Army Bowl: The Gorney Awards

SAN ANTONIO - The U.S. Army All-American Bowl wrapped up a week's worth of events with the game on Saturday as the West defeated the East, 17-16, inside the Alamodome. After following practices all week leading up to the game, here are the Gorney Awards.

MORE ARMY BOWL: Winners and losers | Ranking the QBs | MVP

This award goes to the most dynamic and exciting player during the week, the guy who gets everyone's attention when he has the ball. It goes to four-star receiver Jaylen Waddle, who dominated all week in practice and then had three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in the Army Bowl. Waddle has phenomenal hands, gets open against everybody and is one of the best downfield threats in this class. Waddle is going to make some program happy as he’s the only prospect in the Texas top nine that remains uncommitted.

Honorable mention: If Waddle wasn’t so good, Clemson signee Derion Kendrick and Miami signee Mark Pope could have easily won this award. Pope has excellent hands and can make anything happen. He was the most sudden receiver all week. Kendrick is a catching machine who could put up huge numbers with the Tigers if the ball comes his way. He’s a big-time playmaker.

This goes to the player who raised his stock the most during the week and that goes to Michigan signee Aidan Hutchinson, who sits outside the Rivals250. The four-star prospect was incredibly effective all week in practice, showed a physical and athletic side and then had an impressive performance in the Army Bowl with four tackles (2.5 for loss) and two sacks. Hutchinson was tough, persistent and aggressive all week and really made a statement in San Antonio.

Honorable mention: There are plenty of names who could make this list but Notre Dame signee Jayson Ademilola stands out most. Over numerous practices, the four-star showed great closing ability and aggressiveness along the defensive line. Four-star Miami pledge Nesta Silvera had his standout moments as did Ohio State signee Tommy Togiai, who showed an excellent mix of speed and physical domination up the middle. Four-star CB Tyson Campbell from Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage will be in the five-star talk as well.

This award is not one that you want; it's for the player whose stock dropped the most and this goes to five-star Texas signee Anthony Cook. Rated as the top player in Texas, the Houston Lamar standout struggled defending the nation’s best receivers in one-on-one situations and there is concern about his turn-and-run ability. Cook warmed up as the week went on but he was roasted a bunch of times and so there will be heated debate as to which player is the state’s best now.

Honorable mention: To the Army Bowl’s credit, there were not a bunch of players who looked completely out of place and so that made practices all week highly competitive and interesting. If some players did struggle at times, Notre Dame signee Derrik Allen, four-star OL Tyrone Sampson from Detroit (Mich.) East English Village, four-star Texas A&M signee Luke Matthews and three-star Tyler Manoa from Mountain View (Calif.) St. Francis could be some names.

This award is given to the best-looking prospect on the hoof, the guy who looks like he could play in college or even the NFL right now and this award goes to Patrick Surtain. The top-rated cornerback is all of 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he’s physical and tough, and there’s no question he looks like an SEC-level or NFL-ready cornerback already. Surtain plays like one, too. Rarely, do quarterbacks test his side of the field and when they do he can turn and run with receivers and he competes for 50/50 balls. He just looks like every high-end NFL corner right now.

Honorable mention: Oklahoma offensive line signee Brey Walker is a mountain of a man who could easily pass for an NFL veteran. Georgia signee Jamaree Salyer is massive, tough and dominates on the interior offensive line. Adam Anderson, a five-star defensive end and Georgia signee, is phenomenally put together and is the perfect hybrid specimen. Four-star DB Tyson Campbell and four-star Tennessee linebacker commit JJ Peterson among others fit this bill.

This award goes to the player with the best feet, whether it's an offensive lineman or a cornerback, big man or mighty mite, and it goes to four-star running back and NC State signee Ricky Person. During the game, Person hit the hole, danced for a split second and then exploded for a big gain as he finished with four carries for a game-high 39 yards. He’s got quick feet whether heading outside or in the hole.

