National Notes: Army AA announcements begin

The road to the Alamodome begins today with the first stop of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Tour.

Three players - five-star defensive end Ronald Powell, five-star running back Lache Seastrunk and four-star receiver Shakim Phillips - will be officially announced as U.S. Army All-Americans today. They are the first members of the West and East squads that will battle in the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The three announcements also represent an amazing start to the 90-stop tour. Seastrunk is ranked as the nation's No. 3 player, Powell is No. 4 and Phillips checks in at No. 37. More major prospects will receive their jerseys this week, including three more players who rank in Rivals.com's top 10 nationally.

"The Army Bowl has such a great tradition, and I'm real honored to be recognized among the same great players like Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush," Powell said. "I'm extremely excited to get formally invited and put on that jersey."

Going into its 10th year, this year's edition of the Army Bowl looks to be the deepest and most talented roster ever to don the Black and Gold and White and Black. That's saying a lot because the game has featured some amazing talent including stars like Peterson, Bush, Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor, Ted Ginn Jr., Andre Smith, Brady Quinn, DeSean Jackson, Noel Devine and countless others.

Rivals.com is the official selection partner for the Army Bowl. Coverage of player announcements will continue all the way until players arrive in San Antonio for practices.

BIG GAME FOR GREYHOUNDS

It was billed as the game of the year in the Jayhawk Conference, as No. 6 Fort Scott C.C. hosted No. 4 Hutchinson C.C. on Saturday afternoon. It was also billed as a marquee opportunity to see more than 20 Division I prospects in one spot. In the end, Fort Scott three-star quarterback Dominique Davis stole the show with 274 yards passing, helping the Greyhounds blister the Blue Dragons 31-0.

Davis, who transferred from Boston College after starting last season as a redshirt freshman, had a game to remember. He was 15-of-20 passing and connected with a receiver for a 99-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

His numbers this season have made the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder one of the hottest targets in the junior college ranks. Fort Scott coach Jeff Sims said schools are already showing more and more interest in Davis, and he should be able to pick his schools by the end of the season.

"This is hard for me to say this because I've coached some great quarterbacks, but Dominique is the best quarterback I have ever worked with," Sims said. "He's so polished of a passer, and he's also a weapon with the ball in his hands."

His four-star teammate, linebacker Lavonte David, also had a monster game with 10 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a tackle for loss. David has early offers from FIU, Kansas, Kansas State, North Texas, Tulsa and is also getting looks from other Big 12, SEC and ACC programs.

ANY DAY NOW FOR JONES

Four-star athlete Malcolm Jones took an official visit to Stanford last weekend and came away impressed with the Cardinal. Jones had previously narrowed his list down to Stanford and UCLA, but he was wowed when he saw the Cardinal down Pac-10 rival Washington in convincing fashion.

"It's made things a lot tougher for me," the Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian standout said. "I got a lot of my questions I had about Stanford answered for me when I was up there. I got to spend a lot of time with the players, especially Chris Owusu, a former teammate of mine.

"It's going to be a tough decision. UCLA and Stanford both have their strengths and are two great programs. I just have to sit back and figure out where the best fit is."

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