Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns hosted a 7-on-7 football tournament for 16 Northeast Ohio high schools on Tuesday at Archbishop Hoban High School's Dowed Field in Akron.
While area schools (including Aurora, Austintown Fitch, Buchtel, East, Hoban, Glenville, John Hay, Kirtland, Lutheran East/West, Maple Heights, Olmsted Falls, Strongsville, and Youngstown Chaney) partook in non-contact football matchups, Watson watched the incoming high school talent before addressing reporters, to which he talked about the tournament and his hope to expand the number of competing teams.
"Being able to see the talent today has been awesome," Watson stated. "And this is only 16 teams. There was a lot of teams that wanted to be a part of it, but we tried to keep as small as we [could] right now, because it's the first one. We wanted to make sure everything was aligned right, but we want to continue expanding, and, hopefully, next year it could be 32 to 48 teams."
Through offseason programs and under the banner of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association, 7-on-7 football has seen a rise in popularity in the Buckeye State. Watson, who competed at former NFL MVP Cam Newton's 7-on-7 event in Atlanta, also talked about the game's spread in the South, compared to Ohio.
"Cam (Newton) knew when he did his first annual 7-on-7 camp in Atlanta, Georgia, I was one of the first ones (to participate)," said Watson. "I was his first quarterback for his first All-Star team, and then the history is after that. We stayed in touch. To this day, I call him my big bro."
The tournament is the most recent example of Watson attempting to form a stronger connection with the area to which he arrived in March 2022, via a trade to the Browns from the Houston Texans. Last season, a lengthy legal process - related to more than two dozen allegations by Houston-area women of sexual assault or sexual misconduct against Watson - resulted in an 11-game suspension for Watson by the NFL, which extended Watson's on-field absence to nearly two full years after he sat out the 2021 season.
When asked about his ability to involve himself in the community in comparison to last offseason, Watson described: "A lot more, just because I have a little bit more awareness of the community and the city that I'm in. A lot more help with the Browns of what I want to do, what I'm interested in. So me, the team, and my personal team have all got together and just put ourselves in a position to be able to reach out to different communities in different cities to be able to help people."
Watson and other Browns veterans will report to training camp on Jul. 21, with the team's first preseason game coming on Aug. 3 against the New York Jets at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.