C4 Tourney – 2023 Standouts
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Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Prep Redzone Oklahoma was once again on hand for a stellar 7v7 tournament over the weekend. This time, Durant, Oklahoma, and C4 Training played host to…
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Prep Redzone Oklahoma was once again on hand for a stellar 7v7 tournament over the weekend. This time, Durant, Oklahoma, and C4 Training played host to an outstanding one-day event on Saturday. I and fellow PRZ OK scout and site director Michael Knight were on hand from start to finish and saw some spectacular performances from individuals as well as teams. You can check out Michael’s Top Performers Here, as well as my Top Performers Here. Additionally, make sure to take a look at our 2022 Standouts, and our 2024 Standouts from the tourney. Today, we close things out from the C4 tourney with our standouts from the 2023 class. Stay tuned for more 7v7 content coming in the following week after the conclusion of the Empire Watch the Throne tourney in Kansas City. Prep Redzone Oklahoma continues to provide the absolute best 7v7 and offseason coverage you’ll find in Oklahoma.
Cal Swanson Cal Swanson 6'2" | 175 lbs | QB Ardmore | 2023 State OK – QB Ardmore – Played with C4 Oklahoma 18U
I just gave a more detailed report on Cal’s game as a whole in our QB Big Board from last week, so I’ll just stick with what I saw from him on Saturday. While I still stand by our evaluation of Cal as a top 10 QB, he had a few series where he struggled a bit. The hiccups he had though aren’t a kiss of death by any means. Most of his issues were timing and touch related, but those should be corrected in due time as he gets more acquainted with his receivers on the C4 Oklahoma team, this was one of his first tournaments with them this offseason after all. However, it was not all bad. Cal also made some impressive throws on a few deep balls that brought us back down to Earth and reminded us of why we liked him so much to begin with. Overall, he had an up and down day but when he was up it was exciting and showed the potential of what he could become in a year or two.
Michael Barnett – RB Catoosa – Played with Sooner7 15U and Sooner7 Black
I’ve written about Michael after a couple of tourneys now and I have a feeling that he might find his way on here a few more times before the 7v7 season is over because he is one of the most improved young players to this point since Sooner7 kicked things off in January. He has the build of a more typical power back but has some nice speed for his size and has consistently improved as a pass-catcher out of the backfield with some soft hands and good spatial awareness in and out of his cuts, so much so that he has been used in the slot more and more as compared to being in the backfield only. Additionally, he was one of a few guys who got bumped up to the 18U Sooner7 Black team after he finished up with the 15U team. We know he’s not done working yet, but we’re excited to see what this young man can do when the pads come on in August.
Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK – RB McAlester – Played with C4 Oklahoma 18U
As my colleague pointed out on Saturday, when you look at Erik on the field at these 7v7 tournaments you aren’t blown away by his size or physicality. That’s not to say he is small or undersized by any means, but he is objectively not as physically daunting as some of the guys he goes against at these tourneys. However, when you turn on the tape from Friday nights and see him run routes out of the backfield and out wide during 7v7 games, you immediately forget about all that because of how quick and dynamic he is in the open field along with his soft hands and excellent vision. McCarty did not have an MVP-type day on Saturday but what we saw out of him was enough to validate what we already thought of him and enough to be excited to see more of him this summer and fall.
Jax Smith – WR Choctaw – Played with Sooner 7 ’23 18U
The first of a couple of Choctaw guys on this list, Jax Smith, is one that I was not entirely familiar with before my trip to Durant. Smith had not been a primary starter or target before last weekend but he stepped up big in this tournament when his team needed him. He was one of Steele and Chance Wilson’s most reliable targets over the middle of the field and came away with a few touchdowns on the weekend. Smith’s performance in this tourney may have earned him some more reps over the rest of the off-season and rightly so, he made some plays when his number was called upon.
La’Trell Ray La’Trell Ray 5'9" | 165 lbs | RB Choctaw | 2023 State OK – RB Choctaw – Played with Sooner7 ’23 18U
After having a breakout campaign for Choctaw in 2020 along with Steele Wasel Steele Wasel 6'4" | 210 lbs | QB Choctaw | 2023 State OK , La’trell has continued to improve as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, which is what already made him so dangerous last season. Ray had multiple TDs on Saturday, from both Steele and Chance Wilson, and he did so with relative ease. La’trell has the vision and open-field ability of a true speed back, but with the hands and route-running ability of a slot wide receiver, which makes him a constant mismatch both in 7v7 and on Friday nights. Him and Steele already had a scary good connection in 2020 as Sophomores, I can’t imagine what they could be capable of in 2021 with a whole off-season of 7v7 tournaments to build upon that chemistry.
Chance Wilson – QB Rejoice Christian – Played with Sooner7 ’23 18U
Chance Wilson was a QB who ended up just outside of our rankings when we updated at the end of last season, but if he can continue to improve this offseason and build on what he did in 2020, I’d say he has a solid chance to get himself in the mix with some of the other QBs we have ranked in what seems to be a pretty stacked class at that position for 2023. Saturday was the first time I’ve seen Chance this off-season and I was pleased with what I saw. In my notes from this fall, I had written down that I liked his touch and timing on deep throws along the sideline, and sure enough, he had one of the best throws of the day amongst all the Oklahoma QBs in attendance on a deep, jump ball to Dalton Person for a touchdown. You’ve got to love the potential of a tall and athletic quarterback who can sling it deep like Chance Wilson.