All-American Bowl: Storylines to watch
The All-American Bowl is this week in San Antonio. There are plenty of interesting storylines heading into the week. Here are five.
MORE: Players who could earn a fifth star | Teams that will be watching
What will Haselwood do?
Oklahoma seems to be surging for Haselwood and that would be a major coup for the Sooners because with his addition, the Sooners could have the best wide receiver class in the history of Rivals.com dating back to 2002. Haselwood, Wease and fellow five-star Trejan Bridges could mean Oklahoma not only stays in the College Football Playoff hunt for many years, but also keeps Texas at bay in the Big 12.
But Miami should not be counted out for Haselwood and Georgia is there as well, although the Bulldogs might be a stretch at this point especially after a message exchange between Haselwood and Cam Newton was seen on the Internet where the five-star said he “has to leave,” a message believed by many to say he was getting out of the state.
Haselwood will have the opportunity to make an argument for being the No. 1 receiver this week in San Antonio - and a chance to finalize his exciting recruitment as well.
Can a week in Texas sway McCoy?
Five-star athlete Bru McCoy is basically down to USC and Texas and he’s planning to make his announcement during the game. The Longhorns have absolutely fought the good fight, impressing McCoy during his visit to Austin, making him a huge priority in this recruiting class and sending coaches out to California at every possible turn to get him to play at Texas.
It could definitely still happen, but USC has to like its chances as well. Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei has been a pipeline into the Trojans’ program for years. McCoy’s former high school quarterback, JT Daniels, is the starter there now. His current QB, 2020 star Bryce Young, is committed to the Trojans. And the family had some excellent visits with new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
McCoy will spend the week in Texas thinking about his pending commitment. The Longhorns and the Trojans will be waiting to hear what the top-rated player in California has to say.
Will Steele head to the SEC?
Five-star cornerback Chris Steele committed to UCLA early in his recruitment. Then he backed off that pledge and went with USC. But that also did not work and now the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout enter All-American Bowl week open but ready to make his announcement at the game.
Florida looks like it holds an edge for Steele, who has talked extensively about being tested in the SEC, how former Gator cornerback Quincy Wilson is one of his favorite players and through social media it was clear he was closely watching the Gators’ Peach Bowl win over Michigan. Oregon is also right there and he has an outstanding relationship with assistant coach Donte Williams. The Ducks have been high on his list for years.
This looks like a Florida-Oregon battle heading into Saturday. South Carolina is hanging around, but that’s probably it as Steele gets ready to commit again.
What’s the story with Turner?
Asa Turner has been committed to Washington since July but he wants some more time to sign and that’s why he’s going to take it to National Signing Day in February after releasing a message that he wasn’t ready to end things in the early signing period.
That’s because Notre Dame is making a serious push for the four-star athlete from Carlsbad, Calif., and Turner wanted to give one more serious look at both the Huskies and the Irish before finalizing things. That means a few more weeks of thinking for Turner - and a lot of questions about where he stands with both programs.
