Youth football steadily evolving into mirror image of AAU hoops

Sophomore quarterback Akeem Jones came to the South Florida Express tryouts as a relative unknown, but will gain massive exposure as a member of the travel squad. (Andy Staples/SI.com)HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Those who drifted over to watch the quarterback group couldn't help but notice the pink socks. When their eyes scanned upward, they couldn't help but notice the player occupying those pink socks. Miami Carol City High sophomore Akeem Jones stands 6-foot-3. He weighs 186 pounds. He's raw, but he can run and he has a bazooka attached to his right shoulder.

Jones came to the tryout for the South Florida Express seven-on-seven team as a relative unknown obscured first by a platoon system and second by a broken ankle this past fall at his school. By Sunday night, he was a member of a team that, a few days earlier, had 10 players from its 2010 roster sign FBS scholarships. A few months earlier, Jones' new team had agreed to an apparel deal with Under Armour that will provide Express players with cleats, uniforms and warmups. (Jones will provide his own pink socks, which he wears to honor the memory of his grandmother, Nelly Kirkland, who died of breast cancer in October.) This spring and summer, Jones and the Express will play teams from other regions of Florida -- and the rest of the country -- in tournaments that match seven offensive skill position players against a group of seven linebackers and defensive backs. read more >>

AAU Football?

An important new trend is emerging in the world of major college football recruiting.  The top players in the country are starting to flock to elite 7 on 7 passing tournaments with the hope of displaying their talent for college coaches.

Of course there are fundamental differences between 7 on 7 camps and the summer basketball circuit.  For one 7 on 7 isn’t real football.  More importantly, football coaches aren’t even allowed to attend the events while their contemporaries in college basketball have access.   With these important differences in place will the summer circuit ever replace or compete with the camp circuit?  It’s extremely difficult to make a definitive decision.  What is certain is that we have yet to hear the end about AAU football.



As all-star tournaments gain momentum, 'AAU football' begins

TAMPA, Fla. -- On one field, Miami's Lamarcus Joyner, potentially the most sought-after cornerback in the class of 2010, covered Ace Sanders, a speedy receiver from Bradenton, Fla., in an ultra-intense game of touch football. On another field, Columbus, Ga., 6-foot-7 tight end Brian Vogler ran routes against Port St. Lucie, Fla., linebacker Jeff Luc, whose YouTube highlight video plays regularly in college coaches' offices across the nation.

One Saturday earlier this month at the University of South Florida, more than 250 players from six states gathered for a seven-on-seven football tournament. Their teams didn't represent individual high schools, though; instead, battles raged between all-star teams comprised of skill-position players from different geographic regions hand-selected by independent coaches or writers from Scout.com. In 11 months, most of the participating players will sign Division-I scholarship offers, and for those who follow the NCAA's other big-money college sport, all of this should sound eerily familiar.

"It's AAU football," Brett Goetz said.  read more >