2012 Under Armour All-America Game: Alabama Wins The Evening

The 5’11”, 175 pound Johnson is all about speed. He’s extremely elusive in the open field and his quickness off the lines makes it very difficult to play press coverage against him.

Texas recruiting expert Wescott Eberts on the story:

Landon Collins, arguably the top safety commitment in the country, committed to Alabama tonight over LSU on ESPN during the Under Armour All-America Game. His mother wanted him to stay home and pick LSU. She was at his side and was not happy.

Collins held offers from every major SEC and ACC team, as well as Texas and USC. Ultimately, his choice came down to Alabama and LSU.

With the advent of spread offenses, having a versatile safety who can patrol the deep middle on one play and then drop down in the box and play the slot receiver with press technique on the next is invaluable.

Alabama commitments are impressive on both sides of the football tonight. But the most impressive Tide commitment has been Amari Cooper, who housed this 93-yard punt return to open the third quarter. Cooper also had a long touchdown earlier tonight from Florida State Jameis Winston.

Jones holds multiple offers from some of the top schools in the country, including Alabama, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Ohio State and Maryland. He visited Virginia Tech on September 16th, Alabama on October 21st, Auburn on November 25th and Ohio State on December 16th.

Jones stars for Baltimore’ Gilman School as a two-way player. In college, however, it is thought that he is looking to play receiver. At 5’10” and 195 pounds, that means lining up in the slot. During the Under Armour practices, Jones has primarily played defensive back, and has done well on that side of the ball. His quickness will be valuable on the offensive side of the football, but don’t be surprised to see him flip back to the defensive side if playing time is not immediately available.

Cyrus Jones, who is set to commit tonight to either Alabama or Virginia Tech, just corralled a pass that was tipped by Nebraska linebacker commitment Michael Rose and took it to the house to give Team Blur a 35-10 in the third quarter of the Under Armour All-America Game.

USC tight end commitment Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick with a great grab on a poorly thrown ball by Clemson quarterback commitment Chad Kelly to draw Team Highlight within three scores, 29-10. Cope-Fitzpatrick has a great build for a tight end, but showed here that he can go up and get the football.

Look for an interview with Roland this weekend.

At 6’2” and 185 pounds, Elder looks like a tall cornerback. And that might be what he is at the next level. But Elder also could be an excellent safety. Elder is all about range. He can cover a lot of ground from his safety position. If he plays corner at the next level, it will need to be in a scheme that plays a lot of zone coverage, as he doesn’t have the hips to play man-to-man as a cornerback. Elder displays great skills playing the ball as well.

For more on South Carolina recruiting, visit Garnet and Black Attack.

Channing Ward, one of the top defensive ends in the country, committed to the Ole Miss Rebels tonight on ESPN during the Under Armour All-America Game. Ward holds offers from many SEC schools, including Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, LSU and Auburn.

Ward plays for Aberdeen (MS), and his excellent play off the edge at 6’3” and 250 pounds is the reason he has so many top college offers. Ward can be inconsistent, but when he plays with good technique, few high school offensive linemen can handle him. And unlike some high school ends, Ward doesn’t ignore the run.

Brown’s recruitment has been a bit of a circus, as the runner routinely gave conflicting information to various reporters. Brown selected Maryland over the likes of Vanderbilt, Miami, and Colorado.

He hasn’t stood out at this week’s Under Armour game, but failing to stand out among the best of the best in the country is not necessarily a knock on him.

Florida State quarterback commitment Jameis Winston (Hueytown, Ala.) connected with Alabama receiver commitment Amari Cooper (Miami, Fla.) for a 75-yard touchdown on 3rd-17. The protection from the Team Blur offensive line has been spotty tonight, but the line gave Winston just enough time to put the ball up to Cooper, who made a great catch to put team Blur up 6-0 (extra point missed).

Cooper was heavily recruited by all the Florida schools and ultimately chose the Tide to play receiver. He was hampered by injuries throughout his high school career, but when healthy, was very productive.

Lucas Thompson, one of the more athletic safeties in Florida, has committed to the East Carolina Pirates. Thompson listed the Miami Hurricanes and the South Carolina Gamecocks as his other finalists, but it is thought that he does not have the academic profile to gain admission at the other two. Thompson plays for West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Fla. He is rated as a three-star recruit by most services.

Here is the roster for Team Highlight (black jerseys) in tonight’s Under Armour All-America Game. Track the top recruits in the country.

* Denotes captain.

The Under Armour All-America game is tonight on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET. Many of the top football recruits in the country will be on hand, and SB Nation will be there covering every minute. Here are some recruiting storylines to follow while watching the game:

Quarterback Play

Jones holds multiple offers from some of the top schools in the country, including Alabama, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Ohio State and Maryland. He visited Virginia Tech on September 16th, Alabama on October 21st, Auburn on November 25th and Ohio State on December 16th.

Jones stars for Baltimore’ Gilman School as a two-way player. In college, however, it is thought that he is looking to play receiver. At 5’10” and 195 pounds, that means lining up in the slot. During the Under Armour practices, Jones has primarily played defensive back, and has done well on that side of the ball.

Wes Brown, one of the better running backs in the country, is set to choose between Miami, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Colorado and Maryland. The star from Olney, Md.‘s Lady Of Good Counsel will decide during the Under Armour All-America Game, Thursday night on ESPN. The game airs at 7:30 p.m ET.

Brown’s recruitment has been a bit of a circus, as the runner routinely gave conflicting information to various reporters. But he has at least visited all of these schools, giving him a chance to figure out what he wants in a school.

With the advent of spread offenses, having a versatile safety who can patrol the deep middle on one play and then drop down in the box and play the slot receiver with press technique on the next is invaluable. Collins is just that type of player.

Collins has been very impressive this week in Orlando for the Under Armour All-America game. His speed is excellent, and his strength is obvious.

At 6’2” and 185 pounds, Elder looks like a tall cornerback. And that might be what he is at the next level. But Elder also could be an excellent safety. Elder is all about range. He can cover a lot of ground from his safety position. If he plays corner at the next level, it will need to be in a scheme that plays a lot of zone coverage, as he doesn’t have the hips to play man-to-man. Elder displays great skills playing the ball as well.

Not only is that Ken Griffey, Jr.‘s son Trey being coached for a high school all-star game -- meaning he’s on his way to college -- he’s being coached by Keyshawn Johnson, who’s in his sixth year of retirement. I think the latter actually makes me feel older than the former, even though Johnson’s been on TV.

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On Monday, I profiled the standouts for the White team (team “Blur”). Now I’ll turn my attention to team Black (team “Highlight”).

One player who is immediately noticeable is linebacker Dalton Santos of Van, Texas. Santos is widely regarded as one of the top 15 inside linebackers in the country, but only ESPN went out on a limb and rated Santos the top inside backer. It appears they were right, as Santos has excellent size (6’2” 245), good athleticism relative to that size, and excellent instincts. He also loves to hit, which is important with all the contact the inside backer position faces.

Another year brought another loaded group to to Orlando for the Under Armour All-America game. On Sunday, the players took the field for the first time, and defense was the name of the game.

Not to be outdone, Chris Casher of Mobile (AL) Davidson also had an impressive day. Casher made opposing tackles look foolish from his defensive end position with a great spin move and an impressive first step. The 6’5” end told me he was up to 252 pounds. Despite missing his senior season because of the state’s transfer rules, Casher doesn’t appear to have missed a beat.