After an opening day filled with fun filled activities that include the Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game Draft and Media Day, it was time for all the players to get to work the next two days in order to get ready to play on Saturday, December 30th in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Memorial Stadium.
Four teams were practicing on the campus of Westdale Middle School for that period of time as 7th and 8th graders were on one field while the seniors were on the other field. Over the two days, practices were long and grueling, but fun and educational for all the players that were seeking more coaching or wanting to get noticed as there were college coaches that attended the practices.
There were two practice times from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00 with a lunch break in between for both days. The middle schoolers and seniors got to compete to see who could emerge from the pack and there were a lot of players that stood out. From individual position drills to team periods to even the popular Big Cat Drill, there were a lot of ways that players could make their name.
One player that certainly won the respect over his peers was Canadian linebacker Owen Lock coming over from the Great White North. All of his teammates found a new respect for him as the international player showed he could compete with some of the best the United States has to offer when he took on two players and won both of his drills in the Big Cat Drill.
There were a lot of other names the coaches were taken by as both coaching staffs actually got to reward some of the standouts with gear from SHOC.
From Team West (Team Andy), seniors that were named as Top Performers include Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) DT Ryan McVay, Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) QB Anthony Hall, Comeaux High School (Lafayette, LA) DB Hodges Brown, Walker High School (Walker, LA) WR Jamari Evans, Blessed Trinity High School (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada) RB/WR Jayden Gurzi MacDonald, Opelousas High School (Opelousas, LA) OL Joe Milton, Huron Heights High School (Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) LB Owen Lock, Scotlandville Magnet High School (Baton Rouge, LA) DE Tyler Knighten, Comeaux High School (Lafayette, LA) WR Jayden Sonnier, and Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport, LA) LB Hutch Grace.
From Team East (Team Marcus), seniors that were named as Top Performers include Episcopal High School (Baton Rouge, LA) RB Braeden George, Isidore Newman High School (New Orleans, LA) LB Isaiah Grant, Airline High School (Bossier City, LA) LB Kamron Wilson, Jesuit High School (New Orleans, LA) QB Beau Perez, University Lab High School (Baton Rouge, LA) WR Granville Anderson II, Southside High School (Youngsville, LA) DE/LB Corey Ledet Jr., Tioga High School (Alexandria, LA) WR Josh Loyd, Catholic High School (Baton Rouge, LA) DB Colin Coates, Loreauville High School (Loreauville, LA) DE Kaine Olivier, and Peabody High School (Alexandria, LA) DB Cedric Allen.
There was a lot of grueling work as the players got to go through a college style practice schedule, but at the same time, they got to enjoy themselves as they picked what jersey number they wanted to wear for the game and were also surprised with tickets to go to the LSU Men’s Basketball Game against Northwestern State the day before the game.
Also, the players got the chance to hear testimonies from former college and NFL players about what drove them to be successful in the second annual 7on7. Gabe Northern, Marcus Singleton, Roshaun Matthews, Tyler Lewis, Chris Clark, Eric Holden, and Roderick Royal each got seven minutes to give some words of advice to all the players on how to be successful not only on the field, but off the field as well.
Those two days were very beneficial for all of the players regardless of age as they each got the chance to be better young men and better players while having an experience that they would never forget in the process.
All of the media captured from two days of practice, the Gridiron Football jersey presentation, and the 7on7 motivational speeches can be found below!
Check out the photos during the second day of practice taken by Billy Metcalf!
Check out full practice footage from Gridiron Football!
Check out practice footage from 446 Sports!
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