PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Over 20 teams traveled to the Florida coast to compete in the Pylon 7-on-7 over this weekend, and Rivals was in attendance Saturday. A lot of big names were in attendance, and some shined, while others made names for themselves.
Here are 10 takeaways.
Sam McCall was Mr. Smooth on the football field. He is listed as a safety, and he is a good one, but he may move to athlete. McCall worked at wide receiver in this event, and he was quick in his release off the ball, while staying under control, and it was like he glided across the football field all afternoon. He was constantly open. And when the ball came his way, he made the play. He showed great extension for the ball, he has great awareness, and he showed why he is a top 100 player in the country. He committed to Florida State Sunday.
Pearce Spurlin was a touchdown machine Saturday. He finished with five touchdowns in three games, and half of those came on the ground after diving for the ball. The Georgia commit flashed great body control, agility, and catch radius. He is an excellent athlete with length that is still growing. Florida State is a school showing Spurlin a lot of interest, but he is still solid to Georgia at this time.
Tre Donaldson is an athlete in Florida with offers to play football and basketball on the next level. He started the day wearing Georgia gloves, then switched to Florida, and his game got better as the day progressed. He was the leader in the secondary for his team, and he had a couple pass break-ups and an interception in three games. He showed good ball skills, awareness, and leadership on the back-end of the defense. The Gators are viewed as the favorite at this time.
Jayden Gibson is simply underrated. Yes, it was the first time evaluating the wide receiver in person, but he is much better than his current ranking. He made play after play late in the day. He is a very long, lean wideout with over 30 offers, and his ability showed all afternoon. He used his size to his advantage, and he was smooth out his breaks. Gibson is currently wide open to all schools, but there has been some buzz around in-state schools, Florida, Florida State and Miami.
This type of event is not always a great stage for bigger running backs, but Trevonte Citizen used this weekend to showcase his ability to move in space and to receive the ball out of the backfield. He is from Louisiana, and LSU offered this year, so the Tigers will likely be tough to beat. Citizen has strong hands and he moves really well for his size.
Robert Woodyard lined up at inside linebacker, and he really created some buzz with his play in this setting Saturday. He is a bigger linebacker, but he moved well in coverage, he showed he can change direction, and the Alabama commit played up to his ranking. He is considered a top 100 talent, and he is known for hitting and playing physical, but he showed a little finesse over the weekend.
New names always emerge, and there are others, but Javon Davis, Terence Marshall and Jahvontay Conner all placed their names on the Rivals radar with their play. Davis is a 2022 cornerback out of Louisiana with elite size, and quarterbacks stopped throwing his direction early in the day. He is only hearing from Louisiana Tech. Marshall is a freshman athlete from Florida with length and speed. He will have offers down the road. Conner made the play of the day, and the 2023 wide receiver out of Alabama quickly showed his ability.
TJ Banks had a strong performance. He is a defensive back that can play safety or cornerback. He picked up offers early from Auburn and Tennessee, but has not had much communication with the new staffs at either school. He has been hearing most from Georgia Southern and Liberty in recent weeks.
Hykeem Williams picked up an offer from Alabama last week, and the 2023 wide receiver in Florida showed why at this event. He is a bigger receiver with length, and he showed the ability to run away from defenders. He has a long list of offers, and he is quickly playing his way into one of the top 2023 prospects in the Sunshine State.
Raymond Cottrell and his team played the first games of the day, and he got off to a great start. He was open all day, and when the ball was thrown his way, he made the play. He won jump-balls, he showed the ability to separate from tight coverage, and he caught the ball in traffic. Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and others have offered the 2023 wide receiver. He is a bigger wideout that could project to play outside or inside receiver on the next level.
