2013 US Army All-American game updates

Yulee (Fla.) running back Derrick Henry (Alabama) -- There aren’t many 6-3, 240-pound running backs out there, raising the inevitable question about Henry’s future position in college. Well, suffice it to say that he answered many of his skeptics throughout the week and especially in Saturday’s game. Henry racked up a game-high 53 yards on 10 carries, scoring one touchdown and adding a big 2-point conversion late. It’s really not fair for someone that big to have such good feet and be so fast, several times taking the edge against the West.

Montgomery (Ala.) Carver quarterback Jeremy Johnson (Auburn) -- The dual-threat prospect didn’t have the best day of practice on Tuesday, looking rather inconsistent with his passing. When the lights came on at the Alamodome, however, Johnson responded with an efficient 4-for-6 performance, good for 64 yards and the big 34-yard touchdown pass to James Quick that provided the final margin. Clearly a good scrambler to pick up yardage with his feet, the touchdown pass was particularly impressive because Johnson scrambled to make a play downfield in the passing game, showing he can keep his eyes on his receivers when he vacates the pocket.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The East used 132 big rushing yards and a late touchdown pass from Auburn pledge Jeremy Johnson to new Louisville commit James Quick to secure a 15-8 victory and give the East a 7-6 edge in the history of the US Army All-American Bowl.

The West team had a chance to tie the game late, but a pass from LSU commit Hayden Rettig intended for Texas A&M pledge Ricky Seals-Jones fell harmlessly in the end zone.

A 6-4, 225-pound linebacker who drew national attention and wowed evaluators with his testing numbers at The Opening last summer, Mitchell chose the Buckeyes over Oregon and Texas A&M. An official visit to Ohio St. back in December seemed to have sealed the deal. Mitchell never visited Eugene.

Ranked as a consensus four-star prospect and one of the top 100 players nationally, Mitchell held offers from across the country before becoming the 21st commitment in the Ohio St. class and the second linebacker to pledge.

The decision capped an interesting several days for Quick, who chose Louisville over finalists Oregon and Ohio St. Following a visit to the Louisville campus back in December, the 6-2, 180-pound pass catcher named the Cardinals the favorite, but then said during the week of preparations for the Army Bowl that the Buckeyes had vaulted into the lead.

Perhaps due to the big Sugar Bowl win by Louisville over Florida that was a national coming-out party for rising sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Quick once again changed his mind and opted to play his college football in his hometown.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- 2013 Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad announced his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes during the 3rd quarter of the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl.

Muhammad chose Miami over finalists Notre Dame and Alabama. Like several other prospects who pledged at the Army Bowl, the strongside defensive end prospect had not visited one of his finalists -- Notre Dame.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- 2013 Orlando (FL) Evans wide receiver Tony Stevens committed to the Texas A&M Aggies during the 2nd quarter of the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl.

In recent days, Stevens had become all but a lock to the Aggies after reports that one of his other finalists, Florida St., was no longer recruiting him. The third finalist, Ohio St., never received a visit from the lanky wideout.

Mathis chose the Huskies over finalists USC, UCLA, and Alabama. Of those schools, only Washington had received an official visit from the 6-4, 255-pounder who could be a swing guy in college, as well as the final visit, as Mathis visited Seattle in early December and did not take any visits after that. The Bruins had received three unofficial visits this fall, however.

The decision came down for the Huskies, Mathis said, because of the family atmosphere, mentioning super-recruiter Tosh Lupoi specifically.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- 2013 Clairton (Pa.) wide receiver Tyler Boyd committed to the Pitt Panthers during the second quarter of the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl.

The 6-2, 182-pound wideout choose Pitt over finalists West Virginia and Michigan St. Not only did Boyd name the Panthers as his leader in recent days, but he never took official visits to Morgantown or East Lansing, leaving little doubt about his eventual decision.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The 13th US Army All-American Bowl will get started at 12 noon CST at the Alamodome for the 13th version of the high-profile event, with the East and West set to break a 6-6 tie.

The game will include some intriguing match ups:

One of the premiere showcases in college football recruiting takes place on Saturday as college football’s future stars participate in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

100 of the nation’s best high school football players will participate in the contest. The West squad will be headlined by future USC quarterback Max Browne, Notre Dame linebacker commit Jaylon Smith, USC safety commit Su’a Cravens, and future Oregon running back Thomas Tyner. Leading the East squad are Alabama linebacker commit Jonathan Allen, USC defensive tackle commit Kenny Bigelow, future Alabama running back Altee Tenpenny, and Virginia Tech cornerback commit Kendall Fuller.

