SAN ANTONIO – With live football against a field full of Division I players, there are no better evaluation opportunities than winter national all-star games. After a week of practice and the game, here are the players whose games stood up - and those whose games were exposed - in this year’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

MORE FROM THE ARMY BOWL: Ranking QBs | Winners and losers | Gorney Awards

From the very first day of practice until the final quarter of Saturday’s game, Waddle was one of the brightest stars of the 2018 Army Bowl. His lack of size is more than compensated for by speed that was eye-popping even among the elite talent in San Antonio last week. Waddle is such a threat with the football in his hands that the West coaches used him at running back when their numbers in the backfield started getting low.

There have been few players in recent memory whose progression during their high school career is as dramatic as Hutchinson’s has been. Going from an undersized sophomore to a physical force who dominated the Army Bowl, Hutchinson has shown marked improvement every step of the way. Key to his success in San Antonio was a motor that was always running 100 percent and the ability to consistently get off blocks, which few others were able to do.

Silvera was the most active interior defensive linemen all week. He did a great job shedding blockers and getting penetration. The Miami commit was a constant presence in the backfield and he consistently made quarterbacks move off their spot. Silvera has a lot of room to fill out his frame with good weight and his quickness should be an asset for the Miami defensive line.

Primarily a running back in high school, McMichael hasn’t really had a chance to show off his skills at defensive back until this week at the Army Bowl, and he didn’t disappoint. The Clemson signee has great footwork and is extremely explosive off of his plant foot, which made it very hard for wide receivers to create separation. McMichael should thrive at Clemson as he gains more experience against elite receivers.

The physical tools have always been there for Perkins, but honestly we have been waiting for him to be a little more dynamic. That little bit of extra came through this week in San Antonio, where he registered a sack and four tackles in the game. Perkins proved he could be disruptive from either the five-technique defensive end role or the three-technique defensive tackle role, and that versatility will be extremely valuable for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Campbell possesses excellent physical tools and could be a cornerback or a safety at the next level. The Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and Miami target has good footwork and can run with pretty much any receiver, but doing everything he does while standing at about 6-foot-3 is what makes him a special prospect. Campbell was good throughout the week of practice and showed off his physicality in the game.

Already ranked among the top 60 players in the class, there is not too much more room for Sterns to move higher in the rankings, but the future Texas Longhorn was already headed for this stock up list before he registered two interceptions in the game. Throughout the week of practices Sterns displayed great range from his safety position and also proved he can man up wide receivers. Saturday’s pair of interceptions were just the icing on the cake.

Belk isn’t the biggest defensive lineman but he does a good job of using his strength and leverage to his advantage. The Clemson signee was able to beat much bigger offensive linemen and make plays in the backfield on multiple occasions throughout the week of practice and he was very disruptive in the game. Belk is at his best when he continues to use his hands to shed blockers.

From a physical standpoint Togiai is not someone who’s immediately going to catch your attention in a setting like the Army Bowl. But the Ohio State signee does catch your attention with his play. The biggest weapon in Togiai’s arsenal is an explosive first step, and from there he knows how to use his hands and exploit leverage on offensive linemen. His stat line of three tackles and a forced fumble only begins to tell the story of his impact on Saturday’s game.

Ademilola has come a long way and has steadily risen up the rankings. The Notre Dame signee was very active throughout the week and continued to show improved and more effective hand techniques. The way Ademilola chased down ball carriers and made plays from the back side is something that the Notre Dame staff will find very useful.

There were three Texas Longhorn defensive backs on the West roster, and Cook’s performance was clearly third-best, despite coming into the week as the highest-rated of the group. Physically, Cook looks like a five-star, but the speed and talent of the wide receivers at the Army Bowl exposed weaknesses in his game. He lacks the foot speed to run with receivers down the field, which caused him to hold throughout routes, and his field awareness was also absent.

The interior of the West offensive line had a fairly uninspiring week of practice, and Matthews’ performance was particularly off. The rest of the front five picked it up for game time, but Matthews’ struggles continued on Saturday. The Texas A&M signee just could not handle the speed of defensive tackles he went against throughout the week and he also lacked the strength to keep them locked up when he did get his hands on them.

There were flashes of the Michael Thompson that was so good this past off-season, but far too few to compensate for a week of practice and game where he mostly just held up offensive linemen. Thompson does have a nice blend of size and athleticism, but there were significantly more plays he took off than ones when he went 100 percent. He just did not have the stamina to make a tangible impact this week, and he may need to shed some bad weight.

Hill had his ups and downs during the week, and the same was true of his performance during the game. When the Georgia signee lost, it was because he couldn’t move laterally quick enough to stay in front of the defender. The strength and conditioning staff at Georgia will make sure Hill loses the weight and gets quicker once he gets on campus.

Alabama is getting a very solid player in Jobe. He is a Miami native, but finished his high school career in Connecticut. With that in mind, it didn’t look like Jobe was too familiar with how fast some of the wide receivers were going to be when he showed up in San Antonio. He got beat his fair share in practice and in the game, but he also won his fair share and even came up with a couple interceptions in practice.