College football has evolved from being just a stepping stone towards the NFL to a self-sustaining industry. It’s where 18, 19-year-old players have become stars in their own right, both on and off the field. The best of them continue to display their flair in the pro league afterwards. Robert Griffin III, for example, took college football by storm during his career at Baylor. And success kept coming for him in the NFL, with a Heisman among his award haul from CFB. However, not everyone in college football gets to be Robert Griffin III and have a career like him. Now, he’s found the key to help make this possible.
The demand for star-worthy talent has resulted in a silent industry that is producing one college football VIP after the other. Overtime’s OT7 league is behind some of the best talents in the nation. Its success now has NFL elites like Robert Griffin III associated with it. Jeremiah Smith and Bryce Underwood may be the faces of the most polarized rivalries in college football. But there are two things that they have in common. Both of them will kick up a storm in the NFL, and both come as products of OT7. The 7×7 competition is a “content-first football league that spotlights the electric personalities and insane athleticism of the best high school football players in the country,” per the official website. In essence, along with developing high school athletes to become great football players, OT7 also excels in building brands out of them.
“You’re going to see the future of college and the future of the NFL playing,” OT7’s GM Hunter Mandel said. Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Geno Smith–all NFL phenoms–joined this year’s OT7 as coaches. Griffin was keen on these young players building a commanding image for themselves from a young age. He said in a July 11 episode of Blogging the Boys, “They’ve done an amazing job of giving these young men an opportunity to really build their IP and build their brand. So a lot of what’s going on in college football right now is, you know, rev share negotiations with colleges and universities, NIL opportunities. Well, how can these young men develop those NIL opportunities if they never start building their brand?” he said. And that’s where OT7 comes in.
Griffin was a No. 1 draft pick and a Heisman winner, and he became a star at a time when it was tough to build one’s might through NILs. Very few players get that luxury. “[With] OT7, we’ve got 8th graders, 9th graders, 10th graders that are out there being stars… they don’t have to wait till they get to college to build their name, image, and likeness. They don’t have to wait till they get drafted into the NFL to start building their brand. OT7 is allowing them to build their brand now,” Griffin added. He mentioned the success of Chris Stewart, who went from a zero-star prospect to a 4-star talent. A Texas commit, Stewart led the whole league in touchdowns.
It’s been an honor to Coach these high school young men on RG3 Takeover 7on7 Football Team with @CAT_TAKEOVER and @ill_will_35.
Players committed to @TexasFootball @UMichFootball @oregonfootball @GatorsFB @Utah_Football @RazorbackFB @CoastalFootball @UHCougarFB and more with… pic.twitter.com/VQtevGOTrz
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 30, 2025
OT7 claims that 30% of players who compete in this league are able to make it to the NFL. That’s how successful the league is in creating absolute legends. The league gives the young generation a life-changing opportunity to build an image that stays with them for the rest of their lives. Nico Iamaleava and Dante Moore are other names who have come into college football as stars from the high school level itself. There’s one other unique way in which OT7 helps develop media-savvy players. And in no way does it undermine developing the players’ game skills for making them more camera-ready.
OT7’s success only presents itself with success on the field, says Robert Griffin III
Take into account Bryce Underwood’s reputation at Michigan so far. Coaches and players all unanimously agree that he is one of the hardest workers in the squad. That talent and his fame make him a legend in the making for Michigan. “You don’t want anyone, any coach, to ever feel like your brand is more important than the product that you’re putting out on the field,” Griffin said. He related it to his own experience, being the highest-paid rookie in the history of the NFL. “Then, you go out on the field and you play well. And boom, they continue to come in.” Through OT7, he’s bringing some unique insights on how to help young players build a career for themselves in this NIL era.
“We’re going to go out and execute. And once we’re done and it’s time to sit down and do the interview, now it’s time to show your personality,” Griffin added. It’s become a necessity in college football and the NFL, and OT7 is helping these young athletes to be ready for it. The stakes involved in both arenas, and it only gets tougher to survive the farther one gets. This crucial training from the best in the NFL is beyond beneficial for these young stars-in-the-making. NIL is no longer a by-product of the sport. It’s become a part of it. And in this ever-changing era of college football, high school footballers need to know for themselves what they’ll be getting into.
“I think it’s a really valuable thing to teach these kids. I think it’s important to give them authority over their brains before they do, obviously, end up in college,” show host RJ Ochoa said. With some college football greats already making a splash in the sport, OT7 is proof of how crucial training in NIL factors and brand-building is at the high school level, too.
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