The 2019 U.S. Army All-American Bowl

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Marcus Benjamin @_BenjaminReport

San Antonio, TX – The U.S Army All-American Bowl is considered the premier high school all-star game for seniors student-athletes.  The game is now in its 19th year with the first game played in the year 2000. The game has produced 380 NFL draftees including 86 1st round draft picks.  Wisconsin commit Graham Mertz (Blue Valley North, KS) threw five touchdown passes to three different receivers to earn the 48-14 victory over the West and the MVP honor.  His five touchdowns was an All-American Bowl Game record.

Georgia commit Dominik Blaylock (Walton, GA), caught two touchdown passes from Mertz including a 57-yard touchdown and a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter to start the scoring for the East.

During the broadcast, a number of high-level prospects made their commitments to their college of choice.  Highly sought after defensive back Tyrique Stevenson (Southridge, FL) chose Georgia over Miami and credits Head Coach Kirby Smart as one of the main factors in getting him out of South Florida.

“He brought that spark I was looking for in a coach,” said Football Hotbed All-American Stevenson.  “It’s a big honor I get to put on for my family, all I do is for them, I feel truly blessed.”

Standout defensive back Marcus Banks (Dekaney, TX) and the third-ranked defensive end in the country Khris Bogle (Cardinal Gibbons, FL) adds to Alabama’s number one recruiting class with their commitments to the Tide Saturday.  Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban’s home visit for Bogle was one of the crucial deciding factors for Bogle.

“It meant a lot because he doesn’t usually do home visits,” said Bogle when explaining why he chose Alabama.  “He took time out of his schedule and came down [and also] knowing that I could compete against the best each and every day.”

No surprises that Kyle Ford (Orange, CA) and national player of the year Bru McCoy (Mater Dei, CA) elected to stay close to home committing to the USC Trojans on Saturday.  Ford has a similar body type to former Trojan Ju-Ju Smith-Shuster whom he models his game after.

“Everyone knows the legacy of wide receivers there,” said Ford.  “That’s one of the guys I model my game after. I try to play physical like him.”

McCoy was an SC fan growing up and will be wearing the number 4 for the Trojans.  He played high school at the receiver position, but the versatile athlete is also open to playing defensive back.

“I bought a number for jersey [as a kid] and when I committed the school they said I would be wearing the number 4 jersey so I actually been keeping my own jersey in the closet,” said McCoy.  “I just want to be as versatile as I possibly can be as a player, I won’t say no to anything I just want to be on the field.”

West quarterback Spencer Rattler looked impressive in game action as he made some impressive throws on the run.  The Oklahoma commit and Football Hotbed All-American has a quick release and will likely add to the recent success of Sooner quarterbacks.  He connected with Ohio State signee Garrett Wilson (Lake Travis, TX) for a 27-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter and again with Wilson on a 41-yard touchdown in the fourth.  They would score the only touchdowns for the West team.

“We saw a mismatch,” said Rattler.  “I put it up for him and he is going to go get it every time.”  

Also in the third quarter, North Carolina Tar Heel commit Sam Howell (Sun Valley, NC) who is the all-time leader in total offense in North Carolina scored on a nifty 24-yard touchdown run.

Jadon Haselwood (Cedar Grove, GA), the number one wide receiver in the game scored on a 75-yard touchdown where he outdueled Banks for the football.   He would commit to Oklahoma during broadcast over Georgia, Florida State, and Miami.

“Sometimes you have to go out of your comfort zone, we’ll see how this works,” said Haselwood when asked about moving far away from home.  

One of the many to commit, David Bell (Warren Central, IN) chose Purdue over Big Ten teams Ohio State and Indiana.  

Head Coach Jeff Brohm continues to land top-tier talent in East Lafayette and is taking advantage of the homegrown talent.  

“Coach Brohm is a great coach,” said Bell.  “I love the offense there. I really wanted to be close to my grandma so she could come to all my games.  

Bell now joins Rondale Moore who was the highest recruit ever for Purdue as Bell is the third highest in Boilermaker history.  Tight end Kyle Bilodeau (Woodberry Forest, VA) also a Purdue commit scored on a variation of the Philly special play. Purdue has the 25th ranked class in the country according to 247 Sports.

Defensive back Chris Steele (St. John Bosco, CA) decided to make the cross-country trip to Florida and become a Gator.  Steele called Florida the real DBU.

“Florida that’s DBU,” said Steele.  “They have a tradition of producing the best DBs.  Coach [Dan] Mullen and his staff I feel are the best in the country so I feel we can win some national championships.”

Nick Cross (DeMatha, MD) had the best defensive back play of the game as he will head to Tallahassee to play for Florida State.  Cross located the ball at his own two-yard line and returned the ball to the opposing eight-yard line. Mertz would get his fourth touchdown pass to Michigan signee Cornelius Johnson (Brunswick, CT) on an easy pitch and catch following the play.  Mertz would connect with Johnson again for a 16-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.