College Stars Get Close-Up Look at Sevens Eagle Life

07.11.2023College Men, National Teams

While the USA Men's 7s team has some immediate concerns this summer, namely qualifying for the 2024 Olympics, there has to still be an eye toward the future.

The 7s program Development Camp brought in 10 players who have a shot at the USA team in the future. They aren't the only players who are in contention, however.

"We made a decision not to bring in a lot of the boys that we know a lot about," said USA Head Coach Mike Friday. Donovan and Darius Law, EJ Freeman, Will Chevalier, and Noah Brown were not there.

"We had Orrin Bizer because he's had some injuries and we had Nic Hardrict in because he's had a number of injuries that he's had to contend with, But overall we have a number of guys who we haven't had a lot of time with."

The list of the young players in camp is:

Orrin Bizer, Life University
Nick Hadrict II, Lindenwood
Jake Broselle, Arizona
Lewis Gray, Navy
Eric Wills, Air Force Academy
Keelan Farrell, Bright College (UK)
Ami Manu, Southern Virginia
Peyton Wall, Indiana
Alejandre Tapia, Lindenwood
Derek Adams, Rhino Rugby

Wills, said Friday, is "proper quick and a very interesting prospect."

Gray made his name in 15s and the transition to 7s is a big one. Other players—Wall for example—might have more experience in 7s. Manu is another project with a huge upside. Tapia is in camp with the expectation that he can secure a USA passport, which is a must for anyone on the 7s team.

Farrell is only 18 and while "very raw," said Friday, he is also a player with potential. There are a number of players with USA qualification who look to be going into college this fall.

This Is The Next Level

GRR asked Friday what skills college players need to work on when they come to a camp like this and what they need to get used to.

The amount of work—fitness and repetition—is one aspect.

"The boys have had to learn on the hoof and we had to be very careful with their loading," said Friday, meaning, basically, how hard he works them. "What they're used to is very different from what goes on in camp. That's the biggest adjustment really is what they're physically able to cope with from a loading perspective. To play in the World Series your running load, especially your very high speed running load, is significantly higher and more intense than what they're used to at the college level."

Add to that the need to be consistent in skill execution. Pass, catch, tackle, clearout, and ball sets all need to be excellent every time. If you're poor on the ground you get turned over or give up a penalty. If you're sloppy in one tackle, that's seven points.

"Core skill consistency is a huge learning curve for them," said Friday. "Passing technique and passing over distances is a big one. So it tackling."

Former USA 7s player Garrett Bender was in camp working with the players as he builds his coaching resume, and he was instrumental in working with players on contact skills.

"There's no place for error on the tackle on the World Series," said Friday. "Garrett was working on all the contact skills—clearing out, getting the right body height, jackling, and other work in and around the breakdown. All of those core fundamental skills are required to be successful on the World Series. if you're a big-time star on the college level you can get away with [inconsistency]."

Analysis

On and off the field the camp was also a classroom for the players as they saw what is required of an international player in terms of where he needs to be on the field. Working off the ball, getting back into the play, and staying connected both offensively and defensively are all crucial.

"The World Series is pretty unforgiving," said Friday. "So we work on that and it's all underpinned by the fact that core skill development and physical development are critical coming into the program."

What Next?

In late August the RugbyTown 7s will see the USA U23s compete, and this is normally the key event for finding the next round of players. Will Chevalier and Noah Brown came out of that competition and were capped last fall. Hardrict, Freeman, both Law brothers, and Ryan Santos all got a serious look after their performances there.

The players in the Development Camp will be competing for spots on that RugbyTown team, and then there will be another chance after that with the Pan-Am Games in Chile. The USA Men's 7s team uses the Pan-Am Games as a testing ground for younger players, so it can certainly be a step into the World Series.

For now, this has likely been a somewhat sobering look into how tough it is to make the Eagles.

A lot of these boys will come back in to compete for the Under 23s to go to RugbyTown

and a number of them will be in the conversation as we build the squad to go to the Pan-Am Games.

following other players in PR 7s and Club Nationals