Six Teams to Watch at State 7-on-7

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The 2021 State 7-on-7 Tournament kicks off in College Station on Thursday, with 128 teams vying for passing league supremacy. Fans can stream the action live for free on Texan Live courtesy of the Texas Army National Guard, and find all the information about the action at the State 7-on-7 website. DCTF's Ishmael Johnson and Greg Tepper picked out six teams to keep an eye on this weekend at the state tournament.

Division I

Bridgeland
This one’s pretty easy to sell, because the Bears fall into a typically fun-to-watch 7-on-7 team category: a team with a superstar quarterback. Texas A&M commit Conner Weigman is the headliner here, playing down the road from where he’s slated to call home starting in 2022, but the Bears are much more than just their signal-caller. Safety Terrance Cullivan is a stalwart onn the defensive side, and receiver Andrew Maleski’s fearless route-running will make him fun to watch. Division I is absolutely loaded, but the Bears have a chance to make some serious noise.

Georgetown
A successful 2020 team like Georgetown with a leader like Darson Herman at quarterback will be intriguing, especially with the enormous losses experienced on both sides of the ball due to graduation. How does the Eagle offense look while breaking in some new weapons on both sides of the ball? Also, how do WR Drayden Dickmann and DB Trent McConnell step into much bigger roles?

Division II

Wimberley
If dominance in the State Qualifying Tournaments is what you’re looking for, it’s hard to do better than the Texans. In the Fredericksburg SQT in mid-May, they went 4-0, including a dominant win over fellow state qualifier Austin LBJ. A few weeks later at their host SQT, they rang off another 3-0 run. Juan Olmedo and Nathan Simpson are the names to know — the former is back from injury, and the latter is the reigning district defensive player of the year — and with gamebreakers like Moses Wray back in the fold, the Texans are one of Division II’s pre-tournament favorites.

Argyle
The reigning 4A DI state champions bring back some solid pieces, especially defensively, but the first chance to see new quarterback Jett Copeland assume the fulltime role behind center, as well as the new emerging skill talent like Hayden Stewart, is a very enticing prospect. We’ll only learn so much from 7-on-7 entirely but if Argyle clicks and rolls over the weekend, it could spell promising signs for the fall.Division III

Division III

East Bernard
Understandably, much of the focus at 7-on-7 centers on the offense; after all, it’s fun! But take your eye off the ball and enjoy one of the state’s best secondaries when you watch the Brahmas, headlined by Blake Jedlicka and Braden Lemos. In their four games at the Rice Raiders SQT, they allowed a grand total of 24 points. Oh, and if you insist on focusing on offense: watch what happens when a Slot-T team plays in a passing league! QB Dallas Novicke is the name to know on that side of the ball.

Gunter
One of my favorite things to do at State 7-on-7 is to track the run-dominant teams that qualify. Teams that run the Wing-T, like Pleasant Grove, or in Gunter’s case, the pistol option, are always entertaining because if they develop a dynamic passing threat, that only increases the ceiling of their prospects in the fall. The Tigers have great talent in players like quarterback Hudson Graham and weapons like Cole Lemons. Long story, short, tune in for Gunter.

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