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The last day of the Opening Finals came and went, and the week brought us a window into tons of amazing talent across the country. After two days of 7-on-7 play, Team Savage emerged as the champions of the Opening Finals, while the linemen competed again in 1-on-1’s for the honor of being named to the Lineman Final 5.
Here were my Day 3 thoughts.
Johnson and Redding star for Team Pressure
Both TE Theo Johnson and WR Michael Redding were all over the place for Team Pressure. Johnson in particular was a reliable target all weekend when Pressure needed to make a play, and tore it up in the short game and the middle of the field. He’s a really precise route runner for a 6-6 245 pound target and had multiple touchdowns today. He was just a physical mismatch for most defenders out here.
Redding made plays throughout the day for the third straight day and has been quite a find for Miami. He was particularly dangerous on crossing routes, and he really got a chance to show off his speed today, as his QB Luke Doty put every throw on the money to give him a chance to extend the play. He scored a TD on a quick slant to the back of the endzone as well. However, Pressure stumbled down the stretch of the semifinals, falling 26-24 to Team Drip in OT.
Team Guap bows out early
There wasn’t much juice to be found on Team Guap today, as they were eliminated in the tournament's first game of the morning (26-15 to Team Pressure) after losing their first game yesterday. They continued their practice of mostly ignoring the RB, so Don Chaney got no touches, and Tyler Van Dyke did not get into the game at all.
That highlighted a bit of a flaw in how the Opening rosters were set up as they had way too many QB's on each roster this year (5). Team's usually only use one in a game, especially if that guy is hot; max two. It was a change from last year, as there were 6 total teams with 3-4 QB’s on each. This year for whatever reason they shortened it to 4 teams.
Washington helps lead a comeback for Team Drip
Early on in the day, TE Darnell Washington had been wide open a few times for Team Drip, but for whatever reason their QB was not really looking for him. After they went down 12-0 to Pressure at halftime, Drip apparently realized the error and made an adjustment. On their first drive coming out of the half, the Drip offense featured Washington heavily, and the big Vegas TE made 3 catches on Drip’s march down the field. Washington finished off the drive for Drip with a nice contested catch in the endzone with 2 defenders draped over him for a TD, which gave them the momentum they needed to overtake Pressure in overtime 26-24. However, Washington was again mostly a non-factor and didn’t have an answer for the coverages Team Savage was throwing at him in the finals, and Drip was blow out by a score of 34-6.
Loaded Team Savage runs away with title
Team Savage made an easy run to the championship, defeating Team Drip 34-6, and it wasn’t particularly close. Savage had the advantage of having the top two WR’s in the nation in Julian Fleming and Demond Demas, and also had the top ranked TE in the country in Notre Dame commit Michael Mayer. With the best weapons in the tournament at his disposal, QB CJ Stroud made great use of them on his way to earning QB MVP of the event.
Walker and Dumervil dominant in Lineman drills
OT Marcus Dumervil again looked dominant for his third straight day, not much more I can say about his performance. He’s very good. Although I missed his first set of reps, OT Issiah Walker won all three of his reps against UGA DL commit Nazir Stackhouse and Kentucky DL commit Samuel Anaele. Another great day for the Miami Norland star, showing off his strength gains in the weight room. Dumervil made the lineman Final 5 cut but Walker did not. Based on what I saw, that was a snub, but there were certainly other great OL’s out there as well. Dumervil lost 2 of 3 reps in the Final 5 to eventual DL MVP Korey Foreman.
Notes
**DE Chantz Williams did not participate in OL/DL drills today with an ankle injury. He said it’s minor and he’ll be fine.
**The OL Final 5 was: Walker Parks, Marcus Dumervil, Myles Murao, Tate Ratledge, and Donovan Jackson. Jackson won OL MVP.
**Did not catch the full DL Final 5, although three were Bryan Bresee, Gervon Dexter, and Korey Foreman, who was named the eventual DL MVP.
**Speaking with Issiah Walker, he said he planned on decommitting from South Carolina coming into the event and did not inform South Carolina beforehand. Miami, FSU, Florida, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn and Penn State reached out last night after the news broke. Miami, FSU, and UF will for sure get officials, and he said it would be difficult to pull him out of state at this point. No set decision date for him and he also said he can see Butch Barry getting him to the next level. I was confident enough to put in a UM pick for him after talking to a source close to the recruitment last night.
