(Calif.). Quarterback Alek Torgeson from Huntington Beach (Calif.) Edison
and Redlands (Calif.) Citrus Valley quarterback Dalton Douglas will split the
quarterback duties. Defensively, three-star safety Marcus Stamps from Los
Angeles (Calif.) Jefferson, who won Co-MVP honors at the GFA Passing Tournament
earlier this month, will anchor the secondary.
The Cathedral team has been strong historically, especially two-years ago
when they won their "Pool of Death" before falling short in the playoffs.
Their quarterback that year was a freshman Hayden Rettig, who will be back to
quarterback this year as a Scout 300 member and a junior. His go-to
receiver is D'Amari Scott, who is his teammate at Los Angeles (Calif.)
Cathedral.
Team Pro-Sports comes down from the Silicon Valley and they have one of the
top sophomore quarterbacks in the West, San Jose (Calif.) Bellarmine Prep's K.J.
Carta-Samuels as well as two-way prospect Kenneth Olugbode.