All-American Bowl: The Gorney awards
SAN ANTONIO - The All-American Bowl has wrapped up so it’s time for the Gorney Awards. Here is a look back at the week as we hand out some hardware:
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MORE ALL-AMERICAN BOWL: Position MVPs | Announcement Guide | Coleman makes shocking decision | Gorney's thoughts on National Combine | Top performers from the National Combine | Commit predictions | What we learned from Day 3 | Five prospects whose stock is rising | What we learned (Day 2) | Five programs that should be pleased | OL vs. DL | Daniel Martin interview | Tuesday's best | Gorney's thoughts | Trevonte Citizen interview | Josh Conerly interview | West OL vs. DL | East OL vs. DL
IN-GAME COMMITMENTS: Trevor Etienne to Florida | CJ Williams to USC | Earnest Greene to Georgia | Igbinosun Davison to Ole Miss | Rayshon Luke to Arizona | Daniel Martin to Vanderbilt | Larry Turner-Gooden to Texas | Hero Kanu to Ohio State | Cyrus Moss to Miami | Kevin Coleman to Jackson State
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LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
This award goes to the most dynamic and exciting player during the week and Alabama signee Isaiah Bond wins this one. The Buford, Ga., four-star receiver won the Fastest Man Award at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge this past summer so we knew speed would not be a problem. Bond had no trouble running by cornerbacks and even those who could keep up with him, the four-star made some acrobatic catches look easy throughout the week. The Crimson Tide are adding another game-breaker who can stretch the field.
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THE GAMER
This award goes to the player who made a huge impact in the game and this award goes to Clemson quarterback signee Cade Klubnik. If there were any questions about who’s the best QB in this class, the Austin (Texas) Westlake standout answered everything possible Saturday by throwing for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Chemistry and timing can be so challenging between quarterbacks and receivers at all-star events since they have so little time to jell but Klubnik thrived in this setting and he had a phenomenal performance in the game.
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THE MIGHTY MITE
This goes to the smallest guy who made the biggest impact and played bigger than his size and that’s USC signee Raleek Brown. Running backs don’t always have a lot to do during the week of practice at all-star events but when there were 1-on-1 sessions, Brown was one of the most-dominant players out there. He has tremendous speed and he’s so dynamic and then the five-star kicks it into another gear to run by linebackers or defensive backs. What makes him so special is that Brown has some of the best hands in the class to make plays in the passing game.
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THE ADONIS
This award goes to the best-looking prospect at the event and the award goes to LSU signee Quency Wiggins. The Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep Academy high four-star suffered a scary incident mid-week when he was hit by a car while driving an electric scooter in San Antonio. It could have been a serious situation but Wiggins appeared largely unscathed and that’s not a complete shock because he’s all of 6-foot-6 and 273 pounds and looks like he could be a superstar defensive end over the next few years. We’ve seen a lot of great-looking defensive ends over the years who turned out to be first-rounders and many of them looked just like Wiggins.
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BULL MARKET
This award goes to the player who helped his recruiting ranking the most during the week and that goes to Vanderbilt signee Trudell Berry. A late addition because so many defensive backs were sidelined because of COVID-19 protocols, the two-star from Baytown (Texas) Baytown Lee definitely looked the part of someone who should be in this game. He has tremendous length as a defensive back, trusts his instincts to make plays and came in early in the week and started competing without any hesitancy at all.
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PHYSICAL PROWESS
This award goes to the prospect who just overpowered and manhandled opponents all week and that goes to Alabama signee Elijah Pritchett. The No. 1 spot at offensive tackle in the 2022 class is still undecided but Pritchett will be in the discussion. The Columbus (Ga.) Carver high four-star is all of 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds and even moved inside to play guard during the week because there was a dearth of offensive tackles on his team. Pritchett didn’t miss a beat, tossing defensive linemen around and showing he’s physical and athletic at the position.
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BEAST MODE
This award goes to the most dominant player along the lines of scrimmage and this one goes to Penn State signee Dani Dennis-Sutton. No offensive tackle had an answer for the Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh standout who could use speed or power to consistently win reps. He had an incredible bull rush that stunned linemen with his intensity and motor or he could use speed to the edge to get into the backfield. Almost all week, Dennis-Sutton was unstoppable.
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BEAST MODE II
This award also goes to one of the most dominant players along the lines of scrimmage and Georgia signee Mykel Williams deserves this award, too. There was some discussion about whether Williams would prove he’s a five-star prospect and that question has been answered. He dominated 1-on-1s throughout the week, showed off his length and surprising power inside and looked the part as one of the next big-time defensive linemen to come out of Athens.
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SPEEDING TICKET
This award goes to the fastest or most dynamic player on the field and Arkansas signee Isaiah Sategna wins this one. Already a track star, it would have been interesting to see the four-star receiver from Fayetteville, Ark., race some other speedsters at this event because he could have won. Sategna flies down the field, burns cornerbacks on the deep ball and then has the playmaking ability to never drop a pass. He could be a downfield weapon for the Razorbacks early on.
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STICK ‘EM
This award is for a receiver with the best hands during the week and that was Jackson State commit Kevin Coleman, who pulled a stunner by picking to play for Deion Sanders’ program. The St. Louis (Mo.) St. Mary’s standout got bumped from five-stars to four recently but Coleman proved in San Antonio that he could be one of the top receivers in the country. He is fast in his routes, creates separation and then catches everything thrown his way. He was consistent, could not be defended and had a great showing at the All-American Bowl.
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ROCKET ARM
This award goes to the quarterback with the best arm who showed the ability to make all the passes with zip on the football and that’s Penn State signee Drew Allar. The Medina, Ohio standout is already ranked as the sixth-best quarterback in the class and No. 71 overall but Allar could make an argument to move even higher. He has an effortless arm, the ball gets delivered wherever it needs to be and from a physical standpoint he could be the best-looking quarterback in the class. Allar struggled a little in the game but all week was solid.
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MR. CONSISTENCY
This award goes to the player who was simply good all week long and could be relied upon to bring it each and every day. USC commit CJ Williams wins this one. In the game, the four-star receiver from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei caught an impressive touchdown pass early on. All week in practice, Williams looked great, showed impressive speed and playmaking ability and it’s what he’s done for years at the high school level.
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THE COVER-UP
This award goes to the defensive back who did the best job locking up wide receivers all week and that was Georgia signee Julian Humphrey. He got beaten by CJ Williams for a touchdown in the first quarter of the game but Humphrey was outstanding all week - and arguably the best corner at either major national all-star event this offseason. Humphrey has phenomenal speed and closing ability and has a knack for finding the ball when it’s coming his way.
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LUNCH PAIL
This is for the prospect that does all of the dirty work that doesn't get into the box score or noticed by many and that was Notre Dame signee Billy Schrauth. The Fond du Lac (Wisc.) St. Mary’s Springs standout did not talk much during the recruiting process and didn’t attend many camps - he just went out and worked, got bigger and stronger and came to San Antonio to show he was arguably the best interior offensive lineman in the country. There wasn’t a lot of hype, just substance, when it came to Schrauth.