Army all american game
Saturday, January 5th, 200812:23 p.m. Gerell Robinson just got absolutely LIT up on that last play and he is now down on the ground in the middle of the field. Just before that happened I was going to comment on how well Robinson is locking down the middle of the field while playing at free safety in this game. We shall see how shaken up he is in a couple minutes as he is due to announce his decision when the first half expires.
12:15 Boubacar Cissoko (Michigan commit) is outleaping Dan Buckner (Texas commit) consistently so far in this game… and that is saying something as Cissoko is only 5-foot-8 while Buckner towers him at 6-foot-4. Justin Sorenson just sneaked in a 31-yard field goal to bring the west to within four, 14-10. What a surprise – Matt Barkley, the number one HS prospect in the country won admittance to the 2009 All-American Bowl by winning the MVP of the underclassman combine this week. Gerrel Robinson will be announcing during halftime in a few minutes.
12:10 p.m. 50 scholarship offers, #1 linebacker in the country, Pittsburgh Panther, Shayne Hale. The latest declaration just passed by and so far I am pleasantly surprised that nobody has showboated during their decisions yet. Always good to see humble players that get down to business.
12:00 p.m. First big surprise – to me anyway – as Minnesota scores a top quarterback recruit in Marqueis Gray. Gray has 4.5 speed coming out of Indiana and could make an impact on some of the slower Big 10 defenses next season. East kicker and Georgia commit, Blair Walsh just missed a 47-yard field goal wide left – plenty of leg however. Score remains 14-7.
11:51 a.m. Um. Wow. While the sideline reporter was talking to a couple of soldiers, Star Jackson just threw an absolute bomb to 6-foot-6 receiver Johnathon Baldwin who outleaped the defender to quickly put the East back on top 14-7 on the first play of the second quarter.
11:48 a.m. End of the first quarter with the score tied at 7-7. I am impressed with the amount of team chemistry on these two squads given the limited amount of time that they have had together. The East squad is rolling out trick plays and the receivers seem to be on the same page as the quarterbacks more often than not. Time for some more declarations…
11:44 a.m. Dan Buckner just made a great leaping catch on a terrific fade route thrown by Gabbert. It is amazing how a high school quarterback can have that kind of touch and that good of a relationship with a receiver to connect on a pass like that – score tied at seven now.
11:34 a.m. If anybody is not watching the game right now and did not see Sam McGuffie hurdle a 6-foot-4 teammate with a flip – I highly recommend checking out a quick YouTube search for his name. That kid is quite the athlete.
11:29 a.m. Michigan adding another solid player as Brandon Smith out of New Jersey commits to the Wolverines. Smith is a defensive back.
11:26 a.m. A great play on Pryor by Golden was just called back due to a defensive neutral zone infraction, but Golden has looked impressive as he tries to keep an eye on Pryor as well as his receiver. Koehler has also gotten a hand in a couple of tackles already. So far not a bad showing for the Arizona commit and likely Arizona commit. Oh, and how great of a player is Pryor going to be? The East is running a lot of Oregon-esque offensive plays. Covaughn Deboskie is now choosing – and it is the worst kept secret in the world as his little sister? chooses Cal for him. Just as I updated that post – Pryor cemented his role in my mind as one of the players to watch in the coming years with a little flip pass that gained 40+ yards before coming down on the next play and juking Golden out of his shoes en route to the first TD of the game. 7-0 East.
11:15 a.m. Dayne Crist is definitely a player. Like many of you, this is the very first time that I am seeing most of these players in live action. I have heard plenty about Crist but seeing the arm strength and the accuracy that he can put on balls really shows why Notre Dame had him so high on their list. Not much doing on the West’s first drive – now it is time to see what Koehler and Robert Golden can do on defense. Golden will have his hands full with the talented receiving corps on the East team while Koehler will have the defensive line task of keeping all-world quarterback Terrelle Pryor in check.
11:08 a.m. We just had our first commitment of the afternoon with running back Ryan Williams – he of a 4.4 40-yard-dash – heading to Virginia Tech over Rutgers and Boston College. Now we are just kicking off now. Here we go!
10:55 a.m. – With kickoff just a few minutes away, the discussions can now begin on the Army A.A. Bowl (airing at 11 a.m. Arizona time on NBC).
It looks like Solomon Koehler and Gerell Robinson will be the two big Arizona names announcing their decisions along with Covaughn Deboskie – who has basically already announced Cal, but wants to have his moment in the sun at the game. Koehler will likely become an Arizona Wildcat today while former Wildcat, Robinson, well… nobody quite knows at this point beyond ASU or Notre Dame – rumors are flying all over but my money goes on Notre Dame.
So as the game gets going and the announcements start rolling in, this entry will be constantly updated (during every commercial break.. I have to watch the game too you know!)
Before this game gets started, however, I wanted to make sure everyone knew of Matt Scott’s performance last night in the Offense-Defense game, held in Miami. Scott did not play during the first half of the game when the West team was already down 12-0. Scott led the West down the field and scored a touchdown on a 12-yard scramble.
