LAS VEGAS -- While the NCAA Tournament may lack a Cinderella team this year, the New Level Athletics 7-on-7 tournament found one in a small but athletic Team Utah. While the squad has been a regular late in the West's biggest event of the summer the past three years, they never quite found a way to break through and win the championship. The 2012 edition was not exactly the most talented in the field of 48 but found a way to move the ball methodically down the field and take home the trophy Sunday afternoon at UNLV with an upset win in overtime of the heavily favored 1925 All-Stars.
Provo (Utah) quarterback Jake Lloyd was consistent throughout the event and guided his team to victory with a calm, composed demeanor. His favorite target was American Folk (Utah) wide receiver Talon Shumway who used his impressive frame to shield defenders from the ball and become a big threat in the red zone. The team made noise early in the day with their upset of B2G, the event's back-to-back defending champions with a loaded group of Division I talent, especially in the secondary.1925 looked close to unstoppable early with Westlake Village (Calif.) wide receiver Francis Owusu in the lineup. The brother of former Stanford star <strong><player idref=, the 2013 recruit has a great frame and made plenty of tough catches at just about every angle to keep the chains moving. He was knocked out after hitting the turf hard and injuring his back before the quarterfinals and although Long Beach (Calif.) wide out John Ross picked up a lot of the slack, 1925 just couldn't make enough plays in the championship game to get their picture taken with the trophy.
Utah dinked and dunked their way down the field for the first score of the game on the opening drive and followed it up with a good defensive effort, using one of their allowed blitzes to sack 1925 quarterback Troy Williams to force a three and out. Although the teams eventually traded scores to tie the game late, Lloyd's pass with the clock winding down was tipped and intercepted in the end zone to essentially force overtime.
Lloyd would make up for it with a nice throw to the sidelines in the longest-yard format of OT. The defense held serve, intercepting Williams' pass that would have given his team the win but instead gave Utah the breakthrough win.
While none of the players are highly recruited, the victory did show that strategy and making plays often times can overcome any talent gap on paper.
Hilinski shows improvement but can't power team to victory
Sherman Oaks (Calif.) quarterback Kelly Hilinski was not the top signal caller in the NLA 7-on-7 event but he was definitely in the upper echelon. A standout on the field mainly for his size at 6-foot-6, he was able to deliver a good, catchable ball all day despite windy conditions that others struggled with. One reason he was still able to be successful is that he was constantly refining his technique and looking to get better with each pass.
"Just timing and accuracy I guess, complete more passes," Hilinski said of what he was working on. "I just want to get better every game and every throw really."
B2G had one of the best groups of receivers in Vegas and the Notre Dame High quarterback was one of the first to tell you that it was nice tossing the ball to a group that ran crisp routes and didn't need a perfect throw every time.
"You don't get a lot of guys like this until college really," Hilinski added. "They're all D-1 guys so it's great throwing to them, they make a lot of plays for me. I have to get better throwing and keep improving."
Interest is continuing to build for Hilinski on the recruiting trail as the May Evaluation Period fast approaches. He recently picked up his first offer and it was quite a big one as quarterback-friendly Arkansas extended a scholarship and allowed the
"It was great. They took a chance, really," he said. "It felt good that they didn't need to see me in person. A lot of other said they watched my film but want to see me workout. Coach (Bobby) Petrino took a chance to offer me and I really appreciate that. You're always going to remember that first offer and I'll never forget this one. I'm humbled by it and it's like a weight off my shoulders.
"(Petrino has) produced a lot of great pro quarterbacks and does a great job with taller quarterbacks and (runs) a pro style system. It's a great fit for me but we'll see what happens."
Already several programs have quickly checked in on Hilinski and it would not surprise the quarterback if he's juggling quite a few offers by the end of April.
"Harvard and Yale offered a week later and a couple of schools are very close to offering," he said. We'll see probably on the next couple of weeks. We'll see what happens."
While the calls and letters from coaches have picked up, there are still two programs that Hilinski is hoping to hear more from and has on the top of his list despite a lack of offers.
"USC and Oklahoma are number one and number two," he said. "That'd be great to see that happen but there's still a lot of other schools out there."
Hilinski will attend both schools' camps this summer and plans to stop by several other events in order to prove he's one of the best quarterbacks on the West Coast. Additionally, he plans on making a swing out East to check out a few campuses as distance from home is not a factor.
"I plan to visit Duke sometime this week and then go to Arkansas and down to Alabama , a couple of other schools like that as well," Hilinski said. "I'll probably hit " data-canon="Boston College Eagles" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">, Northwestern WildcatsNorthwestern and a few other schools in the Northeast."
The lessons learned during Kelly Hilinski's recruitment will serve the family well as younger brother Tyler is a budding quarterback who could end up being the better of the two. Two years behind in school, the pair have kept competition on the field at the forefront over the past few weeks.
"He thinks it's funny - I don't at all - but every time I see him he's like, 'Hey you backing me up?' But it's great, we push each other and get better, that's all we can do," Kelly said. "He thinks he'll start but I'll start and hopefully get a big lead and then he can play. He's a great quarterback and will be great."
Ohio State making a move on Baugh
One of Hilinski's top targets over the weekend was often times the biggest player on the field. Riverside (Calif.) tight end Marcus Baugh might play with his hand in the ground when the season comes around but he impressed by flexing out in 7-on-7 and showing moves of an agile receiver while making clutch catches. "I really want to work on my route running," Baugh said. "I'm kind of like a hybrid. I'm pretty much a big receiver but I can block along the line. I can pretty much do whatever a receiver can."
Baugh has crossed the double-digit mark of offers, mainly drawing interest from several
"I love Urban Meyer and how they run their offense," said Baugh. "I have a couple of family members out there too so it's definitely a school I'm going to look into."
While plenty of programs from across the country are showing interest, the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is pretty wide open with regards to his recruitment. While nothing is set in stone and it looks like a decision is months away, Baugh is looking at each school on its own and what they have to offer him.
"I can always go away from home. That's nothing," he said. "I'm just looking at how comfortable I am and early playing time."
After leaving Vegas, Baugh will use the coming weeks to head out and visit a few of the schools that have already offered. In addition to spending time with the coaching staffs, getting a feel for the campuses and the environment is high on the list of things to see.
"I might take an unofficial to Washington and maybe one to Ohio State," Baugh added." I'll probably take an official toArizona State Sun Devils" data-canon="Arizona State Sun Devils" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">."
Hatari Byrd impresses even if overshadowed
The Fresno area has had quite a run on the defensive side of the ball over the past few years and safety Hatari Byrd is the latest to have college coaches planning visits. While he was overshadowed a bit at the NLA 7-on-7 by top prospect Su'a Cravens, Byrd more than left an impression with his play."I feel real comfortable right now," Byrd said. "I'll let the coaches tell me what I need to work on and go from there."
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder had impressive closing speed and was savvy in dropping back into throwing lanes. He's already picked up a host of offers and it appears will be getting one from across the country very shortly.
"Georgia is probably coming in," Byrd said. "I just talked with them yesterday. I'm very interested, I love the SEC."
Like Fresno's best player last year, wide receiver Deontay Greeberry, it appears that Byrd is leaving the area and likely the state if he isn't on the same page as a few of his top schools in California.
"It's really whatever fits me," he said. "I want to take all of my visits and see what's there. I'm looking at education first and see what they have for me."
Byrd is hoping for a USC offer in the coming weeks after failing to pick one up at the Trojans' recent Junior Day. He's also stopped by UCLA and California and talks twice weekly with those two staffs.
"They were all great," Byrd said. "I love their facilities and all the coaches are pretty cool."
