Loaded BadgerSports event hits Tuscaloosa
There aren't many events at any point in the year in high school football that allow the top prospects in the nation to compete together on one stage. This weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala., one of those rare events will take place for the BadgerSports Elite 7on7 National Championship.
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The 17 team field is composed of teams from Texas, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, California, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia and more. The rosters are loaded with not just a sprinkling of elite prospects but a virtual who's who of national recruits.
One of the more loaded teams in the field is making one of the longer commutes to attend as well. The 1925 All-Stars will be quarterbacked by Jerry Neuheisel and 2013 prospect Troy Williams.
Though Neuheisel has strong UCLA roots with his father Rick Neuheisel as the UCLA head coach, he will be hoping to make plenty of connections with UCLA's cross-town rival at the event. Three USC commits are on his team including wide receivers Victor Blackwell and Jordan Payton. Five-star USC commit De'Anthony Thomas will likely be starring on both sides of the ball as a running back and a cornerback at the event. The team also features Arizona State commit Rashad Wadood and Rivals100 defender Greg Townsend Jr..
On the opposite coast, the South Florida Express has plenty of star power of its own. Hailing from Broward and Dade County Florida, the Express features no less than eight players rated as at least a four-star prospect. The roster includes Miami commits Teddy Bridgewater and Eli Rogers as well as Ohio State commit Jeremy Cash and Florida commit Ryan Shazier.
Underclassmen Deon Bush and Avery Johnson are also on the Express roster and are poised to become two of the most highly recruited prospects not just in Florida but in the nation.
Other names of note on the Express include four-star teammates Gerrod Holliman and Andrew Johnson, four-star safety Wayne Lyons, and four-star defenders Bryant Dubose and Kent Turene.
As talented as the South Florida team is, it did not even manage to win its own region, taking a runner-up finish to qualify behind Pro Impact 1. Pro Impact has plenty of talent of its own, led by the MVP of its regional A.C. Leonard. The Florida commit was uncoverable earlier this spring but he won't be alone. Leonard will be joined by Rivals100 back Andrew Buie and his teammate Ahmad Christian who already holds double-digit offers.
Also in the southeast, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee all have strong teams. Alabama is powered by Rivals100 Tide commit Danny Woodson, four-star defensive back Chris Jones and Georgia commit Devin Bowman at corner.
The Georgia squad has two Bulldog commits of its own with wide receiver Chris Conley and linebacker Amarlo Herrera. They are joined by UConn commit David Stevenson, Memphis commit Regis Ball, MTSU commit Cey-ron Willingham, Georgia Tech commit Jabari Hunt-Days and USF commit Willie Davis. Other notables on the Georgia squad include four-star DE/TE Xzavier Dickson and three-star safety Kadetrix Marcus.
Tennessee brings two teams to the event, one of which was the surprise runner-up in the southeast regional. Perhaps the reason for the surprise is the play of some of the young players on the team. Memphis 2012 prospects Jovon Robinson and Nathan Cole both hold early offers from Alabama and they're joined by Brian Kimbrow who has been clocked at consistent sub-4.4 times in combines throughout the spring.
The young Tennessee team also has some elite seniors as well. Tight End Cameron Clear and multi-purpose athlete and Alabama commit Jabriel Washington are two of the top players in the state and the region.
Tennessee's runner-up finish in the regional came at the hands of a loaded Mississippi team that features most of the top skill players in the state. Ole Miss commit Chelarvez Brown teams up with three Mississippi State commits in Zachary Jackson and four-stars Jermaine Whitehead and C.J. Johnson. Three other phenomenal skill players add to the star power with Tobias Singleton, Donte Moncrief and Nickalos Brassell all being among the top athletes in the southeast.
Neighboring Louisiana also brings a strong team to the event with prospects such as LSU commit Jarvis Landry and Rivals100 prospect Odell Beckham Jr. representing the Pelican State. However, an already strong team is only strengthened with the addition of some Sunshine State prospects such as star 2012 receiver Chris Black and Florida State commitment Cortez Davis.
The Midwest will also be represented over the weekend. Michigan commit Shawn Conway will form a strong wide receiving corps with Rivals100 prospect DeAnthony Arnett and four-star Indiana commit [/db]Raymon Taylor[/db].
An Indiana-based team will come to the event led by four-star running back Remound Wright who will be joined by Ball State commit Quyuan Mattox and Indiana cornerback prospect Kenny Mullen.
Other notable attendees include Rivals100 prospects Eric MacLain and Kris Frost - both playing for the North Carolina squad. Eric Ebron, Quentin Gause and T.J. Thorpe help round that team out. Meanwhile Chris Barnett will be the headliner for the Texas squad and pose a tough mismatch for whoever is faced with defending him.
The event kicks off on Friday evening with a skills competition. Saturday will hold pool play to earn seedings for Sunday's single elimination tournament.
With national bragging rights and state pride on the line, the competition level is sure to live up to the phenomenal talent level.
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