Tag: All American bowl

The 2025 All-American Bowl will break from a long-standing decision, allow juniors to play

The All-American Bowl will allow juniors to play in their game.

The All-American Bowl announced this week that it is set to allow high school juniors to play in their game. This breaks a quarter-of-a-century of tradition where the bowl marked the final game in the high school career of many of the nation’s top players.

Now, the game will feature top junior and senior players.

The longest-running high school football all-star game, the All-American Bowl is played every year at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game airs annually on NBC, which is the owner-operator of the event.

One of the challenges of bowl games is keeping up with the landscape of college sports. Blue chip recruits, especially the high-level types who play in all-star games like the prestigious All-American Bowl, are likely to decide well before the game in January.

And with an ever-increasing number of players enrolling early, some players opt not to play in these postseason games because they are already on campus and enrolled in college.

“Given the changing landscape at the collegiate level, our senior participants are graduating high school earlier and enrolling in and attending college as early as December. As a result, the All-American Bowl is pivoting to now include top juniors for the upcoming 2025 All-American Bowl,” said Jon Miller, President, Acquisitions and Partnerships of NBC Sports in a press release. “This change will allow more top juniors to make their college declarations on network television.”

The All-American Bowl, first played in 1994, has featured a number of players who went on to star in college and the NFL. Notable alumni of the game include Antonio Alfano, Odell Beckham Jr., Stefon Diggs, Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffrey, Tim Tebow and Vince Young.

The bowl game created the concept of the commitment table, with players making their college decisions publicly known during the game’s broadcast. Presumably with juniors now playing in the game, the commitment table could gain a new level of importance as players continue to move up the timeline for their decisions.

Georgia Bulldogs 5-star K.J. Bolden on picking Florida, a $3 million NIL offer from another school and All-American Bowl practice

K.J. Bolden on why he picked Georgia.

After a recruitment that took twists and turns down the stretch, K.J. Bolden decided to stay in-state and flip to Georgia. The decision to commit to Georgia was made, he said, despite a huge NIL offer from another program that was recruiting him prior to the early signing period.

An offer that has been reported at $3 million annually.

A five-star safety for Buford (Buford, Georgia), Bolden is a consensus top-five player in the nation. Committed to Florida State since this past August, he flipped to Georgia on the first day of the early signing period in December. Bolden is set to play this Saturday at the All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (1:00 PM ET, NBC).

He signed with Georgia, despite the offer from another program that would have netted him multi-million dollars had he flipped.

“This school just mentioned all the bread they had,” Bolden told USA TODAY High School Sports on Wednesday following practice for the All-American Bowl.

“It wasn’t one of those top schools. It was definitely a good school, a good program. But it was just crazy how they just threw that out like ‘Hey, man, like, I know some quarterbacks who aren’t getting that so you are telling me I’m getting that? ‘ That’s crazy.”

The school and the reported $3 million offer did give Bolden some pause. The standout safety wisely won’t reveal the name of the school.

He did say that the offer came in three weeks before he signed for Georgia.

“I mean, at first when you first hear you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, that’s a lot of money.’ And then you got to think about like, ‘Alright, cool, does this place fit me? Like how do I like being up there?’ But you got to think about the other stuff,” Bolden said.

“(There were) a couple of schools that had me down to the wire but to me, it was just about being where you feel the most comfortable. The money is good to have because the money is good. But at the end of the day, it’s short-term money. The big money is in the NFL.”

At the time of his decision, his final three schools were  “Auburn, Florida State and Georgia.”

Georgia in the end won out, flipping Bolden. He said that the relationship built with head coach Kirby Smart helped land him in-state.

“Just being from Georgia, being 30 minutes from Athens. Coach Kirby, he came and talked with my family,” Bolden said.

“The home visit went great. I feel like that’s what did it. He just came out there and interacted with my mom in the home visit, my dad – was so good. I feel like that’s what did it for sure.”

