Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

The Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase will be held Friday and Saturday at Shiloh Christian in Springdale.

The tournament has teams from eight different states and will include four athletes who have committed to play football for the University of Arkansas: the Fayetteville trio of 4-star quarterback Austin Allen, 6-foot-3, 217 pounds; safety Alex Brignoni, 6-1, 195; linebacker Brooks Ellis, 6-3, 215 and Bolivar (Mo.) 4-star Class of 2014 quarterback Rafe Peavey, 6-2, 210.

Brignoni chose Arkansas over Arkansas State among others. He had 10 interceptions as a junior to help lead Fayetteville to the Class 7A state championship.

“I'm really looking forward to it,” Brignoni said. “There’s a lot of good teams and players and I'm looking forward to the competition.”

The teams will go through pool play Friday then be seeded into a tournament Saturday. One of the showcase games Friday is Fayetteville against Bolivar at 11 a.m. That will pit Allen and Peavey against each other.

Brignoni is looking forward to that game in particular.

“It will definitely be a challenge,” he said. “I'm glad I have Austin on my team, but I know Rafe is a good quarterback too. I saw [Peavey] a few plays at the football camp at Arkansas and he has a real good arm.”

Fayetteville played in a tournament in Little Rock earlier this year and is planning on playing in an event at Hoover (Ala.) as well.

“I think it will definitely help get us ready for Hoover,” Brignoni said of this weekend's tournament. “I feel 7-on-7 helps us a lot. It helps us get into the flow of the game. It helps us read the receivers.”

In addition to his 10 interceptions, Brignoni led Fayetteville in tackles last season. This year, he will add wide receiver duties to his list at the behest of Coach Daryl Patton.

“We have a lot of depth there, but Coach Patton has talked to me and wants me to play some wide receiver,” Brignoni said. “I like it, you get to score touchdowns and stuff on offense.”

In addition to the trio of Arkansas recruits, junior Jordan Dennis, 6-0, 155, a transfer from Springdale is a threat at wide receiver or cornerback for Fayetteville. Dennis is expected to be heavily recruited when he's a senior.