NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Devin Branch knows about the high school football talent that has come out of Hampton Roads. After all, he grew up here.
Branch, a Hampton graduate, watched some of the area's biggest stars when he was a kid. Now he's giving a spotlight to the next generation. Branch is a content creator, traveling all over the world and shining the spotlight on young football players.
"We started this because a lot of talent and a lot of players don't get good recognition and good media in a lot of places," he pointed out. "We said we're going to start going to the places that don't get good looks and we're going to start shining light on them."
That led to the berth of CEO Brickz, Branch's YouTube channel. He and fellow YouTuber A.J. Greene travel around the country to capture the biggest names on the gridiron and find some new ones as well. This week they'll bring their platform to Chesapeake and feature Oscar Smith's home game against Indian River.
"I heard a lot about Travis Johnson and I reached out to a couple of people and they said 'yeah, he's the one. You might need to come see him,'" Branch recalled. "As much as I wanted to be on Hampton's side and film Hampton, because we really never come to Virginia, I just had to highlight what's hot."
While Johnson may be the standout whose reputation lured Branch and Greene to Saturday's game, some other players may emerge and take the spotlight. The senior wide receiver and Michigan commit has climbed his way to stardom, but the field will be crowded with other talented players as well.
"We go to see a certain player and it's someone else that shines over that player. Not to say that players doesn't shine, but somebody else pops out," said Branch. "Some of the times its not the person that we come see. A lot of the times it's that nickel in the haystack that comes out and really shows their talent."
Branch and Greene have a couple cameras at the game, interact with the students and fans and watch the game. They'll post on their YouTube channels Thursday, which helps the players get some more eyes on them.
Indian River and Oscar Smith kick off on the Tigers' home field Saturday at 1 p.m.