**That ends our coverage for the Opening Finals 2019, hope you enjoyed. I'll have a stock report of Miami commits and targets that helped/hurt themselves this weekend out tomorrow.
Here were my Day 3 thoughts.
Johnson and Redding star for Team Pressure
Both TE Theo Johnson and WR Michael Redding were all over the place for Team Pressure. Johnson in particular was a reliable target all weekend when Pressure needed to make a play, and tore it up in the short game and the middle of the field. He’s a really precise route runner for a 6-6 245 pound target and had multiple touchdowns today. He was just a physical mismatch for most defenders out here.
Redding made plays throughout the day for the third straight day and has been quite a find for Miami. He was particularly dangerous on crossing routes, and he really got a chance to show off his speed today, as his QB Luke Doty put every throw on the money to give him a chance to extend the play. He scored a TD on a quick slant to the back of the endzone as well. However, Pressure stumbled down the stretch of the semifinals, falling 26-24 to Team Drip in OT.
Team Guap bows out early
There wasn’t much juice to be found on Team Guap today, as they were eliminated in the tournament's first game of the morning (26-15 to Team Pressure) after losing their first game yesterday. They continued their practice of mostly ignoring the RB, so Don Chaney got no touches, and Tyler Van Dyke did not get into the game at all.
That highlighted a bit of a flaw in how the Opening rosters were set up as they had way too many QB's on each roster this year (5). Team's usually only use one in a game, especially if that guy is hot; max two. It was a change from last year, as there were 6 total teams with 3-4 QB’s on each. This year for whatever reason they shortened it to 4 teams.
Washington helps lead a comeback for Team Drip
Early on in the day, TE Darnell Washington had been wide open a few times for Team Drip, but for whatever reason their QB was not really looking for him. After they went down 12-0 to Pressure at halftime, Drip apparently realized the error and made an adjustment. On their first drive coming out of the half, the Drip offense featured Washington heavily, and the big Vegas TE made 3 catches on Drip’s march down the field. Washington finished off the drive for Drip with a nice contested catch in the endzone with 2 defenders draped over him for a TD, which gave them the momentum they needed to overtake Pressure in overtime 26-24. However, Washington was again mostly a non-factor and didn’t have an answer for the coverages Team Savage was throwing at him in the finals, and Drip was blow out by a score of 34-6.
Loaded Team Savage runs away with title
Team Savage made an easy run to the championship, defeating Team Drip 34-6, and it wasn’t particularly close. Savage had the advantage of having the top two WR’s in the nation in Julian Fleming and Demond Demas, and also had the top ranked TE in the country in Notre Dame commit Michael Mayer. With the best weapons in the tournament at his disposal, QB CJ Stroud made great use of them on his way to earning QB MVP of the event.
Walker and Dumervil dominant in Lineman drills
OT Marcus Dumervil again looked dominant for his third straight day, not much more I can say about his performance. He’s very good. Although I missed his first set of reps, OT Issiah Walker won all three of his reps against UGA DL commit Nazir Stackhouse and Kentucky DL commit Samuel Anaele. Another great day for the Miami Norland star, showing off his strength gains in the weight room. Dumervil made the lineman Final 5 cut but Walker did not. Based on what I saw, that was a snub, but there were certainly other great OL’s out there as well. Dumervil lost 2 of 3 reps in the Final 5 to eventual DL MVP Korey Foreman.
Notes
**DE Chantz Williams did not participate in OL/DL drills today with an ankle injury. He said it’s minor and he’ll be fine.
**The OL Final 5 was: Walker Parks, Marcus Dumervil, Myles Murao, Tate Ratledge, and Donovan Jackson. Jackson won OL MVP.
**Did not catch the full DL Final 5, although three were Bryan Bresee, Gervon Dexter, and Korey Foreman, who was named the eventual DL MVP.
**Speaking with Issiah Walker, he said he planned on decommitting from South Carolina coming into the event and did not inform South Carolina beforehand. Miami, FSU, Florida, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn and Penn State reached out last night after the news broke. Miami, FSU, and UF will for sure get officials, and he said it would be difficult to pull him out of state at this point. No set decision date for him and he also said he can see Butch Barry getting him to the next level. I was confident enough to put in a UM pick for him after talking to a source close to the recruitment last night.
**That ends our coverage for the Opening Finals 2019, hope you enjoyed. I'll have a stock report of Miami commits and targets that helped/hurt themselves this weekend out tomorrow.
