All-American Bowl: Thoughts from day one

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SAN ANTONIO - The All-American Bowl practices kicked off Tuesday as the East had a more active and competitive session than the West. Here are some thoughts from the first day of workouts in the Alamodome.

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Five times in my notebook I wrote down that Antonio Alfano was doing something productive, or blowing up the interior of the offensive line, or getting in the backfield one way or another and causing problems. The five-star defensive tackle from Colonia, N.J., had an outstanding day during an East practice that was also pretty limited as installation was the focus.

The Alabama commit was unstoppable though. Listed at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, Alfano has no bad weight on him. He’s relentless, tough, has dynamic speed, is constantly active and aggressive and dominated all day long. The Crimson Tide have another good one coming on the defensive line.

Comparisons between Nebraska signee Wandale Robinson and Purdue freshman receiver Rondale Moore have been made for a long time, and after watching Robinson during the first day of practice I definitely agree with those comparisons.

Moore was at the Army All-American Bowl last year, and he didn’t make a huge impression on me. He didn’t dominate, really didn’t separate from defensive backs like smaller slot receivers should and I wasn’t sold. Then he goes to Purdue and has an incredible freshman season in which he led the team with 114 catches for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns.

I can see Robinson having the chance to be a huge contributor early, and he’s a perfect fit for Nebraska coach Scott Frost’s offense. The four-star is excellent in space, he made some tough catches during the practice and showed he is dynamic with the ball in his hands. A late flip from Kentucky, Robinson could be a huge piece to Nebraska’s offense soon.

The West team is going to have a tough time passing the ball downfield if the East defensive backs show up in the All-American Bowl like they did in the first day of practice.

Florida State commit Nick Cross, Indiana signee Tiawan Mullen and Notre Dame signee Kyle Hamilton had the best days. South Carolina signee Cameron Smith and four-star Tyrique Stevenson were also solid. Cross is bit a little blocky, but he moves so well and has great instincts. Mullen is undersized, but he’s tough as nails and aggressive. They stood out the most.

Charles Cross is currently ranked as the No. 12 offensive tackle in the 2019 class. If there are 11 players at his position better than him I’d like to see them. He was outstanding during the limited action playing left tackle and stonewalling every defensive end who attempted any move against him.

The Mississippi State signee is 6-foot-5 and only 270 pounds, but he’s strong and not intimidated by anybody, uses his hands incredibly well, keeps his feet moving, has the foot speed to stop any edge rushers and the power to slow down any inside or double move. After a strong performance at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game and a great first day here, Cross could shoot up the rankings even more.

I was hoping to see more of Quavaris Crouch at linebacker during the first day of practice, but shortly after the workout started the Tennessee signee was getting his shoulder checked by the trainer and then he had his pads off and was done for the day. The four-star - who could also star at running back - moved pretty well early on, but in a workout where not a lot of hitting was going on it was surprising to see the Charlotte (N.C.) Harding University product out so soon. It doesn’t look like a serious shoulder injury, so we will see if he’s back on the practice field Wednesday.

The only other player I saw who had his day cut a little short was Oklahoma signee Stacey Wilkins, who looked to have tweaked an ankle. The West did very little other than complete install during its practice so Wilkins should be fine as the week continues.