It looks like backyard touch football. No pads. No helmets. No blocking. No tackling. No linemen.

But it’s not.

The 7-on-7 football craze is in full swing throughout the country as high school teams use the summer to perfect the passing game and Vicksburg High is a big proponent of the format. The Gators spend Tuesdays in Jackson playing in the Jackson Public Schools Passing League.

With so many teams going to a spread offense, the passing game has become more important than ever. And it helps defenses work on their pass coverages.

The biggest area the league helps the Gators is the chemistry between rising junior quarterback Cameron Cooksey and his receivers. Cooksey was impressive at times for the Gators in his first year under center, but often, he had to throw the ball every snap with Vicksburg down a few scores. He completed 75 of 148 passes for 755 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions last year and hopes to build on those numbers.

“It really helps with the timing between me and my receivers,” Cooksey said. “You get on the same page and you learn what certain receivers do in certain situations.”

His receivers have noticed a big difference in their leader.

“He’s getting pretty good,” Vicksburg running back Kawayne Gaston said. “He’s getting better reading the coverages. Cameron is getting the vision, he’s getting the timing. It’s going to make a big impact.”

The league also helps receivers with their games.

“It made me better with reading the defense and adjusting to coverages during game time,” said Adam Reed, who has caught several TD passes in league games this summer. “It’s going to take a lot of practice and work, but we’re getting better, a lot better, from last year.”

Gaston is another player whose game has grown from working in the league. He will play some wideout when the Gators go to a shotgun formation in addition to playing running back when they go under center.

“It makes our routes and helps us understand the coverage that the defense is throwing at us,” Gaston said.

The Gators have played in the JPS Passing League this summer and also were the only school from Mississippi to participate in Auburn’s football camp on June 10-11, where the Gators squared off against some of the South’s best in a grueling aerial assault with several games daily.

“They said the minimum was 13 players and we brought 16,” Vicksburg wideout Milan Nasif said. “But there were teams that brought 40 players, so by the end of it, we were pretty tired. But I thought we really did well.”

Gaston feels that the Auburn camp was a great test for the young Gators.

“The Auburn camp was the best of the best,” Gaston said. “With us competing against the best of the best, I feel it can only makes us better. We grew a lot.”

It’s been a different attitude this summer for the Gators, who finished 1-9 last year.

“Even when we we’ve done badly, we know that it’s only helping us get better,” Nasif said. “It’s just been a lot more fun.”