Today's opening day of the NFA 7on7 passing tournament at Newbury Park High School was well worth the journey. Several of the country's top 7on7 teams were on display. The Gamebreakers, who are coached by former USC Trojan and NFL defensive lineman Chris Claiborne, in addition to the Snoop Dogg All-Stars, B2G Sports and Ground Zero were a few of the top teams who competed on Saturday.
The early games brought excitement to a crowd full of spectators that included parents, fans, players and media, but things got a bit more exciting once the stadium lights were turned on.
NFA 7on7 Top Plays - Day One (Newbury Park HS)
The afternoon session of games brought the likes of 2014 running backs Kishawn Holmes (Vista Murrieta) and Kurt Scoby (Monrovia). Both looked impressive, while Holmes showed great hands hauling in a one-handed catch for a critical first down, and Scoby was the most physically imposing player on the field and looked college-ready with his lean frame.
Dwight Williams + Glen Ihenacho Interviews
Notable players who stood out today were Naijiel Hale (DB/2014) from St. John Bosco, Brady White (QB/2015) out of Newhall's Hart High School, along with Serra's Dwight Williams and Mater Dei rising '14 DB recruit Jonathan Lockett.
St. John Bosco was heavily represented with 2015 signal-caller Josh Rosen who led the Snoop Dogg All-Stars. Rosen's squad featured fellow Bosco teammates Jaleel Wadood (Arizona State commit), Chandler Leniu (LB/2014), Christian Hollland (DB/2014), and '14 wideout Shay Fields.
In coverage, Naijiel Hale proved once again that he's one of the hardest working recruits on the West Coast. Hale had very few balls thrown in his direction after an opening drive pick six against Oaks Christian super junior QB Brandon Dawkins, who currently holds an offer from Notre Dame, and the junior defensive back was able to show why he's gaining so much national attention.
Jonathan Lockett from Mater Dei wasn't challenged often on Saturday, but when he was the result ended mostly with incomplete passes. Lockett forced a play out of bounds resulting in an incompletion, and had a nice play on the goal line where he forced the receiver out of bounds before making the catch.
2014 LB Dwight Williams has already made his mark on the nation with nearly 40 official scholarship offers. Today, Dwight had the attention of everyone in attendance with the fresh shades he sported during the pre-game and competition. Once the quarterback dropped back, Williams had the attention of the offense, routinely jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage.
With several great up and coming quarterbacks in attendance, Hart's Brady White showed pinpoint accuracy and had the best day overall compared to his counterparts Rosen and Dawkins. White floated a few balls over the first-level defenders for completions and didn't skip a beat on a touchdown drives.
The play of the day was a Brady White TD pass to fellow Hart HS teammate Trent Irwin. White hit Irwin on a double move in the endzone that left the defender on the turf and six points on the board for B2G Sports.
The future of St. John Bosco football displayed a very strong arm and completed a few nice ropes down the field in traffic. Rosen looks like he's been in the weight room since the season ended and will gain the attention of several major programs once the contact period opens.
"My top schools are Cal, Stanford, UCLA," Rosen told CLA today.
