Seven-on-seven football is now on national TV with the NFL Network, and viewers saw RAW Miami take home the OT7 Dallas championship. The squad boasts a litany of Miami targets, including WR Dallas Wilson, WR Cortez Mills, CB Ben Hanks, S Bryce Fitzgerald, DB Amari Wallace and more. Raw GM Jose Duasso joined the show to talk about his team:
On RAW’s championship win at OT7 Dallas: OT7 is Overtime, the social media platform. They launched their own 7-on-7 circuit. They partnered with the NFL Network this year. They showed two games a day on Saturdays and Sundays. Then the national championship is in Tampa, June 7th weekend. That will also be on the NFL Network.
It's great for what's where the space is going. We were the first team on the NFL Network and we won that game. We finished in the final four, came back the following weekend in Dallas and were able to pull it off against our so-called rivals, the Trillion Boys (from Los Angeles) for the regional Dallas championship.
On the performance of rival South Florida Express: First round exits. They're not very relevant these days.
On RAW’s depth at WR: They joke around that I've assembled the Avengers with my wide receiver corps. We run it like a basketball rotation. I even had Calvin Russell playing with us this past weekend. He's a basketball guy, five star out of Miami Northwestern, 2026 class. I told him, “Hey, CJ, I need you to be Manu Ginobili this weekend.” Aaron Gregory (five-star ‘26 WR from Georgia), in other weekends, has been that guy.
This is a very fun group. Jimmy Smith (founder of Louisiana Bootleggers) looked at me and said, “Yeah, you’ve got some guys in this receiving corps.” He’s had Jamarr Chase, Devonta Smith, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Terrace Marshall, Malik Nabers, Russell Gage. So it’s really special when someone like that is co-signing your team.
We have 7-8 four and five star receivers and everybody eats. Everybody's happy. We really don't deal with a lot of headaches. Ty Hawkins (TCU QB commit) does a great job of distributing the ball.
On WR Dallas Wilson: 6’3, 6’4, physically imposing body, knows how to be a possession receiver, knows how to make a big play. There's a reason he's a five star. He could be the best receiver in this class when it's all said and done. When it comes to draft time, I see the ceiling. It's scary where that kid's potential could be and how much more he can physically grow.
On WR Cortez Mills: Big-time players make big-time plays at big-time moments. He led us in the championship in touchdowns. Had two, maybe three touchdowns. He’s so smooth in his releases and he can make the contested catches. I’d love to see him get in a college weight room program and fill out. A lot of my receivers haven't even scratched the surface of what their ability is.
On Naeshaun Montgomery: He visited Alabama, got off the plane, got on the Uber, showed up to the playoffs, and led the weekend in touchdowns. He's Mr. Big Time Playmaker. His catch radius is just as good as it comes. It's elite of the elite. He has that special trait where he legitimately floats. As he's going up, the DB's going up, and he's going to stay there as the DB's going down.
He's got incredible body control. He knows how to turn his hips, get his bellybutton to the ball, and really come down with it. He's been working with Justin Jefferson and Justin Fields a lot this offseason. He ran track. He transferred to Miami Central.
I think you're going to see a completely different player on film. I know he had some red flags with his speed, but I think he's really made those strides. If he doesn't end up in Miami, I could see him ending up at LSU or a big program like that. He’s one of those guys that you scratch your head, “Why didn't he come to Miami?” Even though he’s from Rhode Island, he lives in South Florida. This kid is a special talent.
On WR Donovan Olugbode: He's out of IMG Academy. He's what I like to call a “DMoney Special.” For those that don’t know, DMoney and I have been friends for over 10 years now, and he always gives me some non-Cane hidden gems in each class. This is his type of guy.
He's got a 4X size glove, high IQ, hard worker who wakes up at 5 a.m. Just a typical IMG kid. The biggest thing with him is he's 16 years old. He's gonna graduate at 17.
On ‘26 UM commit Malachi Toney, who just joined RAW: He's going to make you miss in a phone booth. Just your stereotypical Dade County route runner. The strongest hands. I call him Steve Smith Jr. He's a bully. I love the way he plays his game. He's a very special talent.