Saying that “iron definitely sharpens iron,” Bolden said that the week of practice leading up to Saturday’s All-American Bowl has pushed him. The bowl game has a loaded roster and will feature a traditional East-West format this year.

“It’s been a great experience just can’t get coached by the best. The best…and (been) going against the best this week,” Bolden said.

“So it’s really a great experience. I was every kid, every football player could experience experience (this) because it’s just great. It’s just a great – great vibes.”

Alumni of the All-American Bowl, first played in 1996, includes the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Brock Bowers, Sharrif Floyd, Andrew Luck, Nick Mangold, DeMarco Murray, Adrian Peterson, Tim Tebow, Joe Thomas and Chase Young among others.

WATCH: Wisconsin OL commit goes viral with dominant practice rep

WATCH: Wisconsin OL commit goes viral with dominant practice rep

Wisconsin class of 2024 commit Kevin Haywood went viral earlier today.

The four-star offensive tackle was competing in practices for the All-American Bowl. These sessions include 1v1 reps between offensive lineman and pass rushers.

Related: Wisconsin football social media reacts to a 35-31 loss to LSU in ReliaQuest Bowl

In this particular sequence, Haywood was up against Stanford defensive line commit Dylan Stephenson. The dominance that followed, Haywood literally throwing Stephenson to the side, was posted on ‘X’ by a 247Sports analyst and now has 642 reposts, more than 5,700 likes and more than 1.6 million views.

Here is the viral clip:

Haywood is 247Sports’ No. 179 recruit in the class of 2024, No. 16 offensive tackle and No. 3 player from the state of Pennsylvania. Stephenson is also a four-star recruit in 247Sports, and is set to play for former Wisconsin coaches Bobby April III and Ross Kolodziej at Stanford.

If that rep is any indication, Wisconsin might’ve found a great one in Haywood.

All-American Jamari Howard, a 4-star defensive back, commits to Florida State

Jamari Howard commits to Florida State.

Florida State football landed another prime commitment in Jamari Howard. The Florida defensive back is an elite cornerback prospect, with high-end speed and athleticism.

Howard has committed to play in the 2024 All-American Bowl at the Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas). ESPN ranks him as the No. 12 cornerback prospect in the nation and the No. 119 player overall.

He plays for Norland High School (Miami, Florida).

According to 247Sports, the addition of Howard elevates Florida State to having the fourth-best recruiting class in the nation. He had been committed to Michigan State, but re-opened his recruitment in May.

He had a final five of Florida, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers as well as Florida State.

In an interview with On3, Howard said that he has been trending towards Florida State and head coach Mike Norvell since the summer.

“Coach Norvell is bringing Florida State back to how it was,” Howard told On3.

“And we are off to a great start, now we have to finish that way. Coach Norvell and the staff has the team doing big things and we are going back to the top.”

 

🚨BREAKING🚨 4-star CB Jamari Howard has committed to Florida State🍢

More from @ChadSimmons_: https://t.co/WB8aItpO7r pic.twitter.com/c40z3XL7oh

Florida State is No. 4 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

Buckeyes over Bucks: 5-star Brandon Inniss turned down NIL deals to play for Ohio State

The American Heritage receiver isn’t jumping on the NIL bandwagon.

In the days of flip-flopping commitments and programs making loud moves in the recruiting game while dangling the NIL deals that now seemingly carry just as much weight as stadiums and campuses and playing time, Brandon Inniss sidestepped the trend and let the bandwagon move along.

The 5-star American Heritage (Fla.) standout said that he passed up possible lucrative NIL deals late in his recruiting process, all of which were efforts to get the talented receiver to change his mind about joining the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It was a decision, as Inniss told 247Sports while speaking at the All-American Bowl check-in, that came down to a long-tail perspective that goes well beyond Saturdays at The Horseshoe.

Related: See the full 2023 All-American Bowl roster

“Do you take the money now or do you get developed to be the best you can be, and in the long run you’ll earn more money and be more ready and developed by the time you get to the NFL?”