Honorable mention: There were definitely some other running backs with quick feet led by Miami signee Lorenzo Lingard, who was fantastic early in the week of practice but limited in the game. You want to talk about fast feet and someone who hits the hole, look at Lingard. Georgia signee James Cook also belongs in this category because he is dynamic either running out of the backfield or catching passes, and then he has the make-you-miss ability.

This one goes to the biggest hitter, which is essentially the guy who laid the lumber in the game or by accident in practice, because there was not much tackling to the ground during the week. This might be the easiest award to give out because five-star Ohio State signee Tyreke Johnson was a maniac especially during practice. He took out fellow Buckeyes signee Jeremy Ruckert in a big way. Johnson and Lingard had a big collision. No one was safe coming across the middle because Johnson was head hunting.

Honorable mention: The first name that needs to be mentioned is five-star Penn State signee Micah Parsons, who apparently didn’t get the memo not to completely obliterate quarterbacks during practice. Try that on Trace McSorley and Parsons will get sent to the showers. During a drill on Day 2, Parsons came off the edge and laid out Notre Dame QB signee Phil Jurkovec. It was a clean play - but also totally unnecessary. Five-star Clemson signee Xavier Thomas is always a danger off the edge as well. He’s coming for your head every down and that motor makes him so special.

This is for the prospect that does all of the dirty work that doesn't get into the box score or noticed by many. Everybody was watching and critiquing five-star Clemson signee Jackson Carman all week because there continues to be questions whether he’s an offensive tackle or guard long term. Either way, it doesn’t seem to matter. Carman is a physical specimen who loves to play with physical toughness and he has shown the athleticism to stay at tackle. He brought it all week, showed grit and determination, and really excelled along the offensive line.

Honorable mention: Two other offensive linemen that deserve to be mentioned are four-star Texas signee Junior Angilau, who could be a force on the offensive or defensive lines, and four-star USC signee Justin Dedich. Angilau is a non-stop workhorse who loves to mix it up and compete every play. Dedich is undersized but shockingly powerful at center and does not back down to anybody. If you don’t watch closely you might miss them and it’s a shame because they’re fun to watch. Michigan linebacker signee Cameron McGrone also had a strong week that shouldn’t be overlooked.

This award sounds like it's for a defender who hits, but it's really for a receiver with the best hands during the week and this is a tough award to hand out because so many receivers excelled. But I’m going with four-star UCLA signee Chase Cota. There were times during practice where he was unstoppable, even with cornerbacks draped all over him and he never, ever dropped any passes.

Honorable mention: This is going to be a long list. Five-star USC commit Amon-Ra St. Brown was fantastic and never dropped a thing (read below for more on him). Waddle was great, Kendrick and Pope were great and so was four-star Texas signee Brennan Eagles especially in the deep game. All the tight ends were solid but in this category four-star Notre Dame signee George Takacs showed off great hands all week.

This is essentially for the best quarterback who performs when the lights come on and there is actually a live pass-rush coming at him and one has to go with five-star USC commit JT Daniels. Other than the misguided throw to St. Brown that got picked off, Daniels was excellent in the Army Bowl and especially showed off his skills on a deep ball to Waddle down the sidelines. For someone who just reclassified from the 2019 class, Daniels was incredibly sharp all week in practice and didn’t bat an eye when the Alamodome lights came on. He finished with a game-high 113 passing yards and a touchdown and a team-high 21 rushing yards.

Honorable mention: The concern with Matt Corral is his on-field decision-making (as he tries to force bad passes sometimes) but that was not the case in the Army Bowl. The four-star Ole Miss signee picked his spots and used his arm strength to fire accurate passes. Other than two early interceptions, five-star Clemson signee Trevor Lawrence was really good and showed why he’s the nation’s top-rated player. He had 83 passing yards and a touchdown.

This award goes to the quarterback with the best arm who showed the ability to make all the passes with zip on the football. No quarterback at Army had an insanely strong arm - as accuracy was more the story of the week - but Matt Corral wins this award. The Long Beach (Calif.) Poly four-star quarterback can zip the ball all over the field, it comes out so clean and smooth, and he’s maybe even better throwing on the run.

