SAN ANTONIO – With Army All-American Bowl practice No. 2 in the books, some prospects stepped up their game, some bounced back from poor performances and some looked out of place. Here is a look at who did well and not so well on day two from the East team.
STOCK UP
1. DT Dexter Lawrence, Wake Forest, N.C.
Recruiting wrap: Dexter Lawrence is committed to Clemson.
Performance: Lawrence dominated the East offensive line for the second day in a row. His strength and quickness are just too much for anybody to handle. Lawrence lived in the backfield, disrupting running plays and passing plays. The West offensive line should watch his film from the first two practices to prepare.
2. LB Shaquille Quarterman, Orange Park (Fla.) Oakleaf
Recruiting wrap: Quarterman is committed to Miami.
Performance: The most active player on the East defense on day two was Quarterman. He isn’t the biggest linebacker but he is by no means small and is very fast. Quarterman was quick to diagnose plays and flowed to the ball very well. Don’t be surprised if he ends up with the most tackles in the game on Saturday.
3. LB Carter Coughlin, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Recruiting Wrap: Coughlin is a solid commit to Minnesota.
Performance: The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Coughlin has a great frame for the linebacker position, but what stood out on Tuesday was the Minnesota commit’s speed. On back-to-back reps in one-on-ones, Coughlin ran stride-for-stride downfield with wide receivers, including five-star Demetris Robertson. He picked off one of the deep passes, and showed great sideline-to-sideline speed in full team drills.
4. DT Derrick Brown, Sugar Hill (Ga.) Lanier
Recruiting wrap: Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia are Brown’s top contenders. He is taking official visits to all three of those schools later this month.
Performance: Brown, like Lawrence, set up camp in the offense’s backfield. He is way too quick at the snap for the interior offensive lineman. During team drills, Brown was a major factor and the offense had no answer for him, especially when Lawrence was also in on the play.
5. ATH Mecole Hardman Jr., Bowman (Ga.) Elbert County
Recruiting Wrap: Hardman named Alabama his leader this week. He may take an official visit there on Jan. 15 and has another planned to TCU on Jan. 22.
Performance: Hardman worked at defensive back during the first day of East team practices, but transitioned to wide receiver Tuesday and was immediately the most explosive player in the receiver corps. The five-star is most effective on quick passes where he can rack up yards after catch, but he also made a great catch along the sideline on a go route with defensive backs in close trail position.
6. QB Jacob Eason, Lake Stevens, Wash.
Recruiting Wrap: Eason recently re-affirmed his commitment to Georgia.
Performance: Eason has been the top quarterback performer on the East team through two days, which is to be expected from the No. 6 player in the class. He has made great strides in developing a consistent and more compact throwing motion, which results in greater accuracy. Of course, the Georgia commit has always had easy power in his arm and can make all the throws.
7. DE Janarius Robinson, Panama City (Fla.) Bay
Recruiting wrap: Robinson is committed to Florida State.
Performance: Robinson was a much bigger factor on day two than day one. He overpowered offensive tackles and made a lot of tackles in the backfield. The offense would try to run outside of Robinson but he would set the edge and turn the runner back inside. There is a lot to like about Robinson’s skillset and he could have a great performance on Saturday.
8. TE Isaac Nauta, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
Recruiting Wrap: Nauta is set to announce on Saturday among Alabama, Georgia and Michigan.
Performance: It was an inauspicious start for Nauta when he dropped his first pass of the day, but the five-star was excellent from that point forward. He made a great grab on a highly thrown ball immediately after his drop, then made an excellent one-handed grab during one-on-ones. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end does a great job utilizing his quickness to create separation from defenders and runs crisp routes.
9. RB Tavien Feaster, Spartanburg, S.C.
Recruiting Wrap: Feaster has been a commitment to Clemson since his junior year.
Performance: After going down with an injury early on Day 1 of East practices, Feaster bounced back with a strong performance on Day 2. All practices thus far have been non-contact, but Feaster broke off several long runs early in practice where no defender even got a hand on him. We were finally able to see the 5-foot-11, 192-pounder’s speed Tuesday, and it was as advertised.
10. DE Brian Burns, Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage
Recruiting wrap: Florida, Florida State and Georgia are Burns’ finalists. He will take official visits to all three in January.
Performance: Burns’ speed continued to be a problem for the East offensive line. There were a few times when he got pushed off the line but he was able to get a lot of penetration and was a factor on nearly all the passing plays. Burns surprised a few offensive linemen with how strong he was at the point of attack.
STOCK DOWN
1. OL John Simpson, North Charleston (S.C.) Fort Dorchester
Recruiting wrap: Simpson has official visits to Florida, Clemson and Alabama set for January.
Performance: Simpson hasn’t played a lot of center in his career and it is doubtful, based on his performances on day one and two, that he will do so in college. He has been having a very hard time snapping the ball. Simpson was rolling the ball back to the quarterback on shotgun snaps. He is normally a very good offensive lineman but focusing on snapping has thrown off his game.
2. OL Matt Farniok, Sioux Falls (S.D.) Washington
Recruiting Wrap: Farniok has official visits to Iowa and Michigan State scheduled in January. He took one to Nebraska in December.
Performance: The defensive line lived in the offensive backfield for most of Tuesday’s practice, and Farniok’s right guard spot was where a lot of that pressure was getting through. The East defensive tackles have been dominant this week, and the 6-foot-5, 319-pound Farniok has not been able to match their performance. His foot speed, technique and strength is a notch below the others in attendance.
3. WR DeKaylin Metcalf, Oxford, Miss.
Recruiting Wrap: Metcalf has been committed to his hometown Ole Miss Rebels for several years.
Performance: The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Metcalf is the most physically impressive wide receiver on the East team, but a case of the drops hit him on Day 2 of Army Bowl East practices. The cold weather may have been affecting the Mississippi native because he did not make much of an effort at several passes thrown his direction and lacks speed coming out of his stance.
4. OL Clark Yarbrough, Woodberry Forest (Va.) Woodberry Forest School
Recruiting wrap: Yarbrough is committed to Stanford.
Performance: Yarbrough is one of the more athletic offensive linemen on the East team but his lack of strength was exposed on Tuesday. Defensive ends were able to push him around and take advantage of him routinely during team drills. Yarbrough’s potential is sky high but he definitely needs to develop more from a physical standpoint before he can be completely effective.
5. DB Jordan Fuller, Old Tappan, N.J.
Recruiting Wrap: Jordan Fuller is taking official visits to Ohio State, Michigan and possibly Penn State in January. An official visit to Notre Dame was taken in December.
Performance: The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Fuller is listed as a safety, but is lining up primarily at cornerback for the East team. The transition to cornerback has not been smooth, and Fuller is doing a lot of holding onto receivers that will get called in the game. The four-star prospect has the speed and athleticism to run with wide receivers, but is lacking in the finer points of the position.