Battle On the Mountain: Rocky Top 7v7 Classic Recap
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Gatlinburg, Tennessee was the place to be as tons of in-state prospects were on hand to compete in the 2022 Rocky Top 7v7 Classic and man was there top level action! Multiple teams and organizations from across the state embarked…
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Continue ReadingGatlinburg, Tennessee was the place to be as tons of in-state prospects were on hand to compete in the 2022 Rocky Top 7v7 Classic and man was there top level action!
Multiple teams and organizations from across the state embarked on the Mountain to compete against each other and kick off the offseason with a tourney victory, however it was an out of state program that came away with the trophy.
Sound Mind Sound Body out of Detroit, Michigan won this year’s event defeating a Tennessee based program in Team Grind Hard, 18-13 for the championship but the Middle Tennessee area organization put up a strong showing and represented the home state very well.
Several other programs from the home state of Tennessee had good showings as well, including Team Flight and Team Blaze from BallHawkU, Team Tennessee who is based out of Nashville, 901 Phenom coming straight out of Memphis and the Wolfpack who hails out of Chattanooga.
We also had a lot of strong individual performances out on the Mountain where multiple prospects stepped forward and showed me why they are or should be highly recruited college prospects.
Overall, it was a great time in Gatlinburg where several players developed further and improved their games while competing against each other in a high octane, competitive atmosphere.
Prospect Notes
– Starting with the Tennessee team who made it to the title game, Team Grind Hard sports two highly recruitable prospects in CPA (TE/DE) Bo Burklow Bo Burklow 6'4" | 235 lbs | TE CPA | 2023 State TN and 2024 CPA wide receiver Ondre Evans Ondre Evans 6'1" | 185 lbs | DB CPA | 2024 State TN who put together strong performances on Saturday. Burklow is a two way talent who I feel has bigger upside on defense but definitely showed at tight end that he has strong hands with a big radius as well as displaying that the dude can move! This Lions prospect is definitely one of the top recruits from the greater Middle Tennessee area for the 2023 recruiting cycle.
Rocky top tournament❤️🔥 @TGH7v7 pic.twitter.com/GuMDUrKHdb
— Ondre Evans Ondre Evans 6'1" | 185 lbs | DB CPA | 2024 State TN (@OndreEvans) February 27, 2022
Evans is an athletic beast that has 4-star status written all over him. The mid-state junior has great size along with an excellent burst and first step off the line that separates him from defenders. Evans already holds a few P5, SEC offers from the likes of Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee but expect many, many more to come his way over the coming months.
– NPA based Team Flight had a great day of action on Saturday until they were upset in the quarterfinals by Team Tennessee but prior to that, guys like Ty Lockwood Ty Lockwood 6'5" | 225 lbs | TE Independence | 2023 State TN , Max Collins Max Collins 6'2" | 190 lbs | WR Page | 2023 State TN , Ethan Crisp Ethan Crisp 6'3" | 205 lbs | LB Mt. Juliet | 2023 State TN and Cody Pagach Cody Pagach 6'3" | 190 lbs | QB Alcoa | 2024 State TN had stellar showings and even dominated at times.
Lockwood is an absolute beast and a future NFL guy if all the cards lay out the right way for him. He was the main target for Team Flight as I don’t think he dropped one pass and showed he can run as well as be a deep ball threat. Throwing him the ball was his teammate at Independence in Pagach and he had an excellent debut performance on the 7v7 circuit for NPA where he displayed an accurate, powerful right arm and the ability to make quick decisions. Watch out for Pagach going forward as I expect his recruitment to take off very soon.
Indy’s @CodyPagach and @TyLockwood7 will be a problem for opposing D’s. Hard to stop when they were on the field together at @rockytop7v7 Sat. @NatlPlaymkrsAca @NCEC_Recruiting @ChadSimmons_ @SWiltfong247 @DemetricDWarren @AABonNBC @OSUCoachKDub @Birm @ScottStidham @QBCountry pic.twitter.com/w8gqoDToRX
— Coach Pagach (@KylePagach) February 27, 2022
I don’t know if there are many better coverage linebackers in the country than Crisp and on the Mountain this weekend, he dominated his position, allowing only one catch and consistently putting himself around the ball. Many coaches are missing the boat on Crips and whoever lands him will be getting an absolute steal. Many coaches also don’t know much about Collins from Page but this is a big, sure handed wideout that had several shining moments in Gatlinburg. He is another guy that I feel will see an increase with his recruitment as more coaches view his film and watch him compete in person.
