CYPRESS, Texas -- More than 40 teams piled into the Houston area over the weekend to compete in the inaugural Fast 7v7 Tournament. The teams largely featured some of the best 2020, 2021 and even 2022 prospects from the state of Texas. Here’s a look back at top performers and notable recruiting notes.
THE MVP
It’s getting increasingly difficult not to watch Demas in action and wonder when, not if he will be in the five-star discussion. Demas has already established himself as the No. 1 wide receiver in Texas, but he’s making a case as perhaps the best in the Southeast or even the nation.
Demas made absurd highlight reel catches on a regular basis during the tournament. He possesses incredible body control and his measurables are off the charts. That includes his long arms, strong hands and ability to make difficult catches look easy with his body contorted or with defenders in his way in traffic -- not to mention his explosiveness after the catch, which is largely unmatched.
The Rivals100 prospect is very solid to Texas A&M but still plans on taking other visits, perhaps to Alabama and Ohio State.
Jones was my pick as the MVP of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas in Houston last weekend, and that momentum carried over into his performance in Cypress. The Texas A&M commitment came up with a pick-six off an errant throw into the middle of the field and notched a second interception in coverage. He was also consistently batting down passes on a multitude of different routes, showing off his versatility. The Rivals100 cornerback has been playing lights out of late and his stock is still on the rise heading into this summer’s Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas.
Douglas was dynamic after the catch on multiple occasions over the weekend, and after consistently slicing defenses on short and intermediate routes, broke loose for a few deep shots over the middle.
Polk has good size and even better athleticism. Time after time, he was able to break through the coverage and get downfield for long vertical grabs. Polk has excellent hands and, more impressively, easily finds ways to get open for his quarterback. He also shined in a handful of 50-50 balls in the tournament.
Arkansas is the early leader for the three-star wide receiver, and he will visit the Razorbacks next month, and Baylor is in the mix as well.
Eaton’s offer sheet reflects his abilities on the field. He’s long and lean and can lock down an entire side of the field, and he showed as much with his exceptional man-to-man coverage. He’s tall with long arms and can be physical with opposing wide receivers. He has fluid hips and moves well laterally, and time after time he came up with a handful of pass breakups on the move.
Texas and Texas A&M both recently offered, and so have other SEC powers such as LSU and Florida. Because Eaton’s recruitment has taken off so rapidly, it’s hard to pinpoint an instant favorite.
One look at Hornsby’s tape and it’s rather obvious why he’s embedded in the Rivals250. Hornsby makes absurd plays with his legs and big throws downfield routinely, but I was definitely curious about how he’d fare in a 7-on-7 setting.
Hornsby surprised me by orchestrating a handful of methodical drives based on short and intermediate passes that required good ball placement. He made most of those throws, some of which came with the help of his mobility and added time to look over his reads.
Many link Hornsby to Texas A&M, but he indicated he never committed to the Aggies. He’s considering them for sure, but former A&M assistant Tim Brewster is making a strong push at his new gig at North Carolina. Florida State, Alabama and Oregon are also involved.
Price is one of the best red-zone wide receivers in the Lone Star State and he makes it a point to remind us of that in these 7-on-7 settings. The newly minted four-star reeled in a handful of difficult grabs in the end zone -- whether it’s using his body to box out defenders or getting vertical on 50-50 balls. Price also expanded his arsenal with a couple of nice grabs in traffic throughout the event.
Price’s father, Terry, is the defensive line coach at A&M, so it’s easy to draw a line to where this might up. Price has upcoming visits to Arizona and Vanderbilt, so while the Aggies are still a likely option, it's not a sure-thing that he lands in College Station.
One of the most dynamic receivers in attendance for the tournament was Johnson, a three-star receiver who flashed some wiggle after securing the football. Johnson caught a ton of balls three- or five-yards downfield, then consistently made defenders miss in one-on-one situations. He’s elusive in the open field and consistently finds holes in the defense.
While Demas certainly drew his fair share of targets from Dunn, Beason happened to come up with quite a few big plays on a couple different routes throughout the event. Beason has reliable hands and is a fantastic route-runner, and was a perfect No. 2 target opposite of Demas for KB3. Beason excelled on crossing routes and showed off his ability to make crisp breaks and create separation from defensive backs. I don’t recall a single dropped pass from the four-star. He also fared well catching some balls off-balanced on shorter routes just to move the chains.
Beason seems likely to take his talents to the Pac-12, with Arizona, Colorado and Oregon State as the programs pushing hardest to get him on campus.
Omeire had a quiet Day 1 of the tournament, but was unstoppable on Day 2. The big-bodied wide receiver used his frame to box out defensive backs and make tough grabs over the middle and in traffic. He also showed off his ability to get downfield and reel in 50-50 balls vertically. Also, it’s worth pointing out that Omeire caught a huge deep ball in the semifinals when his team needed him to step up the most.
Texas and Texas A&M are a shade above the rest of the pack for the Rivals100 receiver, but programs such as Arkansas, LSU, Nebraska and Oklahoma are still in it.
Washington missed Saturday’s portion of the tournament because of track, but he showed up in a big way on Sunday. The wide receiver may be destined to play in the slot at the next level, but he lined up on the outside for Texas Pressure and was a thorn in the side of each defense they faced. He runs outstanding routes, has tremendous hands, great footwork and has absurd athleticism. He thrived near the goal on a few jump balls and catching the rock away from his body, as well as flat-out beating his defenders on easy slants for scores.
Duke and Penn State are the leaders in the clubhouse right now, but Arizona and Texas A&M are also in the mix.
