I will admit that at first, when the 7-on-7 all-star teams began to play a few years ago, I wasn’t totally sold on how it would help a majority of the prospects in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

There was a part of me that felt many football players were being left out, but that has started to change, and after last week’s Central Florida event in Apopka, I see why the months in between the new year and spring football have become so important to high school football players.

Take away the combines, which really tell you little about your football player and more about how fast and strong he is, and you have the 7-on-7 season. It’s played in shorts and a T-shirt, but is still the sport of football, and there are so many things you can see.

With three teams, made up of mostly Miami-Dade and Broward talent, taking part in the event, which included 18 programs from across the state, the South Florida region showed why it is still among the most talented anywhere in the country.

The South Florida Express Pro and Elite teams along with the winner of the event, the South Florida Fire, will join the South Florida Blur and Team Strong Arm in Bradenton at the end of the month for a regional showcase. That gives over 100 rising seniors, juniors and sophomores plenty of offseason exposure.

"We started the 7-on-7 team to help give the elite prospects some big time exposure against the nation’s best," said Brett Goetz, who runs the Express teams. "Now, every player who wants to compete — at any level — has that opportunity. We now have something like 10-12 teams just in our area alone."

With that additional exposure, premier athletes weren’t the only players getting that extra look. Under-the-radar prospects who many never heard much about started to emerge. A big catch, an interception, a pinpoint pass. There was something that one of these less-publicized prospects did to turn someone’s head that finally put them in the recruiting mix.

"These 7-on-7 events show how much football skill level the athletes have," said Charles Fishbein of Elite Scouting Services. "They get out on that field and play five and six games against some of the elite players in the state. There are very few places that you could go and see nearly 200 athletes who can play this game at such a high level."

The Central Florida qualifier for the IMG Bradenton tournament attracted a number of recruiting services, fan websites and a throng of media, who promoted young talent such as Hollywood McArthur freshman quarter Kato Nelson (Offensive MVP) and Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson rising senior defensive back Derrick Tindal (Defensive MVP).

It was one of those showcases that brought in talent from Tallahassee, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Ocala, Palm Beach and several other pockets of the state.

"The teams from outside of South Florida always want to see how they match up against us," said Fire coach Dennis Marroquin. "When you can win a prestigious event with a freshman quarterback, I would say that is something to hang your hat on."

Here is a look at some of the other players who also turned heads in Apopka:

•  2015 — Maurice Alexander, QB, Homestead, SF Express Elite: Has the chance to be one of the best in his class in the state.

•  2015 — Alex Anderson, RB/LB, Miramar, SF Express Pro: The running back of the future for the Patriots has shown that he can play some defense.