Some of South Florida’s best — and the nation’s best — high school football recruits will be competing in Fort Lauderdale this weekend.
OT7, a self-described “content-first” 7-on-7 football league aimed at highlighting the country’s premier high school recruits, will hold its playoffs at St. Thomas Aquinas High School from Thursday through Sunday.
Organized by the sports media company Overtime and featuring a “fast-paced” approach to the traditional 7-on-7 format, the 13-team playoffs will feature two South Florida-based squads — South Florida Express and Raw Miami — and a host of highly touted local recruits.
Monarch’s Jabari Brady, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports, will be competing in the event with South Florida Express alongside Jaden Carey, a three-star wide receiver from St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas will also be represented by Jermiyah Douglas, Samari Howard and Zayden Gamble, who will be playing for Raw Miami. Four-star defensive back and Louisville commit Jaydin Broadnax from West Boca Raton will also be playing with South Florida Express — champions of the 2024 playoffs.
The event will also feature a lineup of former college and professional stars coaching on the sidelines.
Former Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III will be coaching, as will Las Vegas Raiders quarterback and Miramar alumnus Geno Smith. They’ll be joined on the sidelines by NFL Hall of Famer and former University of Miami star Devin Hester, along with former All-Pro running back Chris Johnson.
In previous years, OT7 has also served as a forecast for the future standouts of college football.
In 2023, Ohio State’s All-American wide receiver Jeremiah Smith put on a show and was recognized as a top performer. Prior to leading Tennessee to its first College Football Playoff berth a year ago, now-UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava was a standout on the OT7 circuit in 2022. Before signing with the University of Michigan, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country a year ago, quarterback Bryce Underwood, competed in the 2024 OT7 playoffs.
The 13 teams will be split into three groups for pool play. After playing each team in the group, the teams with the worst record from each group will be eliminated, and the remainder will advance to knockout rounds. Tickets to the OT7 playoffs can be purchased online at tickets.itsovertime.com and the event will be streamed on NFL Network.