On a cold and windy day in Las Vegas five years ago, the
premier 7on7 tournament in the West made its debut.
Teams representing several states in the West converged on
the practice field at UNLV for one of the first major, non-scholastic 7on7
tournaments in the region.
A California team that, at that time, had a whole slew of
USC commits, was the favorite before the tournament even started.
Another team from California that would feature two massive
tight ends who would be college teammates, was another intriguing group to
watch.
A team from Montana with a 6-8 quarterback who was
committed to play basketball at Gonzaga also was in Sin City, trying to show
they had what it took to hang with the other big boys from the region (they
didn’t).
And so began the very first Badger/New Level 7on7 powered
by Scout.com in 2008.
Five years later, the sixth annual event will take place
this weekend, with a new venue (Charlie Frias Park), and a much different look
than it did in its initial run.
And while there has been a boat load of talent to come
through the tournament in the ensuing years, neither Kashann Simmons or Baron
Flenory, the founders of the tournament, expected it to blossom like it has.
“When Baron and I put it together, we were told from the
beginning, it would fail,” said Simmons. “We literally had to call every kid
ourselves. We grinded and called all of these guys and just hoped it would work
that first year.”
Cliff Harris was one of the most dynamic players to play in the first tournament
in 2008 |
That team full of USC commits had several guys stick with
the Trojans, and several end up elsewhere, but it was loaded with players like
Vontaze Burfict (who’d end up signing with Arizona State and now is with the
Cincinnati Bengals), T.J. McDonald (an all Pac-12 safety expected to be drafted
in April) and
Cliff Harris (who’d become an all-American at Oregon) along with
Tennessee defensive back Byron Moore, who spent a year at USC. Their
quarterback was Boise State starter Joe Southwick.
Yet the team with all that talent couldn’t gel and didn’t
even make it to the finals.
The “other” California team? They featured two of the best
tight ends in the country that year, Zach Ertz and his Stanford teammate
Levine Toilolo. Their running back was Cierre Wood, the leading rusher on Notre Dame’s BCS title game squad from this past year. The quarterback was Oregon State’s Cody Vaz, who split duties for the Beavers nine-win season.
The defense was overshadowed by its offensive counterparts,
but featured Oregon State defensive back Sean Martin, UCLA linebacker Todd Golper and Oregon linebacker Michael Clay, who would be the Defensive MVP of the
Fiesta Bowl (in fact, the 2013 Fiesta Bowl MVPs are both alums, and the most
dynamic player in that game was also an alum).
The 6-8 quarterback from Montana who was going to Gonzaga
to play basketball? Brock Osweiler, now Peyton Manning’s backup with the Denver Broncos, who spurned Mark Few and the Zags to play quarterback for Dennis
Erickson at Arizona State.
“Brock Osweiler, Cierre Wood, Levine Toilolo, we had to
call each one of those guys and tell them why they had to come to this 7on7
tournament no one had ever done,” said Simmons. “Vontaze Burfict, we had to
convince him too. T.J. McDonald’s dad drove an RV with all the guys from Fresno
(including T.J., his younger brother Tevin, now a starting safety at UCLA and
Harris).”
The first year was set up in a unique format, with players
representing their states, seven teams from California, two teams from Utah, a
team from Arizona, one from Nevada, one from Washington (who would make it to
the finals), one from Colorado, one from Wyoming and one from Idaho plus a team
comprised of players from North and South Dakota.
“We thought it would be state by state every year, but now
we’re at a place when guys bring their own teams. We went from like 16 teams to
now more than 55 teams this year. We never thought it would come to fruition.
As it evolved, we started nurturing the event. No more making the phone calls
to the players, we had coaches calling us,” said Simmons.
Simmons and Flenory said they sit back weekly and watch so
many of the former participants dot college rosters and some, NFL squads, like
Burfict and Osweiler, rookies this past season.
“I show my son (Brandon Simmons, a four-star defensive back
in the 2014 class), all those guys who came through this tournament, guys like
Brock and Jake Heaps and Kasen Williams and its phenomenal to see those guys
doing so well in their career. We knew they were good, but shucks, now you see
Brock backing up Peyton Manning and Vontaze starting for the Bengals,” said
Simmons.
Two of Oregon’s chief contributors on offense this year
played in the same tournament in 2010, neither team facing each other, and
neither probably knowing at that time, they would be future teammates.
Marcus Mariota was in Vegas in 2010 and winning the Fiesta Bowl in 2013
|
Marcus Mariota, who hadn’t even started as a junior, led a
team named Team 808, paying homage to the area code in Honolulu (and having as
many players from Utah and Nevada as Hawaii), coached by Hawaii native and
former NFL Mr. Irrelevant, Tevita Ofahengaue.
When reminded that one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in
college football led his team to just one win in the tournament?
“Quarterbacks can’t run in 7on7,” Ofahengaue wryly replied.
DeAnthony Thomas played with Team Cathedral that
tournament, easily the most talented player in the whole field, and a star on
the 7on7 circuit because of his ability to play any position.
“It’s crazy that Marcus and DeAnthony were there and in the
same tournament,” said Simmons.
Thomas would later move to play for 1925 All-Stars, who
would make it to the finals of the Badger/NLA National Tournament that summer in
Tuscaloosa, with the “Black Mamba” making a name for himself in that event.
“He was one of my favorite players ever in that
tournament,” said Simmons. “He was so dynamic, offensively and defensively. He
came down to nationals and he was a freak. He was just phenomenal. He was
something you’d never seen and was truly one of the best talents I’ve ever seen
come out of the West.”
It was the year before, in 2009, that the face and scope of
the 7on7 tournament started to change.
With a successful maiden voyage in 2008, sticking to the
state vs. state model seemed to be the best approach.
