Recruiting Rundown: How Valuable are 7-on-7 Events in the Recruiting Landscape?

The best description of 7-on-7 is that it’s the “AAU of football.”

Aside from it being less players on the field at one time, 7-on-7 programs assemble teams of talented players that travel to different cities and participate in various events. Like AAU does for basketball, 7-on-7s provide young players a chance to develop and compete against other young talent around the state, region or even country.

"One thing we try to do is use it as a tool for performance," Riley Howard said. "We just want to get them to see other guys across the country and see their competition, because these are the same guys they'll be in camp with when they're competing for scholarships."

Howard is the founder and president of the 7-on-7 program Elite 3, which is based in Nashville, TN. He has a lot of talent on his team, including top in-state prospects Brandon Heyward and Markeis Barrett. Another talented player was 4-star running back Kevin Riley, a Tuscaloosa native that holds a number of Power 5 offers, including Alabama.

It's a good tool for exposure outside of the regular season. And since it's played without pads and a one-hand touch rule, scouts and coaches can evaluate without adding extra punishment.

The main players that benefit from 7-on-7 are quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs. Quarterbacks can show their ability to make reads and different kinds of throws while receivers can show off their route-running ability along with being a jump ball threat. Defensive backs can also show their man-to-man skills against receivers.

There are two cons that stick out about 7-on-7, though. The first is that some teams run a schoolyard offense, where guys just cross the field back and forth instead of actual offensive concepts.

The second is that while the structure is great for the aforementioned positions, it does nothing for linemen and running backs. You don't blitz or use running plays in 7-on-7, so linemen don't have a chance to display their skills, which is why you won't ever see any out there.

As for running backs, Riley used 7-on-7 to work on his route running, but he had a quiet day.

7-on-7 is not perfect, but it does have its uses in bringing more exposure to young talent.

Tide-bits

It seems like the recent quarterback prospects for Alabama are a lot taller than the previous Crimson Tide starters. Antwann Hill and Brady Edmunds, 2025 and 2027 prospects, are both measured at 6 feet, 5 inches.

Keep an eye on the name Jared Smith, a rising junior at Spain Park High School in the Birmingham area. He is already a 5-star recruit in the 2025 class.

Recruits to Remember

Akylin Dear, Running Back: 6 feet, 1 inch, 200 pounds, Quitman (MS) High School

Rydarrius Morgan, Safety: 6 feet, 175 pounds, Central High School, Phenix City, AL

Jaylan Morgan, Defensive Back: 6 feet, 170 pounds, Rockvale (TN) High School

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