Army Bowl: Thursday news and notes
MORE ARMY BOWL: Prospects offer commitment predictions
SAN ANTONIO – After a day off, practices started back up at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Thursday. It was the first time practicing outdoors for both teams, and even though the action was generally light there was still plenty of news coming out of the day.
Both teams spent a majority of Thursday’s practice session working on special teams and some install of the game plan. When pads did start popping, though, and the teams ran through some 7-on-7 and full team scrimmaging a few players stood out with their play. On the East side, defensive tackle Nesta Silvera and cornerback Tyson Campbell continued their strong play this week. Linebackers do not get much attention during the week of practice, but JJ Peterson showed his range on Thursday and has put on good weight in recent months. On the West, defensive backs Kelvin Joseph and Caden Sterns both had interceptions. Sterns added a devastating hit on receiver Rodrick Fisher later in the day that jarred the football loose. Georgia signee Luke Ford also continued his strong play, making several nice catches in red zone work.
Thursday was the chippiest practice of the week for the East squad as the pads were popping, especially in the trenches. At one point Miami defensive tackle commit Nesta Silvera and Clemson offensive tackle commit Jackson Carman got into a scuffle that even saw a few punches thrown. The two made up later but it’s clear that after a week of going head-to-head, the linemen are ready to get after it full speed and makes some hits in a live setting.
The news of Mike Elko accepting the Texas A&M defensive coordinator role came after the conclusion on Thursday’s practice, but shortly before that news broke four-star linebacker DaShaun White expressed disappointment at the news from a day earlier that Dave Aranda had turned down the coordinator position at A&M and would be staying at LSU. “I just thought it was already done. Coach (Jimbo) Fisher said they already had (a coordinator), so I thought around this time (the news) would drop.”
Few have been as consistently impressive as wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in San Antonio this week, but that is what we have come to expect from the five-star. Play after play and day after day St. Brown shows why he is the highest ranked non-quarterback in the 2018 class. His recruitment will come to an end on Saturday when he announces a decision during the Army Bowl telecast between finalists Notre Dame, Stanford and USC. St. Brown revealed on Thursday that he came to a decision in his mind about which school he would choose before he arrived in San Antonio this week. He shared that choice with his family, but has not told any of coaches at his finalists yet.
The commitment announcement list for Saturday’s telecast is in flux, with four-star athlete Harold Joiner deciding not to announce his plans, while others are considering adding their names to the list and declaring their intentions during the game. Baton Rouge safety Kelvin Joseph was one who had contemplated adding his name to the announcement list, but on Thursday he clarified that he would be not be deciding this week and instead will announce on National Signing Day. Likewise, Texas A&M linebacker commit DaShaun White, who did not sign in the early period and is still considering Oklahoma and Texas, said he would not be announcing this weekend either.
One player that has been added to the announcement list is Rivals100 linebacker JJ Peterson. The Georgia native has long been considered an Alabama lean, but Jeremy Pruitt taking over the job at Tennessee suddenly has the Vols surging. It’s likely Peterson makes a pledge to the Vols before ever setting foot on campus. While that move would surprise most, it would show just how much the relationship between assistant coaches and prospects are when it comes time to making a college decision.
A couple of the West’s walking wounded were back in action for Thursday’s practice, which was good news for a backfield that was severely depleted. Oklahoma running back signee T.J. Pledger was involved in his first significant action of the week after nursing an ankle injury during the first two days of practice. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was hobbling and had ice on his knee Tuesday, looked every bit as explosive as he did on Monday and appears to be back to 100 percent. Cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart, meanwhile, was in sweats on Thursday and not participating due to an undisclosed injury.
The East team’s quarterbacks features a trio of prospects who can do damage with their feet as well as their arms. For the most part in the practice setting quarterbacks don’t do much running, but Miami signee Jarren Williams and Notre Dame signee Phil Jurkovec will likely be unleashed in Saturday’s game. The nation’s No. 1 overall player and Clemson signee Trevor Lawrence is also a better than average runner from the quarterback position and he flashed some speed to the outside on at least one run on Thursday.