Polynesian Bowl: Thoughts after day three of practice in Hawaii
The third day of Polynesian Bowl practices took place on Thursday inside Aloha Stadium, with both teams taking the field to begin final preparations for Saturday’s all-star game. With some star-studded visitors as well as plenty of stars on the field there was plenty to takeaway from the day’s action. Rivals.com Southeast Recruiting Analyst Woody Wommack was on hand and shares his thoughts.
MORE FROM THE POLYNESIAN BOWL: Thoughts from Day 2 | Day 1 | Notes from Media Day
D.J. UIAGALELEI ARRIVES
Last week, five-star Clemson quarterback signee D.J. Uiagalelei was helping simulate Joe Burrow in practice for the Tigers after enrolling early. This week, Uiagalelei is back in a high school setting as he arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday and practiced fully on Thursday. Uiagalelei showed no signs of jet lag after the double-digit hour flight from the mainland and looked as sharp and as crisp as ever. With Tigers backup Chase Brice announcing his plans to transfer after practice had already concluded, we didn’t get a chance to talk to him about it, but it appears Uiagalelei will have every chance to earn the backup spot behind Trevor Lawrence.
JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Former five-star and current Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster made an appearance on Thursday, addressing players at the event and also judging the end zone dance celebration contest. Smith-Schuster is of Polynesian descent and takes pride in the yearly event, despite the fact that the game didn’t exist when he was one of the nation’s top prospects back in 2014. Smith-Schuster spent plenty of time chatting with Tua Tagovailoa and addressed the media after practice. He’s expected to be around throughout the week.
FLOWE VS. HUTSON
Five-star Oregon linebacker signee Justin Flowe has been front and center all week, both with his play on the field and his big personality off of it. After winning the tug-of-war contest on Wednesday, Flowe spent time jawing with his teammates during 1-on-1s on Thursday. The most competitive portion of the day came when he was lined up against future Oregon teammate Kris Hutson. The two went at it multiple times in 1-on-1s, with each winning a rep and resulting in plenty of post play talking. While the barbs including some spicy language, it was all in the spirit of friendly competition as the two hugged after. It’s just the start of practice wars between the two, as they will see other plenty once they arrive in Eugene.
IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCES
Stanford defensive back Ayden Hector jumped out during practice on Wednesday as he continues to have great range and coverage skills for a bigger defensive back. Hector can run with wide receivers and is also physically imposing in the run game.
Washington tight end signee Mark Redman has quietly had a very good week of practice. He has great size and is quick enough to give defenders matchup issues down the field. During the week he’s been one of the few offensive players to beat Flowe in 1-on-1s and looks like he will be a tough cover for Pac-12 defenses in the future.
Oregon defensive back signee Dontae Manning turned in another good practice Thursday, impressing with his coverage skills and athleticism. With a strong week at Under Armour already under his belt, Manning has helped his rankings stock a lot over the past few weeks.
One of the few bad throws by Uiagelelei came during 7-on-7, when Oregon defensive back signee Luke Hill read his eyes and picked the ball. Had it been a game setting, Hill would have had a pick-six.