On Northwestern freshman WR Nicholas Lennear: If you go back to our championship game, he ran a motion, fakes like he's going to the back pylon, takes a step, cuts inside to the middle from the slot, and makes the corner embarrass himself. Hit the stanky leg. And you're like, “That's a freshman. We get that for another three years.” So I'm very excited to have him part of the program. He's a dog. He's going to bark at you and he’s going to bite you.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/19539314/656cda9a66558d0c38198e07
On WR/S Bryce Fitzgerald, who recently rejoined RAW: Elite speed. He tested very high. You see it. It's very evident on film. You see it in person. He can just flat-out ride. I think going to Columbus and getting with Andreu Swasey was big for him. I had him last year. This year I've seen him take a big step at playing the safety position. He's a centerfielder that takes away the ball. He's leading us in interceptions over the last two weekends since he's joined our squad.
On offense, we run him on some drag concepts underneath. We know he can get out in the open field and eat up an extra 10-15 yards. He’s an elite, elite runner, great personality, very sharp. I have no bad things to say about the kid. I'm very, very impressed with how he carries himself.
On Alabama S Anquon Fegans, who is visiting Miami on June 7th: Oh man. I had Kam look at me and he say, “Yeah, I can see why he's different.” He can take the ball away and that's what football wants these days. He’s also 6’2. He's a big boy. He knows how to jump routes. He knows how to bait the quarterbacks. He has that special "it" factor that you want at the next level. You want to win the turnover battle and he brings you that.
On Central S Amari Wallace: He's going to knock your helmet loose. He's gonna hit you as hard as he can, as the nickel or the safety. He's a very smart coverage guy. Very high football IQ and has great instincts. I’m very excited to watch his future.
On CB Ben Hanks: He put Jamie Ffrench in a box. Plain and simple. The film doesn't lie. You want your #1 corner to lock down their #1 receiver. No disrespect to Jamie, he's a great receiver, but Ben did his job that day. I’m very proud of what he did. He’s put on some great tournaments for us.
Corner is the hardest position in football because when you get beat, everybody knows it. And he battles back. He comes back into the paint and stands in it. He has mental toughness, he has elite speed and he’s long. He's a Day One guy if things work out for him.
On WR Vernell Brown, who plays for rival South Florida Express: He is a dude, plain and simple. He's very, very good at the game of football. I'm a big fan of his game.
On Kam Kinchens and DJ Ivey, who helped coach the defense: I wouldn't be where I'm at without both of them. Gilbert Frierson, Josh Jobe, Kahlil Brantley, Kam Kinchens, Romello Brinson, Tim Burns, that whole crew was very loyal to me and trusted in the process. We have a very deep relationship. They see what I'm doing at RAW and they completely support it. They are family and they coached up the kids.
You already know Kam loves to give back. DJ is a smooth operator, very, very low key, but he was the first one there. He will coach after football, because he knows what he's doing and he knows how to talk to these kids.
On Beyond the Goalposts, a nonprofit associated with RAW Miami: Ricky Jean Francois (former NFL DL) is involved and is big on teaching financial literacy. He's been a very successful businessman. Just Google his name and type in the word “business." He owns 25 Dunkin’ Donuts.
Last year, we had a pretty big evaluation of what our team was going to be valued at and what they would make in college. Our kids don't always come from the best situations, so we need to educate them. They're going to have six figures in their bank accounts. That's not normal for a college kid. Ricky's coming in to help just teach them about LLCs, taxes, saying “no” to mom and dad, saying “no” to friends, saying “no” to cousins.
Beyond the Goalposts also helps fund the kids' travel for trips. When we go on these trips, we visit college campuses in most of the cities. We just had a kid get offered by SMU as his first college scholarship offer when we're in Dallas for OT7. Recently transferred from Birmingam to Miami Central, doesn’t have much film. Seven-on-seven opens up the doors for these kids to get college offers to go play the real game of football. SMU saw his clips of running routes and offered.
That's what we're really trying to strive for. Also, kids are now getting ranked off these tournaments. So if you can get them higher rank, that means they're going to get more of an NIL value and take care of their life. If football doesn't work out, we want to make sure their futures are secured. Ricky's helping us on a fundraiser. He's matching up to $15,000 that we raise (link below) We're really just trying to make strides in this community and make an impact in South Florida and across the nation.
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/c7639fa3-910b-4d25-9544-d28530b7add7
