SLMFCA 7 on 7 Recap: De Smet

The St. Louis Metro Football Coaches Association 7 on 7 Tournament on Saturday at Troy Buchanan High School featured some of the better squads in the St. Louis area. While Lutheran North (Gold Division) and host Troy Buchanan (Silver Division) both won championships at the end of the day, other schools also impressed. One of those was De Smet, which came up short in the Gold Division championship game against Lutheran North a week after winning a 7 on 7 championship at the University of Missouri. The Spartans, who should be one of the better groups in the area this fall, had a good day overall at Troy Buchanan behind the strong play of several key contributors. "We started our contact days June 1 and I immediately had to take Caleb (Merritt) to Wyoming so he could report," said new De Smet coach John Merritt, who previously coached at John Burroughs and whose son Caleb is a freshman wide receiver at Wyoming. "So we really didn’t start our contact days until June 13. ... So it’s really only been two weeks." Merritt is the third De Smet head football coach in three years — following Robert Steeples and Carl Reed — and the Spartans are installing a completely new offensive system and a completely new defense. But the early results have been positive among the players. "I think they are excited for it," Merritt said. Here is a quick look at some of the standout performers for De Smet: <strong>QB [player_tooltip player_id="37660" first="Chris" last="Cotton"] </strong> Merritt said Cotton was the driving force in the Spartans’ championship run at Mizzou. "Christian Cotton was really good," the coach said. "He didn’t have a turnover. In the final two games he may not have had a incompletion." Cotton, a 2023 prospect who transferred to De Smet a year ago after Trinity closed, has had a good high school career so far and should be one of the better quarterbacks in the state this fall as a senior. Cotton’s recruiting has been slow because he lacks ideal height — he’s only 5-foot-11 — but he’s got a strong arm, he’s athletic, strong and tough and his new coach described him as a football encyclopedia. "He’s kind of like a mini Steve McNair," Merritt said. "... He’s a little bulldog, but he’s got tremendous arm strength and he’s really accurate. On the move he doesn’t lose much accuracy. That’s been really impressive." Merritt said Cotton was so good during the Mizzou 7 on 7 camp that the Spartans let him call the plays. "He was in a rhythm," Merritt said. "He was absolutely on fire." <strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id="37686" first="Demetrion" last="Cannon"] </strong> Cannon, a 6-1, 190-pound 2023 standout who also transferred from Trinity a year ago after the school closed, received an offer from Dartmouth on June 3 and has worked to elevate his game this summer, according to his new coach. "He’s a top-notch student," Merritt said. "He really has been working all spring on making himself into a complete receiver. ... You can’t jam him on the line anymore. His release moves are really good. He’s improved coming out of his cuts and improved his top-line speed." Merritt said the Cotton-to-Cannon connection couldn’t be stopped during the Mizzou camp. That dynamic duo was at it again at Troy as the Spartans advanced to the Gold Division championship game before coming up short. Look for those two players to have big senior seasons this fall. <strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id="101710" first="Keshawn" last="Ford"] </strong> Yet another 2023 standout who transferred from Trinity, Ford rushed for 740 yards and six touchdowns and averaged 7.8 yards per carry as a junior. He’s a tough hard-nosed runner but also has really good hands, a trait that has impressed the new coaching staff. "Right now we see him as the high school version of Marshall Faulk," Merritt said. "If he can do anything close to that, he’ll be sensational this fall. He’s a match-up problem for teams." Ford caught 12 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns as a junior, but don’t be surprised if he sees a much larger share of targets this fall. <strong>TE [player_tooltip player_id="374501" first="Liam" last="Russo"]</strong> A 2025 prospect to keep an eye on, Russo is about 6-4 or 6-5 and around 185 pounds. He’s also a three-sport athlete for the Spartans as he also plays basketball and runs track. "He is long and he is dangerous coming across the middle," Merritt said. "He is fast and has tremendous hands. ... He’s gonna be something special down the line." <strong>CB [player_tooltip player_id="354760" first="Christopher" last="Sharp Jr"] </strong> A 2023 cornerback who recently picked up an offer from Western Illinois, Sharp should be poised for a breakout season after waiting his turn in De Smet’s loaded secondary. "He’d been behind [player_tooltip player_id="37662" first="Christian" last="Gray"] and he had been behind (Ball State signee) Jordan Coleman," said Merritt, who thinks Sharp is one of the best corners in the St. Louis area. "He’s smooth, he’s polished, he’s tough," the coach said. <strong>CB [player_tooltip player_id="103395" first="Jaylen" last="Johnson"]</strong> Another 2023 cornerback, Johnson will likely play more in the slot for the Spartans this fall. "Tremendous feet," Merritt said. "JJ is so tough and so smart. He breaks on the ball so hard. He’s impressive." <strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id="285142" first="Jason" last="King"] </strong> King, one of our top-rated prospects at linebacker in the Class of 2025, is poised for a breakout season this fall as a sophomore and showed his coverage ability throughout the day at Troy Buchanan. "He’s the real deal," Merritt said. "He’s going to be as good as it gets at inside linebacker." <strong>DB [player_tooltip player_id="374531" first="EJ" last="Byas"]</strong> Merritt is predicting a big senior season for Byas, a 2023 free safety who should see a lot more snaps this fall after waiting his turn, like Sharp, behind more experienced players in the Spartans secondary. "He’s a super smart kid," Merritt said. "He’s fast. He shuts down the middle of the field." <strong>QB [player_tooltip player_id="285140" first="Dillon" last="Duff"]</strong> Duff, who is arguably the top quarterback prospect in Missouri in the Class of 2025, got plenty of reps on Saturday as he and Cotton both took snaps at quarterback. Cotton is the unquestioned starter (and leader) going into the season this fall, and should have a big senior season, but Duff is the future of the program and should see snaps to get ready for his final two years. "He throws the ball down the field as well as anybody," Merritt said. "We’re going to work on his short game and his intermediate game, but he really has a big arm and sees the field. He really has a poise about him. ... There’s a lot of upside." <h6 style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/06/slmfca-7-on-7-tournament-photo-gallery/">SLMFCA PHOTO GALLERY</a></strong></h6> &nbsp;