The Opening, Day 3: Elite 11 MVP Sean White leads Field Generals, award winners

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Braxton Berrios caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Elite 11 MVP quarterback Sean White with 34 seconds left and then let out a giant scream.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Wes Welker look-a-like was extremely emotional — especially for a 7-on-7 summer football game — but then this was for the title of The Opening's 7-on six-team extravaganza on national television.

Berrios, who also caught the ensuing 2-point conversion to give his Field Generals a 21-14 win over Alpha Pro, said the emotion stemmed from how the competition began, a 42-3 defeat.

The humbling beginning began a mantra of "Started at the bottom," a song from Drake. When Berrios, an incoming senior at Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.), spiked the ball after his game-winning grab, then screamed at the sky.



"Our defense was all confused at the start," Berrios said. "Our offense wasn't efficient. We didn't yell at each other but knew we were better than that. We've been on a roll every since.

We came a long way. That's why I was so emotional."

Though he's caught game-winning touchdown passes in the past, doing at this setting at The Opening, a showcase of 161 of the nation's top players, made the moment special in a back and forth game.

Alpha Pro had fought back from a 13-0 deficit to score two late touchdowns on passes from Will Grier (Davidson Day, Davidson, N.C.), the second to Ermon Lane (Homestead, Fla.) with 3:30 remaining to give the team a short-lived 14-13 lead with 3:30 left.

White, a 6-1, 200-pound slinger from University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), threaded the needle on numerous passes, several to Malachi Dupre of Curtis (River Ridge, La.), including a 40-yard bomb that set up the game-winning touchdown. Dupre was named to the All-Tournament squad and White was the 7-on-7 MVP.

On the game-winning pass, Berrios was the primary target if the middle linebacker didn't drop. He didn't and Berrios was open.



"It was a perfect pass," Berrios said. "This is an eye-opener. You hear and see on film but to be around 161 of the best players and to compete against them and succeed is an eye-opener. It's just huge."

The title 7-On game finished off six days in Beaverton, the first three were the Elite 11 Quarterback Competition. Rather than rank the players then, the Nike staff decided to hold off until watching all 18 invited in 7-on competition. White turned out the best in both competitions.

"It was big," White said of his team's game-winning drive. "It was score or lose. Malachi did a great job going deep on third down and Braxton did a great job finding the open spot on the game-winner. It was a great experience. ... Everything here was great."

ELITE 11 RANKINGS ANNOUNCED: The top 11 quarterbacks in the country were announced from the final list of 18. The Elite 11 competition is a skills test with subjective critiques from various coaches, led by Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, throughout the country.

White, not highly acclaimed coming in and who is uncommitted, ended up No. 1. This is what Dilfer said about White on Sunday before the 7-on-7s were played.

"His accuracy isn't just accurate, it's exact," Dilfer said. "He throws an NFL type of ball. He has an – I'm stealing this from Steve Young – artistic ball. He paints a picture with his ball. He doesn't just throw a hinge, he throws a hinge to an open receiver. He doesn't throw just a skinny post, he sends a message with a skinny post. Every single counselor agrees – including (Boyd and Manziel) – it blows your mind, his passing proficiency. It's off the charts."



Here is the Elite 11 selected were (in order) with Dilfer's comments if given: 

1. Sean White of University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

2. Kyle Allen, of Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is a Texas A&M commit.

"Kyle is just Mr. Consistency. It's almost working against him at this point. He does nothing bad. He does everything better than good."

3. Will Grier of Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C) is committed to Florida.

"He's right there with Jacob Park. I love his hat. He has no flinch. And his game shows it. When the ball leaves his fingers he's on to the next play. I love that about him. He has more juice than I thought he had. He sent a message with the ball he threw a few times. He might be one of those guys who can thrive at the next level. He's passed so much and has seen so many looks. There's not going to be any shock or awe to his system when he sees Tony Brown – or whoever – covering."



4. Jerrod Heard, Guyer (Denton, Texas) is a Texas commit.

"He was the biggest surprise."

5. Jacob Park, Stratford (Goose Creek, S.C.) is a Georgia commit.

"Jacob Park is right on the edge. He'll have four great plays and then an absolute stinker. That's not inconsistency. Inconsistency is two good, two bad. I don't know where it comes from. I have to figure out if it's focus. Is it physical? I'm going to spend a lot of time with his quarterback coordinator. He can blow up in a heartbeat. He's been so good, but you can't put the stamp on it because nine plays later he throws one in the ground or makes the wrong read. … You ask, where did that come from?"

6. David Blough, Creekview (Carrollton, Texas) is a Purdue recruit often compared to Drew Brees.

"Blough is so fiercely competitive. He's so determined to be the best he can possibly be. Yet he doesn't allow the pressure of that weigh him down. He plays about as free as anyone. He's strong in the competitive temperament category. He's right there with Sean White and Kyle Allen in the passing proficiency area."



7. Drew Barker, Conner (Hebron, Ky.) is a Kentucky commit.

8. Luke Rubenzer, Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is committed to Cal.

9. Brad Kaaya, Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.) is committed to Miami.

"He makes the extremely difficult look extremely easy. When you're looking for greatness in any walk of life you're looking for someone who makes the very difficult look easy. And he makes everything look incredibly easy. "

10. Deshaun Watson, Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.) is committed to Clemson.

"DeShaun started a little sloppy. I'm sensitive to him coming from the East to the West. He lit it up yesterday. He's a much better passer than he was in Atlanta. He's a sponge. For a highly touted kid with a lot of accolades for a couple of years, he embraces the journey of getting better." Dilfer also called Watson the most college-ready quarterback among the 18.



11. K.J. Carta-Samuels, Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) is committed to Vanderbilt.

"I don't know if I've trained a kid more trainable than K.J. Carta-Samuels… When we first saw him there were some real issues. But I told him, A, B and C are real issues and if you don't fix them, this will be a long process for you. Now we're looking 2 ½ months later and it's unbelievable. … On a scale of 1 to 5, he's a 6 in competitive temperament. Trainability, he'd be a 6 there again. His passing proficiency which was in the 3s, is now in the 4-plus range."

All-tournament from 7-on-7: Here, according to the coaches, is the best of the best from the 7-on-7 tournaments. Remember, this is a game without pads, linemen or a pass rush. There's also no tackling. It's a high level game of touch football.

DB Quin Blanding of Bayside (Virginia Beach, Va.) - Vapor Pro

Athlete Austin Roberts of Carmel (Ind.) - Field Generals

DB Derwin James of Auburndale (Fla.) - Super Bad



RB Dalvin Cook of Central (Miami, Fla.) - Land Sharks

DB Budda Baker of Bellevue (Wash.) - Apocalypse

WR Malachi Dupre of Curtis (River Ridge, La.) - Field Generals

DB Adarius Pickettof El Cerrito (El Cerrito, Calif.) - Field Generals

TE Henry Mondeaux of Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) - Alpha Pro

WR Ermon Lane of Homestead (Fla.) - Alpha Pro



QB Will Grier of Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C) - Alpha Pro

7-on-7 MVP
Sean White

Lineman 1-on-1 MVPs
Offensive line: Cameron Robinson of West Monroe (La.)
Defensive line: Ainuu Taua of Lompoc (Lompoc, Calif.)

Lineman MVPs
Offensive line: J.C. Hassenauer of East Ridge (Woodbury, Minn.)
Defensive line: Chad Thomas of Washington (Miami, Fla.)

SPARQ champion
WR Devante "Speedy" Noil of Karr (New Orleans, La.)