All-American Bowl: Thoughts from day two in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO - The East and West teams practiced separately in the morning and then came together to compete in one-on-ones and 7-on-7 during the afternoon session here at the All-American Bowl. Here are some thoughts from Wednesday’s workouts.
MORE ALL-AMERICAN BOWL: Stock report from day one day | Day two stock report | Players who could earn a fifth star | Storylines | Recruits on board with Early Signing Period
HINTON MAKING A STATEMENT
Christopher Hinton dominated during one-on-ones in the afternoon session and he was unstoppable against any offensive lineman that wanted to test him. No one had a chance.
The Michigan signee from Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian is up to 280 pounds, moved inside to play defensive tackle and simply was either more powerful or more athletic, winning almost every rep and making it clear he should be back in the five-star discussion.
Hinton is still at No. 43 in the 2019 class, so he didn’t plummet in the rankings, but his first two days at the All-American Bowl has proven he has special ability and a great frame. He’s been a complete nightmare for offensive linemen and not one of them has stopped him yet.
D-LINE IS LOADED
Wednesday’s afternoon session made it clear that there are a lot of special defensive linemen in the 2019 recruiting class and all of them are different in one way or another. Hinton and Alabama signee Antonio Alfano, who had another awesome performance, have been the best two so far.
But LSU signee Siaki Ika is a massive bull-rusher who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds and might even be bigger. Clogging up the middle and commanding two blockers will be his game in Baton Rouge and he looked good on Wednesday. Washington signee Faatui Tuitele showed a nice mix of speed and power to win some reps.
Texas A&M signee DeMarvin Leal looks like a million bucks, and I love him coming off the edge. He has superstar potential at Texas A&M and he has the physical makeup to be something really special.
I thought Nebraska signee Ty Robinson and USC signee Drake Jackson were also really impressive throughout the day, and then Ohio State signee Zach Harrison and Alabama commit Byron Young had their moments as well. Overall, the entire defensive line group on both teams is really strong.
RECEIVERS ARE EMERGING
I saw three receivers in particular who stood out a lot more on day two than day one, and they were Clemson signee Joe Ngata, Ohio State signee Garrett Wilson and USC commit Puka Nacua, who all made big plays or really impressive catches, and all of them definitely backed up their rankings.
Ngata got open deep numerous times and made some tough catches. He looks just like Tee Higgins or Justyn Ross (although he might not have the top-end speed of Ross), and the five-star should fit in perfectly in Clemson’s offensive attack.
Wilson was productive, especially earlier in the day as he and South Carolina signee Ryan Hilinski hooked up a few times. Rated as the sixth-best receiver in the class, Wilson showed off excellent hands and a great burst to separate from defensive backs. He was also physical as defensive backs tried to hang on him.
Nacua doesn’t blow anyone away from a physical presence, but he’s incredibly athletic and he has terrific hands as well, so he’s a threat all over the field.
SMITH IS SO VERSATILE
Five-star Kayvon Thibodeaux moved to No. 2 at weakside defensive end in the last rankings release, but his outstanding performance at the Under Armour Game this week could vault him back to tops at the position.
It won’t be easy, though, because five-star Nolan Smith is so versatile, so aggressive and came here to compete and prove he’s one of the best players in the country.
The Georgia signee looked excellent at linebacker, he was great navigating through traffic to make plays, he is super fast tracking players sideline to sideline and he loves to hit. Then Smith went to compete in the lineman one-on-ones and even though he was undersized against some massive offensive linemen he used his speed to get to the edge and win some reps.
Every time I’ve seen Smith over the last two seasons he’s a ball of excited energy, clearly loves to play the game and goes out on the field every snap to make something happen. Georgia is getting a great one.
A LOOK AT QUARTERBACKS
From a pure consistency standpoint and who made the nicest throws all day, South Carolina signee Ryan Hilinski definitely stood out to me. He delivered it where only his receivers could catch it time and time again and he also looked effortless making some tough throws throughout the practice.
Close behind him were Oklahoma signee Spencer Rattler, who has definitely added some good weight in recent months, and Wisconsin signee Graham Mertz, who has been consistent throughout the first two practice days. North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Arizona’s Grant Gunnell made some nice throws as well. Alabama signee Taulia Tagovailoa did not work out on Wednesday, and we’ll see if he’s coming back at any point this week.