Sooner 7 Blue 18U Spotlight (Mar. 18-19)
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Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The DR7 7v7 tournament circuit made its way through Oklahoma over the weekend and stopped in at Broken Arrow and Prep Redzone was there from start…
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The DR7 7v7 tournament circuit made its way through Oklahoma over the weekend and stopped in at Broken Arrow and Prep Redzone was there from start to finish. Throughout the week, we’ll be putting a spotlight on some of the best players that we caught for an extended period of time. In this post, we’re taking a look at the 18U “Blue” squad from Sooner 7 as they would fall to eventual champion Sooner 7 Green in the semifinals. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone for more spotlights, looking at some of the top players throughout the weekend in Broken Arrow.
We have Union 2025 athlete Boston Carrasco Boston Carrasco 5’10” | 170 lbs | ATH Union | 2025 State OK on the short list of 2025 prospects that seem destined for a breakout season this fall. We’ve watched him up close a few times over the last month and each time he makes some plays that still come as a surprise to us. Carrasco is a playmaker that has some serious athleticism to his game that should not be overlooked. Speed, hands and that playmaking ability is a big reason why we think he could step into a much bigger role within the Union offense this fall. Throughout the weekend, Carrasco did a really good job of making catch after catch and more times than not, he was in the end zone putting points on the board. He also took care of the ball and did a good job of shielding himself from defenders. That doesn’t mean much in a 7v7 setting but when the pads come on, that will be important.
Highlights
Victory Christian 2025 prospect Eric Peterson Eric Peterson 5’9″ | ATH Victory Christian | 2025 State OK is another one that continues to impress us in the 7v7 setting. We’ve seen Peterson consistently making plays for a little over a year now. Last year, it was with the 15U team. This year, he’s bumped up to the 18U squad and has made the transition appear easy. On offense, Peterson is a YAC specialist because of his lightning quick speed, when he gets the ball in his hands, he’s going to make something happen. He was one of the smaller prospects on this team but it simply didn’t matter and didn’t stop him from making big plays on both sides of the ball. On defense, we really like his ability to stay with any receiver he’s covering. His closing speed was on display and it was off the charts several times throughout the weekend. We’re really looking forward to seeing what he does as a junior.
Similar to Carrasco, Stillwater 2024 wide receiver Heston Thompson Heston Thompson 5’11” | 175 lbs | WR Stillwater | 2024 State OK was another player throughout the weekend that seemed to always be making catches that resulted in points going up on the board. After going back and watching some of the film we shot, it seemed like the majority of catches were either touchdowns or conversions following the touchdowns. Thompson enjoyed an outstanding junior season and we think that he’s going to go into this season as one of the top wide receivers in 6A-2 and that’s not really up for debate at this point. Thompson is an incredibly reliable target that is just as dangerous in the deep passing game as he with making a short pass turn into a long play. Thompson has been an absolute playmaker for the Pioneers over the last two years and he was doing the same thing for Sooner 7 this weekend.
The first of two quarterbacks on this breakdown is Norman North 2025 signal caller Owen Eshelman Owen Eshelman 6’3″ | QB Norman North | 2025 State OK and it was really good to see him in person throwing the ball around. Eshelman was one of the breakout players from last season with Norman North and there’s no doubt that he’s a terrific athlete. He’s also a strong basketball player and he showed his versatility last season starring for the Timberwolves on the defensive side of the ball. But now it’s time for Eshelman to take over at the quarterback spot and this weekend was a great chance to really watch him throw the ball over and over again in a competitive setting. Eshelman passed the eye test this weekend. We know about the athleticism he has so it would good to see him in a position where he just had to make throw after throw. He impressed and we’re looking forward to seeing more this spring.
Highlights
Union 2025 quarterback Shaker Reisig Shaker Reisig 6’0″ | 185 lbs | QB Union | 2025 State OK was the other quarterback taking reps on Saturday and Sunday and he was once again one of the top quarterback in attendance. We’ve written this a few times when it comes to Reisig but we’re not going to just make something up. We didn’t learn anything new about Reisig this weekend. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the state and he is so cool under pressure that he has to be at the top or at least near the top in that category in the state. Reisig picked apart defenses throughout the weekend and he did it in a variety of ways. He would hit short routes multiple times and then fire a dart on a deep route once the defense was cheating up. Reisig’s accuracy is always the thing that stands out to us but a very underrated part of his game is his demeanor and confidence when the pressure starts getting ratcheted up.
Choctaw 2024 standout and Oklahoma State commit Will Smith Will Smith 6’4″ | 240 lbs | DL Choctaw | 2024 State OK is headed to the next level for what he can do on the defensive side of the ball. But this weekend, Smith was one of the absolute best pass catchers throughout the weekend. He became the number one target for Reisig and made catch after catch and did several in spectacular fashion. Smith was used a bit on offense last fall with Choctaw but he will certainly have more of a role within the offense this fall. He is an absolute weapon on offense with his size, leaping ability and incredibly reliable hands. We mentioned how we went over the film that we shot earlier and Smith ended up being one of the prospects with the most clips that we shot. Catch after catch and play after play, the Oklahoma State commit was one of the top playmakers and receivers in attendance in Broken Arrow.