The state of Ohio, at the moment, doesn’t allow players to earn revenue off their name, images or likeness, one of only a small batch of states that still need to make a shift to permit NIL deals.

As expected, that legislation has caused athletes to skip town and search for monetarily greener pastures.

Related: Current high school NIL rules in each of the 50 states (plus D.C.)

But not Inniss, who factored in the development he spoke about while looking at Buckeyes receivers coach Brian Hartline, as well as the other top wideouts on the roster.

He continued to 247Sports: “What excites me most is when I get on campus, just learning from the best receiver coach in college football and having guys like Marvin (Harrison) and Emeka (Egbuka) in the room. Me working every day with them is going to make me a better player and I’m excited to do that.”

(Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch)

Smart move?

Regardless, while there’s little reason to naysay or preach from outdated soapboxes when it comes to student-athletes making millions off their employers who make tens if not hundreds of millions, Inniss’ football decision is wonderfully refreshing.

More high school football stories

12 recruiting stories for the new year

The 6 finalists for Player of the Year

These 114 players made the 2023 All-American Bowl roster

Here are the 114 players who made the cut, according to On3.

High school football’s all-star game will be played on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas – the site of the 2023 All-American Bowl.

Here are the 114 players who made the cut, according to On3.

The All-American Bowl West team has 60 players:

Quarterbacks

Lincoln Kienholz
Pierre (S.D.) T.F. Riggs

#2 Kenny Minchey (not participating)
Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II

#10 Pierce Clarkson
Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco

#16 Austin Novosad
Dripping Springs (Texas)

Running Backs

#0 Quinten Joyner
Manor (Texas)

#4 Rueben Owens
El Campo (Texas)

#25 Samuel Singleton Jr.
Orange Park (Fla.) Fleming Island

Wide Receivers

Cordale Russell
Mesquite (Texas)

#1 Rico Flores Jr.
Folsom (Calif.)

#3 DeAndre Moore Jr.
Los Alamitos (Calif.) St. John Bosco

#5 TJ McWilliams
Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central

#7 Mikal Harrison-Pilot
Temple (Texas)

#9 Adarius Redmond
Powell (Tenn.)

#11 Jamari Johnson
Inglewood (Calif.)

#13 Jurrion Dickey (not particating)
Palo Alto (Calif.) Menlo-Atherton

#14 Malachi Coleman
Lincoln (Neb.) East

#15 Ryan Niblett
Houston (Texas) Eisenhower

#80 Malik Elzy
Chicago (Ill.) Simeon

Tight Ends

#8 Walker Lyons
Folson (Calif.)

#17 Lawson Luckie (not participating)
Norcross (Ga.)

Offensive Linemen

Sullivan Absher
Belmont (N.C.) South Point

#55 Spencer Fano
Provo (Utah) Timpview

#56 Tyson Paala-Ruffins
Long Beach (Calif.) Poly

#64 Joshua Bates
Durango (Colo.)

#71 Shamurad Umarov
Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark

#72 Zechariah Owens
McDonough (Ga.) ELCA

#73 Charles Jagusah
Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman

#74 Kadyn Proctor
Des Moines (Iowa) Southeast Polk

#75 Isaiah Robinson (not participating)
Arlington (Texas) Lamar

#76 Caleb Lomu
Gilbert (Ariz.) Highland

#77 Colton Thomasson
Spring Branch (Texas) Smithson Valley

Defensive Linemen

Princewill Umanmielen
Manor (Texas)

#9 Tomarrion Parker
Phenix City (Ala.) Central

#15 Keldric Faulk
Highland Home (Ala.)

#17 Matayo Uiagalelei
Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco

#19 Yhonzae Pierre
Eufaula (Ala.)