– If you have been following my work over this offseason then you have heard me talk about Blackman (TN) receiver Demetrius Bell and how this guy is elite….well this weekend in Gatlinburg, this Middle Tennessee speedster dominated and continued to show why he is a P5, Division 1 prospect.
Bell was the key target for Team Blaze (NPA White) on Saturday where he produced six touchdowns on the day and made several other clutch catches throughout the tournament. This dude has elite quickness and athleticism that fits on the highest level of college football, so sooner or later this guy’s recruitment should explode.
Quick clip from Rocky Top! @DzikNoah @recruit4TN @CSmithScout @ELammers_Rivals @LoyaltyPerform pic.twitter.com/g4wPk5t8GQ
— Demitrius Bell Demitrius Bell 6'1" | 170 lbs | WR McGavock | 2023 State TN (@db1_1o) February 27, 2022
– 901 Phenom is a new organization on the scene, based out of Memphis that is doing some good things right now and they have some dudes on their side that have legit college abilities. Two of them that stood out to me this weekend were
Triston Lurry
Triston
Lurry
5'10" | 165 lbs | WR
Houston | 2023
TN
from Houston and
A.C. Mason-Young
A.C.
Mason-Young
5'11" | 180 lbs | DB
Covington | 2023
State
TN
from Covington. Both of the West Tennessee products are big time athletes that fit the mold of a college prospect. Lurry has big time speed and playmaking ability while Mason-Young has tremendous instincts and the knack for making big plays. Both of these guys are undervalued right now but should see their stocks increase over time.
– One guy who really took their stock and ramped it up to another level was Lebanon (TN) receiver Anthony Crowell Anthony Crowell 5'9" | 165 lbs | WR Lebanon | 2023 State TN . This athletic and fast pass catcher from the Middle Tennessee area was consistent and dynamic on Saturday, producing four total touchdowns and being the teams (Team Razor/NPA Black) most dependable wide out. Crowell is a very respectful young man that brings a lot of value to the football field and locker room. He is also ultra talented and has the athletic abilities that play up on the college level. The one key statement that comes to mind about Crowell coming out of the Rocky Top 7v7 Classic is that this Blue Devils wideout is a definite D1 prospect that is sitting way under the radar right now.
Good work this week at Gatlinburg @CSmithScout @NatlPlaymkrsAca @LoyaltyPerform @rockytop7v7 pic.twitter.com/083PNz5s8W
— Anthony Crowell Anthony Crowell 5'9" | 165 lbs | WR Lebanon | 2023 State TN (@CrowellAnthony2) February 27, 2022
– The Wolfpack, who hails from the Scenic City, put up a strong showing in Gatlinburg last weekend with several players stepping forward with strong performances. The guys who jumped out to me after seeing them perform in person this weekend was Judd Anderson,
A.J. Wallace
A.J.
Wallace
6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH
South Pittsburg | 2025
TN
,
Eli Owens
Eli
Owens
6'3" | 230 lbs | TE
Alcoa | 2025
State
TN
and Jalan Terry.
All these guys are underclassmen which bodes well for their recruitments going forward. Anderson already holds an offer from Ole Miss, Wallace sports multiple D1 offers as does Owens while Terry is an athletic two way player that should see his recruitment explode very soon.
Others Top Performers: ‘24 (QB) Elisha Nieves Elisha Nieves 6'4" | 190 lbs | QB Centennial | 2024 TN – Columbia Acad., ‘24 (WR) D’Arious Reed – Pearl Cohn, (TE) Braiden Staten Braiden Staten 6'6" | 225 lbs | TE Green Hill | 2023 State TN – Green Hill, (DB) Byron Davis Byron Davis 5'10" | 185 lbs | DB Cane Ridge | 2023 State TN – Cane Ridge, ‘24 (WR) Brock Montgomery Brock Montgomery 6'3" | 205 lbs | WR Riverdale | 2024 State TN – FCS, ‘25 (S) Tarrion Grant Tarrion Grant 6'3" | 185 lbs | DB Siegel | 2025 State TN – Siegel, (QB) Connor Swann – Spring Hill, (LB) Eli Davis Eli Davis 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Anderson County | 2023 TN – Anderson Co., (WR) Sean Aldridge Sean Aldridge 5'10" | 175 lbs | WR Green Hill | 2023 State TN – Green Hill
Good weekend at rocky top. @CSmithScout @Jcrouch17 @Coach_Kuhn pic.twitter.com/wQ4thFI6Qr
— Sean_Aldridge (@SeanAldridge9) February 27, 2022