That’s what the aim was the following year, which much the
same set up from the previous year.
But B2G, a longtime elite program in the Southland, brought
a group of players that they trained, to represent one of the California squads
as did Team AIGA.
While they still maintained the California name, B2G’s
handpicked group of elite prospects from Southern California (it would feature
Oregon quarterback Bryan Bennett, Arizona cornerback Shaq Richardson, Colorado
receiver Paul Richardson, UCLA safety Dietrich Riley and USC cornerback Joshua
Shaw among others) and AIGA’s group (Arizona quarterback Jesse Scroggins,
Washington linebackers Princeton Fuimaono and John Timu and USC linebacker Dion Bailey), would become the new model.
“We were going to stick with state vs. state, we thought it
would be the best competition and kids want to bring the best competition so
that was our vision,” said Simmons. “But then we went down to Florida and the
South Florida Express asked if they could bring a team from the Miami area, so
that was the first team to truly bring an All-Star team to an event. Coaches
were saying ‘I’ve got kids from my area and we’ll bring teams from our own
area.’ It made our jobs easier and we were still bringing the talent in
regardless. Coaches went to the first event and said they wanted to come back
and try and win this thing. They saw the media coverage and it blew up.”
B2G didn’t have much success that year despite a talented
roster but AIGA would win the 2009 tournament.
And smarting from their humbling loss in 2009, B2G would
win the tournament in successive years, beating Team Utah in the 2010 finals and
topping the 1925 All-Stars in overtime in 2011.
In fact, Washington State receiver Gabriel Marks and USC
tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick were on both of those teams, the only players
to win twice in Vegas.
Gabriel Marks (at left), won two NLA 7on7 tournaments before heading to
Washington State |
When B2G won it in 2010, they did it in a year where just
about every team represented a training group or select team. 1925, led by
former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson and Super Bowl winner Brian Kelly, made their
first appearance (that summer, they would make it to the finals of nationals,
despite finishing in third place at the Vegas 7on7).
Then there is the case of Team Utah. Coached by one of the
finest coaches in the state, South Jordan Bingham’s David Peck, Utah has made it
to the semifinals each of the last four years, losing in the finals to AIGA in
2009, losing in the finals to B2G again in 2010 and losing to B2G in the
semifinals in 2011.
Finally, in 2012, Utah broke through and won the title.
“Coach Peck knows how to coach and they know how to
compete,” said Simmons. “He takes the best players from Utah and coaches them
up. They play physical and they play methodical, they play solid defense and
the finally got over the hump. If you had to place your bets this year, put it
on Utah.”
Several former NFL players have comprised teams since
Johnson and Kelly. Chris Claiborne, the 1998 Butkus Award Winner out of USC and
a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions, leads the Frat Boyz and Eastbay
Gamebreakers under his University 55 foundation. Another former USC linebacker,
Willie McGinest, brought a team a year ago, the former NFL All-Pro taking a
group of guys made up of several Long Beach Poly players, where he prepped.
Chuck Levy, the former Arizona Cardinal, will bring a team from the Phoenix
area. Taylor Barton, a former Washington quarterback, will bring squads from
Oregon and Washington.
And this year, the Snoop Dogg All-Stars, yes, the traveling
7on7 team of rapper Snoop Dogg (which features Najiel Hale, the son of the late
rapper Nate Dogg), will also be in Vegas.
While the tournament has exploded beyond either Simmons or
Flenory’s expectations, they still think back to the first few years.
“I still say the best and most dominant player I ever saw
at the Vegas 7on7, in terms of the 7on7, was Zach Ertz,” said Flenory. “He was
the most dominant 7on7 player of all time in Vegas and they won the championship
because of him.”
And neither was surprised when he was an All-American this
year.
“He catches everything,” said Simmons.
In fact, in naming their top five, there are four names
that are on both lists.
Both agreed on Ertz and also each had Cliff Harris and
Vontaze Burfict. Chris Martin, who’s now at Kansas, but has had a much-traveled
career, was another favorite.
“I ended up coaching the team with Kenny Stills and Chris Martin, and Chris was
just a freak. He was so good and we took full advantage of him being a
mismatch,” said Simmons.
Flenory chose Deontay Greenberry, now at Houston, and a
relative unknown, for his team fifth spot.
“Nobody knew who he was when he got there,” said Flenory.
“Everyone knew who he was when he left.”
Simmons went with six, DeAnthony Thomas and Kasen Williams,
now at Washington, rounding out his group.
“DeAnthony was phenomenal,” said Simmons. “And Kasen was
just a freshman that first year and was killing guys two years older than him.
Just killing them.”
Su’a Cravens (USC), Bryce Treggs (Cal), Jordan Payton
(UCLA) and Gabriel Marks (Washington State) were other favorites of Simmons
while Flenory was a fan of Mariota, Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington), Ahmad Dixon (Baylor) and T.J. McDonald (USC).
“Brock Osweiler, his team wasn’t very good, but he was one
of my favorite prospects ever,” said Flenory.
Brock Osweiler was a commit to Gonzaga for basketball when he was at the 2008
tournament |
And both said Burfict was easily the most physically
imposing player they have seen in Vegas.
“Vontaze just scared people,” said Flenory. “I think at
first he thought he was supposed to be in pads. He was a freak. He was
intimidating. He hit one kid and the kid almost died.”
Simmons and Flenory are eager to see what a new venue and
more teams will bring. But the early years, when they were establishing the
premier 7on7 tournament in the region, give them confidence and a sense of
accomplishment.
“We look back at pictures of that team that won it and
these guys are now reaching the cream of their college career, the best in their
positions, and when we wonder ‘how did this happen’, we remember, that when
you’re persistent with something you can produce some great things,” said
Simmons.