2018 Nike GBAC 7-on-7 Takeaways

The Nike GBAC 7-on-7 was in full force today at the Scottsdale Sports Complex. First off, congrats to the organizers of that tournament. It’s not easy to have so many schools in a confined place, and they continue to create an organized, easy to follow event, even as the tournament grows year to year.

Here are a few takeaways from Saturday’s events. First, a note:

There were 38 teams going throughout the day. Eric Sorenson was out there, Jason Jewell (and his five-star toddler) was out there for a bit, I was out there for the pool play and the beginning portion of the single elimination tournament. That being said, there was a lot of football I watched, but there was even more football I missed happening on the other fields. This is a “takeaways” post, not a “recap” post. Simply, a few observations.

Now, the takeaways, starting with one I hate that I have to share, but it’s too important not to lead with it.

Edge Twin

If you’ve followed high school football recently, you’re probably aware of the Edge Twins and how Ralph Amsden reported the “reporters” have preyed on high school athletes for many, many years. If you want to read up on the whole story, take a look at the quality piece Ralph put together.

Now, their AIA passes have been revoked, but in the case of offseason 7-on-7 tournaments, those are more often than not put on by independent organizations that are open to the public. 

I didn’t see either twin out there, but this was tweeted by Jeff Edgington Saturday afternoon. If one or both of them were in fact out at the fields, it’s clear they will continue to show up to events within the high school sports community. If you see them, especially at an AIA event, notify the venue officials and security. If they are around high school students, feel free to reach out to members of the Arizona Varsity and/or Sports360AZ staff to help get the word out.

These guys were able to terrorize the high school community for so long because pockets of schools, players, coaches and media didn’t communicate with each other. We can make sure that error isn’t repeated.

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Heads up parents/coaches. They’re not gonna stop coming around. pic.twitter.com/Q1dTYSVLKH

— Ralph Amsden (@ralphamsden) May 26, 2018

OK, are you guys ready to talk about the football now?

Me too.

Spencer Rattler and Jacob Conover

I’m going to piggyback off of my Recruiting Roundup co-host Jason Jewell’s analysis and say that Spencer Rattler and Jacob Conover are really, really good.

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I was only at Nike 7on7 for about an hour, alot of football to see, so nothing crazy to report from me besides the obvious…
1. Spencer Rattler and Jacob Conover are really good.
2. Saguaro's defense is full of freaks.
3. When there's that much going on, it's easy to miss alot

— Jason Jewell (@jason247scout) May 26, 2018

This weekend was a bit of a tune-up for the QBs, who are heading to California for the Elite11 competition next weekend, a tournament that narrows a list of the top 24 quarterbacks in the nation down to a group of 12 that will participate in The Opening in Frisco, TX.

It seems as though both quarterbacks are ready to go as Conover’s Chandler Wolves beat out Rattler’s Pinnacle Pioneers in the tournament finals. Congrats to the Wolves.

Anthony Dedrick

There were a lot of “dudes” out in the field today. Today was the first time I was able to see Mountain Pointe TE/DE Anthony Dedrick, who has been a regular on the Recruiting Roundup recently, and he fits under that “dude” label. The 6-foot-4, 230 playmaker looks to be a matchup issue offensively, and I’m sure will have the same effect on defense when the pads come on this fall. 

Rich Wellbrock and co. are excited to see what he can do on both sides of the ball on Fridays.

Ty Thompson

There were so many great quarterbacks out at the Scottsdale Sports Complex from the 2019 and 2020 classes, and there is a 2021 quarterback you should know about as well: Mesquite’s Ty Thompson. The 6-foot-3, 195 incoming sophomore clearly has the size, and head coach Chad Degrenier has said the quarterback continues to bulk up in the offseason and attack his preparation on the field and in the classroom. Mesquite returns some nice complements to the offense and could put up some big points this year.

Brenden Rice

I’m looking forward to seeing how Mike Zdebski’s spread offense translates to the Hamilton offense and the playmakers on the outside. Brandon Schenks and Brenden Rice are two big (both in stature and experience) receivers returning for the Huskies, and Rice seemed to present matchup problems throughout day, very similarly to last year. I think this new scheme for the Huskies could lead to some huge numbers for Rice and company this season.

Be on the lookout for plenty of other high school football content in the coming days from this tourney.