2022 EKU 7 on 7 Top Performers: Offense

<p style="font-size:15px">As we are quickly approaching the 2022 high school football regular season, 7 on 7 season is wrapping up. This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending my largest tournament of the summer at Eastern Kentucky University. This tournament featured 60+ teams, mainly from the state of Kentucky. It was a long day with a ton of talent and at the end of the day, Highlands (Fort Thomas) went home as the champion. With all of the talent that I was able to see, it was difficult to narrow it down but here are the top performers that stood out to me on the offensive side of the ball.</p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">[player_tooltip player_id='331733' first='Cutter' last='Boley']| 2025 Quarterback| 6’5", 200 lbs.| Lexington Christian Academy</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">This summer there has been a lot of hype surrounding the new transfer quarterback at LCA as he has been reeling in Power 5 offers. From what I saw on Saturday, the hype is very real! The first thing that stood out to me is that Boley throws a pretty deep ball with plenty of touch, leading his receivers which helps them create separation from defenders. He also does a great job of going through his progressions and finding the open man. In the short and intermediate passing game, he shows the ability to put a nice amount of zip on his passes and fit balls in tight windows. I fully expect every college program in the country to have their eyes on this young man over the next few years.</p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">Mario Litmer| 2026 Quarterback| 6’0", 160 lbs.| Highlands</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">A player that was not on my radar at all prior to this event that stood out to me was Mario Litmer. "Rio", as his teammates call him, put on quite a show on Saturday, leading his team to win the whole tournament. At such a young age, Litmer showed that he could make all the throws that the upperclassmen can make. He showed very impressive accuracy with the ability to put zip on the ball and fit it in tight windows where only his receiver could get to it. Litmer also showed the ability to throw the ball down the field. He displayed a very strong arm and the ability to place the ball where only his target could make a play on it. Litmer put the state on notice this weekend as a player to watch over the next four years.</p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">Matthew Hinz| 2023 Wide Receiver| 6’4", 180 lbs.| Male</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">Moving away from quarterbacks for a moment, Matthew Hinz was making plays in every game that I watched that Male was in. He is a lengthy, athletic wide receiver with a high catch radius. Hinz uses that length to his advantage, along with his very impressive hands, to make contested catches with ease and pose as a dangerous jump ball threat. He was also dangerous as a target in the end zone as he was able to wall off defenders and make catches in traffic, even through contact. Hinz doesn’t currently hold any offers but is a player that college coaches should be paying attention to going into his senior season.</p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">[player_tooltip player_id='386903' first='Jayden' last='West']| 2023 Wide Receiver| 6’3", 165 lbs.| Madison Central</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">[player_tooltip player_id='386903' first='Jayden' last='West'] is a player that I’ve had on my radar this summer but really introduced himself in a big way on Saturday! He made plays in every Madison Central game that I watched but truly put on a show in tournament play against a very good Male team. In that game, West caught three touchdown passes. He uses his length and athleticism to his advantage to pose as a jump ball threat but also has the speed to run by defenders in the deep passing game. West is also a very smooth route runner with the ability to create separation from defensive backs. He has been receiving college interest and I believe that the offers will start coming in soon as he has the talent to be a very good receiver at the next level. </p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">Ethan Teall| 2024 Quarterback| 6’5", 200 lbs.| Paul Laurence Dunbar</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">As I made my way through the tournament games, another quarterback that caught my eye was the tall junior at Dunbar, Ethan Teall. He put on quite a show in their opening tournament game against Somerset, displaying very impressive arm talent. Teall throws a nice deep ball with a great amount of touch to lead his receivers. He is also a very accurate quarterback with the ability to go through his progressions to find the open man and deliver strikes in tight windows. He continued to impress throughout the tournament, keeping his composure in close games and leading the Bulldogs to the final four of the tournament. While he doesn’t hold any offers currently, he is definitely a player to watch on a Dunbar program that has been on the rise over the past few seasons. </p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">Jack James| 2025 Quarterback| 5’11", 180 lbs.| Paducah Tilghman</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">Another young quarterback that impressed me on Saturday was Jack James from Paducah Tilghman. James displayed a very impressive deep ball Saturday. Not only does he have the arm strength to push the ball down the field, but he also has tremendous ball placement with the ability to put the ball where only his receiver can get to it. In the short/intermediate passing game, he put a great amount of zip on his passes and showed the ability to throw strikes into tight windows to hit his receivers. James currently holds offers from Eastern Kentucky and Troy, and I fully expect more Division I offers to come over the next few seasons. </p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">[player_tooltip player_id='386915' first='Ahmad' last='Alexander']| 2023 ATH| 5’10", 157 lbs.| Warren East</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">During the regular season, Alexander is used all over the field for Warren East, seeing snaps in the backfield, at receiver, and at defensive back. For the purposes of Saturday, he looked very impressive at wide receiver. Alexander mainly lined up on the outside and showed very good route running skills. He did a great job of using smooth breaks in his routes to create separation against opposing defensive backs. Alexander also has the speed to run by defenders as a deep threat and very reliable hands. He had two touchdowns in the game I watched against Corbin in tournament play. Alexander doesn’t have any reported offers currently but he definitely has the talent to play at the next level!</p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px">[player_tooltip player_id='148268' first='Kolter' last='Smith']| 2024 Quarterback| 6’0", 165 lbs.| Male</h2>   <p style="font-size:15px">[player_tooltip player_id='148268' first='Kolter' last='Smith'] is a quarterback that I’ve had on my radar this summer. I was finally able to watch him in person on Saturday and he did not disappoint! He impressed me the most in the short/intermediate passing game with the ability to get the ball out of his hands quickly and deliver strikes into tight windows. Smith also showed impressive accuracy in the games I watched. When it comes to the deep ball, Smith does a great job of putting touch on his passes to lead his receivers away from opposing defensive backs. While he doesn’t currently hold any offers, I expect that they will pile up for him over the next two seasons as he has been very active on the camp and 7 on 7 circuit this summer. </p>   <h2 style="font-size:17px"><br></h2>

As we are quickly approaching the 2022 high school football regular season, 7 on 7 season is wrapping up. This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending my largest tournament of the summer at Eastern Kentucky University. This tournament featured 60+ teams, mainly from the state of Kentucky. It was a long day with a ton of talent and at the end of the day, Highlands (Fort Thomas) went home as the champion. With all of the talent that I was able to see, it was difficult to narrow it down but here are the top performers that stood out to me on the offensive side of the ball.