Big Recruiting Weekend for USF

[bull2468]

Impressive USF 7-on-7 event this weekend!

Talk about impressive fields for a tournament. This weekend's event in Tampa will certainly rival any in the nation as far as talent and teams.

Having covered every University of South Florida Sling & Shoot 7-on-7 event held through the past decade, watching from the days when a handful of teams ****** to Tampa, things have certainly changed.

Held during the second weekend of July on campus, it has now become a two-day tournament that attracts not only the local Tampa Bay area programs, but have routinely brought in some of the best across the state of Florida.

From Panama City to Miami, 7-on-7 teams come to USF with the idea of competing against some of the elite squads around.

This Saturday and Sunday, a field of some 60 plus teams will head to USF for some impressive competition.

Last year, in order to include the entire team, USF coaches came up with the idea of the Lineman Challenge, which gave the linemen an opportunity to showcase their many skills as well as have the chance to travel with the rest of their teammates, keeping a total bond going.

"They work extremely hard to bring in the best talent," said Josh Newberg of Elite Scouting Services. "The event is well planned out, and it puts USF in such a positive spotlight with coaches, players and parents."

While the economy has kept a few schools from traveling, the Sling & Shoot has found a balance to bring in several programs who reached impressive heights during the 2008 Florida high school football season.

"When they first started this event, many members of the media never gave it much play," said Corey Long, Editor of Florida Friday Night Football Magazine. "Now, websites and newspapers make this a must event to cover, which speaks volumes about the direction this tournament has taken."

South Florida area schools Hialeah, Western, McArthur, Hollywood Hills, Braddock and Coral Reef will be there. McArthur, and Hollywood Hills did extremely well at the event last year. They will be joined by Palm Beach County teams Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer, Palm Beach Lakes, Lake Worth Park Vista and Boca Raton as well as impressive programs such as Tampa Plant, Punta Gorda Charlotte, Naples, Citra North Marion, Orlando Dr. Phillips, Venice, Seffner Armwood, Deland, Tampa Catholic and Lakeland Kathleen.

"What an impressive field," Newberg said. "Talent from every corner of the state will be on display. If you are a football fan, this is the place to be. There is no other tournament that comes close to this record-setting event."

Also, Lake Weir returns to Tampa along with Dunedin, Tampa Leto, Clearwater Central Catholic, Ocala Forest, Palm Bay Bayside, Clearwater Countryside, Bushnell South Sumter, Sebring, Valrico Bloomingdale, Tampa Jefferson, Tarpon Springs East Lake and Zephyrhills.

In addition, Mulberry, Tampa Freedom, Plant City, Tampa Wharton, Land O'Lakes, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, Estero, Brandon, Tampa Hillsborough, Tarpon Springs, Tampa Gaither, Tampa Spoto, Winter Park, St. Petersburg Lakewood, Tampa Riverview, Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast, Tampa Middleton, Sarasota Riverview, Palm Harbor, Lakeland George Jenkins, Dade City Pasco, Wesley Chapel Wire Grass Ranch, Tampa Carrollwood, Fort Meade, St. Cloud and Strawberry Crest will also be on hand for this impressive event.

"There will be players who are at the top of our 2010, 2011 and 2012 lists," said Long. "If you want to see some of the best in the state, this is the place for you to be."

Action begins at 9:45 Saturday morning and lasts throughout Sunday afternoon.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/hssports/2009/07/impressive-usf-7on7-event-this-weekend.html

[SouthFLBully]

Nice post Josh!

Do you see us getting any commits out of this event this year? I know that is pretty hard to predict, but you are an "in the know" kind of guy and was just curious if you had any insight for us.

[Carolina_Bull]

Congrats to CJL for putting this event on the map.

[Feld44]

Its a great event. My team, CCC, won it during the original event in 99 and we played against Charlotte, which had Bruce Gipson and Javan Camon on their team. I'd be interested to see how many USF players have played in the tournament over the years.  Now I'm coaching in it, so its great to see how far its come in such a short time.

[bull2468]

Nice post Josh!

Do you see us getting any commits out of this event this year? I know that is pretty hard to predict, but you are an "in the know" kind of guy and was just curious if you had any insight for us.

With over 2,000 recruits on campus, there's always a good chance for a commit or two.  The SuperBull is better for commits because those are specific recruits that the staff invited.  The Sling and Shoot is a team-tournament.  Last year Ivan Nicholas committed at the S&S.  But at the SuperBull there ended up being 7 commits (Jaquez Jenkins committed the following day).

However, the talent is unmatched by any camp/tournament I've ever been to.  Teams like Dwyer, PB Gardens, Tampa Catholic.  I'd be willing to say about half this years recruiting class for UF will be there, FSU commits, UM, Alabama, LSU will all be represented.  If you look back on this camp after signing day there will be over 100 D1 recruits participating this weekend.