#31 Caleb Herring (not participating)
Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Riverdale

#33 Joshua Mickens
Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence Central

#44 Bai Jobe
Norman (Okla.) Community Christian School

#47 Anthony James
Wylie (Texas) East

Linebackers

#3 Tre Edwards III
Chula Vista (Calif.) Mater Dei Catholic

#6 Anthony Hill Jr.
Denton (Texas) Ryan

#7 Samuel Omosigho
Crandall (Texas)

#10 Tausili Akana
Kahuku (Hawaii) Skyridge

#11 Arion Carter
Smyrna (Tenn.)

#20 Blake Nichelson
Ripon (Calif.) Manteca

#34 Drayk Bowen
Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean

Defensive Backs

#0 Jasiah Wagoner
Spanaway (Wash.) Spanaway Lake

#2 Dalton Brooks
Shiner (Texas)

#4 Aaron Williams
Corona (Calif.) St. John Bosco

#5 Caleb Presley
Sammamish (Wash.) Rainier Beach

#8 Jelani McDonald
Waco (Texas) Connolly

#12 Braxton Myers
Coppell (Texas)

#21 Cole Martin
Chandler (Ariz.) Basha

#22 Calvin Simpson-Hunt
Waxahachie (Texas)

#23 Micah Bell
Houston (Texas) Kinkaid School

#24 Jordan Shaw
Downey (Calif.) St. Pius X

Special Teams

K- Nicolas Radicic
Coppell (Texas)

P- Tyler White
Southlake (Texas) Carroll

LS- Grant Rountree
Lebanon (Tenn.) Wilson Central

Meanwhile, the All-American Bowl East team has 54:

Quarterbacks

#5 Dante Moore
Detroit (Mich.) King

#9 Aidan Chiles
Downey (Calif.)

#10 Eli Holstein
Zachary (La.)

#12 Christopher Vizzina
Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian

Running Backs

#3 Treyaun Webb
Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy

#4 Mark Fletcher
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage

#22 Justice Haynes
Roswell (Ga.) Buford

Wide Receivers

#0 Jalen Brown
Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep

#1 Brandon Inniss
Miami Gardens (Fla.) American Heritage

#2 Rodney Gallagher
Uniontown (Pa.) Laurel Highlands

#8 Hykeem Williams
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan

#11 Jaed’n Skeete
West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial

#14 Nathaniel Joseph
Miami (Fla.) Edison

#15 Kenric Lanier
Decatur (Ga.)

#17 Carnell Tate
Chicago (Ill.) IMG Academy

#24 Cameron Seldon
Heathsville (Va.) Northumberland

Tight Ends

#6 Olsen Patt Henry
Naples (Fla.) First Baptist Academy

#19 Pearce Spurlin
Santa Rosa Beach (Fla.) South Walton

Offensive Linemen

#53 Kelton Smith
Columbus (Ga.) Carver

#54 Luke Montgomery
Findlay (Ohio)

#63 Samson Okunlola
Brockton (Mass.) Thayer Academy

#64 Caden Jones
Gretna (La.) De La Salle

#71 Payton Kirkland
Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips

#74 Jven Williams
Reading (Pa.) Wyomissing

#75 Connor Lew
Kennesaw (Ga.) Mountain

#78 Monroe Freeling
Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside Academy

#79 DJ Chester
Conyers (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian

Defensive Linemen

Darron Reed
Columbus (Ga.) Carver

#9 Brenan Vernon
Mentor (Ohio)

#11 Damon Wilson
Venice (Fla.)

#17 Kamran James
Orlando (Fla.) Olympia

#35 Daevin Hobbs
Concord (N.C.) Jay M Robinson

#55 Jamaal Jarrett (not participating)
Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley

#86 Vic Burley
Warner Robins (Ga.)

