By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports
Benton quarterback Gray Walters had just finished leading the Tigers in a 7-on-7 tournament in Magnolia, Arkansas.
Not just any tournament. The 6-2, 185-pound senior-to-be had been slingin’ it all day in front of coaches at Southern Arkansas University.
“When we got done, Coach (Matt) Middleton, their (offensive coordinator), came up and talked to me — me and my dad. They offered me right after the game. He told me, ‘I’m excited. I want you to come up here and play.’ He told me to get everybody else they’ve offered (at Benton) to come with me.”
Walters did not commit to SAU. He has another offer (Centenary) and hopes his senior season will generate more offers. What Walters did do, is give a college staff an up-close-and-personal — better than video — look at his talent.
“It was cool,” Walters said. “It was cool.”
That’s one example of what 7-on-7 high school football can do for a player. But the summer pastime can also show what a player can do for his current coach.
“That number five or six receiver, he wants to get on the field,” said Reynolds Moore, who is soon to start his 10th season as Benton’s head coach. “He’s going out there and giving you everything he’s got.
“He’s trying to make sure he understands the offense, the system, the signals, and everything else. He wants you to know that you can count on him.”
Rodney Guin is about to begin his sixth season as Calvary Baptist Academy’s head coach, and 40th season in the profession. The Cavaliers love to throw the ball — “It’s just more practice. We throw the ball every day at school.”
But 7-on-7 games are a chance for Guin to see who can — and, more importantly, who can’t — play defense.
“We play a lot of man coverage in 7-on-7, and we’ve found a couple of kids who can’t play man coverage,” Guin said. “So, if we do that in a game, they’re not going to be able to play. We want to win, but we’re actually trying to see who can do what — at what position — and things like that.”
Guin and Moore understand that in June, it doesn’t matter who wins and loses. They know a 7-on-7 game doesn’t mean success or failure in the regular season. But 7-on-7 does give them a chance to see what their players do in a competitive, sometimes pressure, situation.
“The other day, we had one play to win a game,” Guin said. “I like to see how our quarterbacks handle those situations. One play to stop somebody — are we going to win the game? You see which kids like to be in those moments.”
And which kids will be ready if that moment comes.
“That’s my argument to people (who say) it’s not real football,” Moore said. “You’re right. It’s not. But if my backup quarterback is getting reps in the last two series, it’s getting him ready in case something happens to your starter this year.
He’s getting ready for his opportunity after your starter is done . . . it’s a competitive environment, but it’s not a Friday night environment.”
And, as any coach knows, a Friday night environment — 11-on-11 ball — is not the time to find out your backup quarterback isn’t ready.
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of Gray Walters