Tag: Under Armour All-American

‘I left room for no doubt as the best D-lineman here’: David Stone stands out at Under Armour All-American practices

Several future Sooners have shown out at the Under Armour All-American practices but David Stone shines above them all.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 recruiting class is pretty much done, barring any last-second signees on national signing day.

Sooner fans are holding out hope for five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag]. But it seems like that possibility is out of reach: McKinley flipped his commitment from the Texas A&M Aggies to his home state LSU Tigers.

But the Sooners have put together a great class. They’re in the top 10 on each of the major recruiting sites and are as high as No. 7 according to 247Sports.

A few Oklahoma signees have been participating in the [autotag]Under Armour All-American[/autotag] game festivities. From all accounts, it looks like everything is going well, especially for the players in the trenches.

One of the stars has been five-star defensive tackle [autotag]David Stone[/autotag]. Stone told OUInsider he’s felt good about how well he’s performed during the one-on-one and practice sessions.

“I know I did a great job,” Stone said. “I left room for no doubt as the best D-lineman here. People have no choice but to watch everything. If you want to do your job as an evaluator, I left the best product out there.”

Stone even went on to say he’s pushing to be the nation’s top player in the class when the final rankings are released. He has his eyes set on being named the MVP of the All-American game on Jan. 4, 2024.

Watching his combination of speed and power has been fun the last few days and something Sooner fans hope carries over to Norman.

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‘I feel like he definitely could be special’: Daniel Akinkunmi turns heads at Under Armour All-American events

Akinkunmi has done nothing but show he belongs at the Under Armour All-American game with several good performances.

The Oklahoma Sooners may have found their hidden gem of the 2024 recruiting class: three-star offensive lineman [autotag]Daniel Akinkunmi[/autotag].

Akinkunmi is coming to Norman via the NFL Academy in London, England. He has only played football the past few seasons. That’s why people were anxious to see how he’d hold up against some of the nation’s best high school players at the Under Armour All-American practices.

Not only has he held up just fine, but he’s impressed a lot of people, including myself. He’s becoming my favorite player in the class.

From him talking about asking [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] for the playbook moments after signing to being the last one on the field earlier this week working on his technique by himself long after the events concluded to his early morning workouts with his future teammates, there’s no question his work ethic is there. And his peers are taking notice.

“We were up at, I think, 3 a.m. lifting,” Stone said. “Me, him and Von (Davon Mitchell) were all in the weight room and I ended up calling J.J. (Jayden Jackson) and I was like, ‘Hey man this dude is going to be special; his work ethic is just like ours.’ I feel like we could definitely make a case to be like [autotag]Trent Williams[/autotag] and that [autotag]Gerald McCoy[/autotag] class that we had. I feel like we could really be like that. Us going first round in the same draft class, I feel like he definitely could be special just like that.”

Being the next McCoy and Williams is a lofty goal. That duo went top four in the 2010 NFL draft. But the work ethic is there for both.

Akinkunmi spoke with OUInsider about his relationship with Bedenbaugh.

“We talk every single day,” Akinkunmi said. “He calls my mum every single day. He and my mum are best friends, they talk all of the time. We absolutely love each other. That’s my coach, and I’m never going to change up on him. Unless he gets fired, and let’s be honest, he’ll never get fired, so I’m rocking with Coach B all of the way.”

Akinkunmi said he’s headed straight to Norman after the Under Armour events conclude this week and will immediately get to work on becoming Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma’s next hidden gem.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

12 signees to represent Alabama in the Under Armour All-American Game

Alabama has 12 signees on the Under Armour All-American Game roster.

Alabama will be well represented by the class of 2023 early signees at the Under Armour All-American Game. A total of 12 signees are on the roster for the annual all-star contest.

It should come as no surprise that Alabama has so many signees on the roster since [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and the Crimson Tide have the nation’s top class.

Even recruits who decided to graduate early and practice with Alabama ahead of the Sugar Bowl will be eligible to participate but we will not know until late Thursday if any players have made that decision.

Here is a complete list of Alabama signees on the Under Armour All-American roster.