#97 Keon Keeley
Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep

#99 Jordan Hall
Jacksonville (Fla.) Westside

Linebackers

Kaveion Keys
Richmond (Va.) Varina

#0 Malik Bryant
Orlando (Fla.) Jones

#3 CJ Allen (not participating)
Barnesville (Ga.) Lamar County

#8 Jayvant Brown
Deerfield Beach (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas

#10 Grayson Howard (not participating)
Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson

#30 Whit Weeks
Watkinsville (Ga.) Oconee County

#40 Josiah Trotter
Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s

Defensive Backs

#1 Kayin Lee
Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove

#2 Caleb Downs
Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek

#4 AJ Harris (not participating)
Phenix City (Ala.) Central

#5 Makari Vickers
Tallahassee (Fla.) Munroe

#7 Michael Daugherty
Logansville (Ga.) Grayson

#18 Adon Shuler
Irvington (N.J.)

#20 Malik Hartford
West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West

#21 Tyler Scott
Mableton (Ga.) Pebblebrook

Special Teams

K – David Olano
Naperville (Ill.) North

P – Palmer Williams
Mocksville (N.C.) Davie County

LS – Drew Prieto
Atlanta (Ga.) Marist School

Kickoff is noon Eastern on NBC.

More high school football stories

12 recruiting stories for the new year

The 6 finalists for Player of the Year

Full list of commitments made at 2022 All-American Bowl

See all 10 commitments at the All-American Bowl, including Kevin Coleman picking Jackson State, Trevor Etienne going Florida and Hero Kanu choosing Ohio State.

Ten elite players announced their universities of the future at the 2022 All-American Bowl.

Kevin Coleman, Trevor Etienne, Earnest Greene, Davison Igbinosun, Hero Kanu, Rayshon Luke, Daniel Martin, Cyrus Moss, Larry Turner-Gooden and C.J. Williams all committed to schools during the bowl.

The big surprise was Coleman choosing Jackson State, a Historically Black College & University that already had the commitment of Travis Hunter.

Etienne, meanwhile, chose Florida while Williams joined a pair of his high school teammates at USC to play under Lincoln Riley.

The West won the game 33-14, but just as exciting as the action on the field was what took place off. See a list of all 10 commitments below.

USC continues its recruiting success at Mater Dei with commitment from CJ Williams

C.J. Williams committed to USC, giving the Trojans another 2020 Mater Dei recruit. Could a pipeline be forming under Lincoln Riley?

USC’s proximity to Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) provides a natural recruiting advantage for the Trojans to cherrypick from the No. 1 school in the nation, but players haven’t exactly been funneling into the program. No Monarch committed in 2017, 2019 or 2020; the closest was wide receiver Bru McCoy transferring from Texas before the start of his freshman year.

However, over the last two years, there has been a major boost. With four-star wide receiver C.J. Williams’ becoming the fifth Mater Dei player in the last two years to commit tot he Trojans, it looks as though some sort of pipeline is finally appearing under head coach Lincoln Riley.

Williams announced his decision at the All-American Bowl. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound receiver is rated the No. 76 player overall and No. 11 wide receiver in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

He broke out as a sophomore at Mater Dei and continued his strong play over the next two seasons, finishing his senior year with 830 yards and 12 touchdowns on 51 receptions. He was a leader for the Monarchs, who won the National Championship.

Williams is the third top-100 player from Mater Dei alone to commit to USC in this cycle.

Five-star running back Raleek Brown, ranked No. 33 in the country, followed Riley to USC after initially committing to Oklahoma. Five-star cornerback Domani Jackson, the No. 7 player in the country, decommitted from USC but then recommitted after Riley moved to the west coast.

Those are three of the four best Mater Dei players in the 2022 class. The other, linebacker David Bailey, committed to Stanford.

Last year, the Trojans picked up two of the top three Mater Dei recruits, securing four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis and four-star wide receiver Kyron Ware-Hudson.

That makes back-to-back years in which USC has found recruiting success at a school that has won or shared National Championship honors in four of the last five years. It’s too early to proclaim that a pipeline has formed — after all, the Trojans picked up three Monarchs in 2018, only to go barren in the next two years — but there could be something brewing in southern California.

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