Last years Championship All Star 7 on 7, Team Tampa paid a visit to this year’s Team Tampa practice. Not to spectate, but to participate. The bunch from last year including Alvin Bailey, Vernon Hargreaves, Richard Benjamin, Travis Johnson, The Griffin Twins, Pete Dinovo, Brad Hyman-Muhammad and Zach Benjamin scrimmaged the new bunch to gage pogress and prepare for next month’s IMG Regional Tournament.
QBs
Brad Mayes, Berkeley Prep threw the majority of the balls for the New Kids on the Block. Overall looked good. Against a hungry defense, Mayes was fairly accurate and checked down when he needed to.
Alex McGough, Gaither flipped back and forth between the New Team and the Old. Found a rhythm later in the contest with a few nice passes to streaking receivers.
Pete Dinovo, Central Florida spent his last day of his spring break with Team Tampa. Was the same old Pete Dinovo. Threw the intermediate routes very well. Scanned the field like a veteran and gave his receivers an opportunity to catch the ball.
RECEIVERS
The impact guys were the usual suspects: Travis Johnson, Cincinnati used his big body to make several interior catches to secure first downs. Zach Benjamin, USF caught the ball well. Good concentration and was sure handed. Marquez Valdez, NC State made an appearance. Wasn’t a member of the squad last year, but accepted the invitation to perform Saturday and did so. Crisp with his route running and caught several chain moving passes.
George Campbell, East Lake and Artavis Scott may not be human. Both players made some huge catches in and out of traffic. Made their QBs look like geniuses. Both have speed and ability to track down the ball and rip it from the air. Lakewood’s Joc Ellison was also a playmaker for the 2013 team; Confident hands and shifty in traffic.
DEFENSE
2012’s Team Tampa was aggressive on defense. Richard Benjamin and Shaquem Griffin played tough at the corners, while Shaquill and Vernon held it down at the safeties. Rarely did balls get thrown over top of the secondary. Alvin Bailey chimed in on defense also. Primarily as an inside nickel.
For the 2013 crop, Chris Jackson and Amani Oruwariye took most of the reps at CB. Both performed well. Held their own against the D1 college signees. Mike Johnson, Countryside showed up slightly late but was a nice addition to the secondary. Aaron Wade, Newsome was all over the place. Made several nice plays coming up from the safety position. If the boys would have been in pads, Kyle Gibson would have rocked a few players. Pulled up a few times to avoid contact.
See some of the action below