All-American Bowl Combine: Top performers
MORE ALL-AMERICAN BOWL: Predictions on Saturday's in-game commit announcements
SAN ANTONIO – The annual All-American Bowl Underclassmen Combine has been a springboard for several top prospects over the years. The 2019 version took place in the Alamodome and featured more than 600 prospects from across the United States and Canada. Several caught our attention and are now on the radar going into the off-season.
There were few linebackers who looked the part more than Brown, which is impressive considering he just finished his sophomore year of high school. Besides possessing a great football frame, though, Brown proved to be an outstanding athlete for the linebacker position. He was effective in coverage and collected several pass break ups and even an interception in one-on-ones.
It’s easy to understand why Florida took Fraziars’ early commitment last month. He jumps off the field physically with great height and a solid build for the wide receiver position. As Fraziars progresses with his game we will want to see him do a better job of creating separation, but what he showed on Friday was that he has the body control, hands and strength to make catches even with defenders on him.
Harris is one of those local prospects who made early commitments to Miami before the start of their sophomore seasons, and if he sticks he will be a major addition for Manny Diaz and the Hurricanes. Right now Harris looks like a linebacker, but he plays in a style similar to 2019 defensive end Khris Bogle, with a lot of edge speed and surprising strength at the point of attack.
There were several offensive linemen who participated in Friday’s combine and caught our eye, but Jackson may have been the overall most impressive. That is saying something considering the Houston native is just a class of 2021 prospect. Jackson has great size and long arms that should play well at left tackle. He also has great feet and a strong base that won him a lot of reps.
One of the most impressive looking prospects from a physical standpoint, Johnson had a lot of success in Friday’s one-on-ones. Defensive backs struggled to handle his size, but Johnson was also able to separate from several with his speed. As he grows and develops in his game Johnson can get cleaner in and out of his breaks, but all the physical tools are there to be a great college tight end.
It seems that we have been covering Morris forever, but he only just finished his junior season of high school football. Morris was able to move from tackle to guard effortlessly, but no matter where he lined up defensive linemen could not get around him. The Rivals100 prospect out of Memphis is well ahead of his years from both a technique and strength standpoint.
Oxendine has seven offers already, but that number is going to jump when college coaches see him in-person this off-season. The Kentucky native is built like a brick house, and carries very little bad weight. On the field he is a powerful and explosive defensive tackle who gave offensive linemen fits with an array of rush moves and the ability to get to the quarterback almost at will.
Although Pinder was on the shorter side among the elite defensive tackles who competed Friday, he played big and intimidated many of the offensive linemen he went against. The Tampa native is super powerful with violent hands. Naturally his favorite move is to go straight through offensive linemen, and he is very effective with that style, but adding a few rush moves will complete his arsenal.
Richardson is built like a collegiate tight end, and if the quarterback thing does not work out Florida may want to give him a look there. Quarterback seems to be working out just fine for Richardson, though. Because of his size the arm strength comes naturally to Richardson, but what was really impressive on Saturday is how the Florida commit was able to throw with touch and accuracy.
LSU got itself an outstanding talent when it landed Roy’s commitment early in his junior season. The four-star prospect already has college defensive tackle size, but he actually played defensive end throughout Friday’s Combine and showed surprisingly fast feet for someone his size. Long term, though, the three-technique defensive tackle spot looks to suit his game best.
Although Sewell was the biggest linebacker at the event and looks better suited to filling gaps and stuffing ball carriers at the line of scrimmage, he accounted for himself very well in coverage. Listed at 260 pounds, Sewell can explode to top speed quickly, allowing him to close on a thrown football. He even moonlighted as a running back on a couple of occasions and looked good there.
Thompson jumped off the field at us early. He is a stacked kid who doesn’t miss a day in the weight room, but he was fluid and agile in pass coverage against running backs. These one-on-ones are usually skewed towards the running backs, but those times when an offensive player was able to get separation on Thompson he showed great recovery speed. The Charlotte product had an interception and several pass break ups on the day.
While there were plenty of bigger-name quarterbacks at the event, Turner may have thrown the most consistently impressive football of any passer Friday. Although he lacks ideal height for the position, arm strength was not an issue. What made Turner stand out, though, was his ball placement. He was able to get the football to receivers where other quarterbacks would not dream of trying.
An athlete prospect, we saw Williams work out primarily at defensive back on Friday and he look natural in that role. The format of this event essentially makes every defensive back play the role of a cornerback, though at 6-foot-1 and pushing 200 pounds Williams may end up at safety. He looked plenty competent at corner, though, showing fluid change of direction and an explosive break on the football.