The spread offense and a good game of throw-and-catch are taking a few Georgia football teams farther than they imagined.
North Cobb of Acworth was in Eden Prairie, Minn., last weekend, where coach Shane Queen’s team finished second in the NFL National 7-on-7 tournament at the Minnesota Vikings’ training facility.
Gainesville High is one of eight teams playing Thursday and Friday in the Nike 7-on-7 national tournament in Beaverton, Ore.
North Gwinnett of Suwanee and Lassiter of Marietta are playing in the National Select 7-on-7 Championships next week in Hoover, Ala. They had to qualify from local tournaments to make that 32- team field. Another local qualifier is being held Friday and Saturday at Lassiter that will award two more berths to Hoover.
The Minnesota and Oregon events pay the expenses of the participants. In the NFL tournament, players wore the uniforms of NFL teams. North Cobb, representing the Atlanta Falcons, lost 48-38 in the final to Central Glades of Florida, who were wearing Miami Dolphins uniforms.
“It’s something they’ll remember for along time," North Cobb’s Queen said. “Just some of the people they met – Steve Hutchinson, an offensive lineman [for the Vikings], he spoke to the team. They got to hang out with Adrian Peterson. The head coach and the owner of the Vikings spoke to them. And we obviously played 16 of the best teams in the country. To compete against them only makes you better."
The NFL was filming the event for a special that will appear on NFL Network next month. While North Cobb won a qualifying tournament in Georgia to advance to the national event, Gainesville was invited to Oregon, partly because of its high-profile players.
Quarterback Blake Sims (committed to Alabama), wide receiver Tai-ler Jones (Stanford) and safety Daunte Carr (Stanford) are major college prospects. Gainesville averaged 37 points per game in reaching the Class AAA quarterfinals last season as Sims threw for 2,453 yards, and Jones caught 81 passes.
Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said a good passing-league team isn’t necessarily a good real-football team, but the competition is invaluable.
“Does a passing league have anything to do with how you do in the regular season? Probably not," Miller said. “The game still comes down to blocking and tackling. But you do get a feel for how they do against actual competition. It’s an indication of where your talent level is and what you’ll be able to do.”
Miller agreed with Queen that the experience outside the football field made it worth it.
"We've got 12 of our 22 who've never been on an airplane," Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. "It's a neat trip for the kids."
The tournament is being held at the Nike Complex and is sponsored by Nike and ESPN. It features some of the top teams in the country. Highlights will be televised Aug. 10 on ESPNU.
”Just because of the way high school sports is growing, more and more people want to know who are the ‘next best’ kids on the next level," said Michael White, who is helping coordinate the event for Nike and ESPN. “What we look for is eight teams nationally that represent the highest level of competition."
White said that typically means a pass-oriented team with lots of college prospects. A running team, such as De Le Salle of California, might not be as good a fit, White said.
In 2008, the first Nike 7-on-7 national tournament was won by Plant of Tampa, which featured University of Georgia signees Aaron Murray at quarterback and Orson Charles at tight end. Murray was the MVP.
The runner-up in 2008 was Georgia’s Henry County, which brought wide receivers Jamal Patterson (who signed with Stanford) and Markeith Ambles (one of Georgia’s top 10 recruits for 2010).
The Alabama tournament is held at Hoover High, the school made famous by the MTV Series “Two-A-Days." Chip Lindsey was Hoover’s offensive coordinator in 2007 before coming to Lassiter, which had been running the option. Lindsey switched the offense to the spread, and quarterback Hutson Mason threw for a Georgia Class AAAAA record 3,705 yards.
Mason is back, and he’s one of the reasons Lassiter was able to make the Hoover field this year.
"The biggest thing you'll learn [in a 7-on-7 tournament] is if they'll compete against other quality opponents," Lindsey said. "If they will, then you can be excited about your season."