Honorable mention: All the quarterbacks in San Antonio had strong arms so this is a difficult category but we’ll go with four-star Miami signee Jarren Williams. On Day 1, his ball was sailing a little bit even though the receivers came down with a lot of his passes. Once he settled in, Williams was better but still showed off a really strong arm that could deliver the ball all over the field.

This award goes to the quarterback who was the most accurate throughout the whole week. And this is a close race but the edge goes to Trevor Lawrence. He was outstanding on deep throws especially in the first two practice sessions where he put it right on the money time and time again. He has a strong arm, he can throw on the run and his deep ball is the best in the class.

Honorable mention: A close second goes to JT Daniels. Just like Lawrence, Daniels has such a nice deep ball where receivers can run right under it that it’s impressive to watch time and time again. Four-star Tanner McKee had some nice deep passes throughout the week as well and so he should be mentioned in this category.

This goes to the player who showed the most fire and temper during the week and four-star UCLA commit Chris Murray gets the nod here. The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei got into numerous tussles during practice and really established himself as an interior offensive linemen not to mess with. He got into a back-and-forth with Aidan Hutchinson and some others.

Honorable mention: Tyler Manoa found himself involved in a few scraps, Hutchinson definitely ruffled a few feathers and Parsons belongs in this category because of that vicious hit on Jurkovec. Tyreke Johnson was looking to knock out teeth with every hit, too, so the Ohio State signee makes the honorable mention list.

This is for the player who provided the best coverage on defense during the week and five-star Oklahoma commit Brendan Radley-Hiles wins out here. In the game, he helped cause an interception and had a few other pass deflections, something he has done for his entire career and why he’s considered one of the best in the class. Radley-Hiles can be as physical as any corner in the class, he has tremendous athleticism and his timing is superb.

Honorable mention: Surtain and Campbell were solid all week, if not spectacular only because not many quarterbacks tested them. Four-star Alabama signee Josh Jobe had his moments and four-star Texas signee Jalen Green will be in the discussion as the top corner in the state of Texas. At safety, Jaiden Woodbey, Caden Sterns and Kelvin Joseph definitely had strong performances.

This goes to the smallest guy who made the biggest impact and played bigger than his size and that’s Jaylen Waddle, who’s looking for a move up in the Texas rankings. He was in one word - unstoppable. All week, Waddle could get open against anybody at any time and nobody could come near slowing him down. The four-star has excellent speed, he’s a fantastic route runner and just a down-the-field playmaker who has special ability.

Honorable mention: There were a few undersized receivers that stood out and even though Waddle was the best, Mark Pope was not far behind. He is so sudden and explosive, and has excellent hands as well. He’s a big-time playmaker who has special abilities. Four-star Clemson signee Derion Kendrick is not as small as Waddle or Pope but he’s hardly a large receiver and he had a strong week as well.

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. There’s no question it was five-star USC wide receiver commit Amon-Ra St. Brown. There was so much discussion all week about just how dominant St. Brown was during the practice sessions and he continued it into the game with four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. He would also be the winner of the Game Changer award but we might as well give it to him here. St. Brown could be the best receiver in California in at least a decade.

Honorable mention: Five-star Clemson signees Trevor Lawrence and Xavier Thomas are two of many names who could be on this list. Other than a bad start, Lawrence was consistently fantastic all week. Thomas is an absolute non-stop beast who could be really special with the Tigers.

This award goes to the player entering the game that was in prime position to earn that extra star, whether it was a fifth or fourth star, but didn't meet those expectations. This is always a close call but while Ohio State running back signee Jaelen Gill had his moments during the week he didn’t completely dominate at any point. Rated No. 28 overall, Gill was right on the cusp of a five-star ranking but there will be a debate as to whether he deserves one after Army week.

HONORABLE MENTION: Four-star offensive lineman Penei Sewell from St. George (Utah) Desert Hills could have been in the running but he didn’t participate all week. Top-end athlete Talanoa Hufanga, who could play safety or linebacker at USC, was also one to watch especially since he hasn’t been to many national events but he didn’t reach five-star status during the Army week.