Saturday marked the official start of the 7-on-7 spring season. Sure, it's not "real" football, but 7-on-7 allows programs to keep the competitive juices flowing in the offseason and develop chemistry in the passing game. Coppell and North Crowley both punched their ticket to the State 7-on-7 tournament in College Station on June 27-28. 

Here's my notebook of the top players I saw at the Arlington High School State Qualifying Tournament. 

The Quarterbacks

Name: Edward Griffin | School: Coppell | Class: 2025 | Pos: QB | HT: 6-foot-2 | WT: 205

Not enough people are talking about Edward Griffin. The Coppell product had the best overall performance of any quarterback I watched on Saturday. He's built like a college quarterback entering his senior year and operates like one, too. He showed consistent footwork, complete command of the offense, fit throws into tight windows and layered the ball over defenders when required. Baylor extended him his first Power Four offer last Friday, and he's built a strong relationship with offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. Griffin was a unanimous District MVP in his first season starting with 3,556 yards and 48 touchdowns to three interceptions. He also checks the multi-sport athlete box as an all-state lacrosse player.

Name: Chris Jimerson Jr. | School: North Crowley | Class: 2025 | Pos: QB/ATH | HT: 5-foot-11 | WT: 175

There are dual-threat quarterbacks who are neutralized in a 7-on-7 setting when they can't run, then there are prospects like Chris Jimerson Jr. who prove they are an excellent pocket passer in addition to their 10.7 100m dash speed. The North Crowley signal caller was firing fastballs from his right arm on Saturday. The Arlington indoor facility robbed us of what would've been a 50-yard touchdown pass when Jimerson threw it so high, it hit the nets. Most schools were offering the TCU commit early on as an athlete, but he's started racking up quarterback offers after winning District MVP honors with over 3,000 passing yards and 40 touchdowns.  

Name: Max Gerlich | School: Austin Anderson | Class: 2025 | Pos: QB | HT: 6-foot-3 | WT: 195

I was most intrigued to see Max Gerlich of all the quarterbacks on Saturday. He dislocated his patella in the summer ahead of his junior season and worked through physical therapy to play three games before reinjuring it. Now he's fully healthy and will throw to TCU commit Ed Small and 2025 speedster Zayden Sharp this year. Gerlich had the best deep ball of the signal callers I watched. The offense went one-and-done (in a good way) multiple times because he threw a touchdown on the first play. Gerlich has a fluid throwing motion and a 6-foot-3 frame. He also ran the 4x100m and 4x200m relays for Austin Anderson this offseason. He most recently picked up a Navy offer and will visit Yale this summer. UTSA offered Gerlich as a freshman and he visited them a month ago. I got the sense he'd like to shut the recruitment down before the season.

Names from the 2027 class to remember

Name: Trenton Yancey | School: Arlington Lamar | Class: 2027 | Pos: WR | HT: 6-foot | WT: 185

Yancey was the District Newcomer of the Year as a freshman after compiling over 1,000 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. He's one of the hottest names in recruiting right now with 20+ offers. He cites Oregon and Texas as his dream offers. His favorite Oregon player was running back Bucky Irving. But Yancey says his tightest relationship is with Texas A&M co-Offensive Coordinator Holmon Wiggins.  

"He's like family," Yancey said. "He's building that bond to where he could be like a second father, second uncle."

Yancey has a Deebo Samuel-type role for Arlington Lamar. They love to get him the ball in the screen game because he's dangerous after the catch, and he also returns kicks. He showed off his deep-threat ability on Saturday. The first play from scrimmage was a touchdown on a post route. He does a nice job of catching out in front of his body and high-pointing the football.

Name: Trey Haralson | School: Tyler | Class: 2027 | Pos: WR | HT: 6-foot-1 | WT: 180

I was unfamiliar with Trey Haralson until Saturday. I noticed he was Tyler High's most active receiver and assumed he was an upperclassman, then someone yelled out, 'He's a freshman!' after he made yet another catch. Haralson played Varsity last fall but largely studied under now-SMU player Derrick McFall. Haralson and McFall are different players, however. McFall was electric after the catch and acted as a hybrid slot receiver/running back. Haralson is a more prototypical receiver at 6-foot-1 and flashed the best jump ball ability of all the receivers I saw Saturday. His most impressive play came on an out-and-up concept where he high-pointed the ball over the corner and safety, came down to get two feet in bounds, then twisted his body for the pylon and scored while the two defenders fell over. 

Name: Shahariam Thurston | School: Arlington Lamar | Class: 2027 | Pos: CB/WR | HT: 6-foot-2 | WT: 165

Thurston is another standout from Arlington Lamar's loaded 2027 class. He dominated on the freshman team this past fall as a wide receiver and corner back and will play defense primarily in 2024. Thurston goes one-on-one with Trenton Yancey every day in practice, and that translated to the field Saturday. He's a rangy 6-foot-2 who isn't afraid to press off the line of scrimmage and attacks the ball like a receiver in the air. He has offers from Texas State and North Texas, and I think he's going to blow up this season.

Catching Up With 2025 Committed Prospects

Name: Ed Small | School: Austin Anderson | Class: 2025 | Pos: WR | HT: 6-foot | WT: 205

The one-time Texas baseball commit chose a future in football with his TCU pledge. He says the Horned Frogs were the first to believe in him and the coaches have been in constant contact with him since July 2023. He's visited Fort Worth four or five times and has his official visit scheduled for the weekend of June 20th. Small is tough through contact running routes over the middle and after the catch. He was also competing throughout Saturday as a safety and hinted he might play some defense over the top on third downs or late-game situations this upcoming year. 

Name: Weston Polk | School: Coppell | Class: 2025 | Pos: LB | HT: 6-foot-2 | WT: 220

Polk was the most physically impressive prospect I saw on Saturday and competed at both his natural linebacker spot and running back. Linebackers are pretty hit or miss with their 7-on-7 participation because they don't see much action in the games, but Polk was out there and active with all his teammates. Polk has played Varsity football since his freshman season and earned First Team All-District honors last year with 80 tackles and 13 TFLs. His older brothers both play college baseball, Hudson at Arkansas and Walker at Baylor. Weston is all football, however, and locked in with Kansas State. He cited the trust he has with the Kansas State coaches and the team's culture as the biggest influences for his commitment.