Every year, multiple players make their commitments public at the US Army All-American Bowl. The 2013 edition will be no different.

A commitment to Ohio St. nearly went down back during the summer before Mitchell had even visited, according to popular theories, but the super-athletic linebacker decided to extend his recruitment, visiting several schools during the fall.

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Having grown up in North Little Rock, 2013 Alabama commit Altee Tenpenny has been on the local (and national) recruiting scene for some time, including putting up incredible testing numbers as an underage participant in The Opening in the summer of 2011. As a result, his commitment to the Crimson Tide in January of 2011 probably still stings for the pig-calling faithful of Fayetteville.

But the Razorbacks do have at least a little bit of a chance with the elite 5’11, 210-pound running back. Tenpenny will visit Arkansas on Jan. 18, what will likely be his final official visit after tripping to Tuscaloosa the weekend before.

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Another cold, gray day in preparation for the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl had the West team spending the morning session indoors at the Blossom Athletic Complex with some freezing rain in the area.

Fortunately, the afternoon session was a go with some one-on-one and team drills.

The 2013 US Army All-American Bowl is one such big event, so Robinson has been available in recent days to provide some perspective on his recruitment.

Committed to Texas since February, Robinson has been taking visits throughout the fall and still has two remaining -- to Alabama on January 18th and to Austin the following weekend.

Monday featured plenty of rain at the Blossom Athletic Complex in San Antonio at West team practice. In fact, it barely let up during either session until the day was finally completed.

-- The duo of Texas A&M commits at wide receiver for the West -- Derrick Griffin and Ricky Seals-Jones -- had major height advantages going against the much smaller cornerbacks, but didn’t have a ton of success in the air on the first day. The most notable play probably came from Griffin, who used his height and strength to win a jump ball over Tre’Davious White on a nice throw from Hayden Rettig.

Slick new uniforms are all the rage across the college football landscape, from the ever-altering looks of Oregon, to the craze of matte helmets with alternative logos and the completely metallic look like that worn by Rutgers late in the season, and they are now coming to the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl, courtesy of adidas.

The new unis certainly sound pretty high-tech, or TECHFIT, as adidas calls them:

The 2013 US Army All-American Bowl is putting out promotional videos in advance of Saturday’s game, starring your favorite team’s pledges.

2013 U.S. Army All-Americans | LSU Commits (via ArmyAllAmericanBowl)

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- During the preparations for the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl, to be held on Saturday at the Alamodome and televised on NBC, Orlando (FL) Evans wide receiver Tony Stevens has been telling multiple outlets that he will have three hats on the table when he announces during the game -- those of Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Florida State.

Thing is, two of those schools may already be out of the picture. Stevens hasn’t visited Ohio State and there is plenty of talk out there that the Seminoles have moved on.

When 2013 Notre Dame wide receiver commit Torii Hunter, Jr. went down with a leg injury in Tuesday’s practice in preparation for the US Army All-American Bowl, the initial prognosis was a torn quadricep, which can take 4-6 months to heal.

Unfortunately, the injury turned out to be a little bit worse than initially expected:

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- On a chilly, gray, windy day at Heroes Stadium in preparation for the 2013 US Army All-American game, the East team practiced during the morning session and was probably grateful that it wasn’t raining, as it was throughout both practices on Monday.

Here are some impressions from the practice, which included lengthy individual position drills before a team portion later in practice.

The first major injury of the 2013 US Army All-American game week occurred on Tuesday during the morning session of the West team’s practice to Prosper (TX) wide receiver Torii Hunter, Jr., a Notre Dame commit:

From the descriptions, it didn’t look good when it happened, and the early prognosis wasn’t great either. Hunter, Jr. was carted off the field with an air cast on his left leg.

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Down to three finalists, 2013 Plano (Tex.) Prestonwood Christian linebacker Mike Mitchell is ready to make his long-awaited decision during the US Army All-American game on Saturday at the Alamodome.

After the second practice on Monday for Mitchell’s West team, he was all smiles when asked about the experience of playing alongside some of the top recruits in the country.

Practice for the 2013 US Army All-America Football Game kicks off Monday in San Antonio at two locations around the city. SB Nation will be on hand to cover the event. The practice schedule is as follows.

The game annually features the best recruits in college football and will be held at the Alamodome Saturday, January 5th, airing at 12 noon CST.