The 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl gave fans a look into the future of big-time college football with the performances of its players on Saturday. Of the players that took to the field in the Alamodome, 12 set themselves apart by making the most big-time plays in the game.
MORE: Complete U.S. Army All-American Bowl coverage | Video central | Najee Harris update
Phillips continued his dominant play from the week of practice and finished the game with two solo tackles and three assisted stops. His first play of the game was a microcosm of the sort of impact he has in general: He beat his man off the edge into the backfield, and when Cam Akers escaped and took off it was Phillips that ran him down from nearly 15 yards away. He also had one tackle for a loss in the fourth quarter when he pushed East quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out of bounds.
It was a quiet week of practice for Akers, but when the bright lights shined on Saturday the five-star running back was ready to play. He started the game by juking Phillips, who was untouched into the backfield, and picking up 13 yards when he should have lost five. He finished as the game’s leading rusher with 38 yards on six carries, including the East’s final touchdown run that sealed the win.
Lenoir, like Phillips, had a game that was representative of how well he played throughout the week of practice. He was particularly special in the return game with a kickoff returned for 72 yards in the third quarter and would have had a punt return go for big yards had it not been for a penalty. He also made his lone tackle and pass breakup in the game in the third quarter. East receivers hit on some big plays, but Lenoir did a good job keeping his assignments in check.
We have been talking about Young all week long, and the Ohio State commit still had plenty left in the tank for Saturday’s Army Bowl. Like Phillips, Young lived in the offense’s backfield and he broke up several plays that he ultimately did not get credit for. His final stat line does not tell the whole story of his game, but it does include the big fumble recovery inside the 10-yard line.
Tufele had drawn plenty of attention in practices with his dominance in one-on-one sessions and other team drills, but on Saturday he was a stout run defender. He finished with four total tackles; his best came when he dumped D’Andre Swift behind the line in the third quarter. He was particularly agile as well for an inside guy and generated pressure with stunts through a leaky East offensive line.
Swift finished just two yards behind Akers and was the game’s second-leading rusher. The Georgia commit was the East team’s most impressive running back throughout the week of practice and was just as impressive on game day. He does an outstanding job of running behind his pads and keeping his legs churning after contact, which was evident on several runs Saturday.
If we would have written this article at halftime, Phillips might be leading the list. The Oklahoma commit was all over the field in the first half before getting banged up in the second, most notably cutting off Martell and finishing him off with a big tackle and then stuffing big tailback Najee Harris behind the line of scrimmage. He finished with four tackles.
It appeared that the game plan for the West from the outset was to use Martell’s running ability as a main weapon of the offense, and it paid off. The Ohio State commit completed a solid 3-of-5 passes for 23 yards, but he did the majority of his damage on the ground. He led the West team with seven carries for 31 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown run that resulted in the West offense’s only touchdown.
There was a noticeable difference between the performance of the West offensive line and the East offensive line. Although they took the loss, the West gave their quarterbacks much more time and the interior of that line was a primary reason. Derek Kerstetter, Kanan Ray and a couple others could have gotten the nod as well, but we are going with Davis, who we noticed handling his man most consistently.
Both game MVP Hunter Johnson and Fromm had long touchdown passes, but the final stat line actually tips in Fromm’s favor and he gets our nod for the Daily Dozen mention. The West defensive backfield was so suffocating early on that Fromm had to find ways to make things happen. He did that on a 76-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Matthews that was the result of Fromm escaping the grasp of three defensive linemen in the backfield.
The linebacker group for the West was as impressive a cast of players as any group on either team, but Jordan-Swilling stepped up as one of the steadiest players in the West’s front seven. Two of his four solo tackles came against the run, which isn’t surprising considering how effective he is as a downhill-type of defender, but the other two came making tackles on receivers after the catch. He did well to keep plays in front of him and really works to drive through ball-carriers when making hits.
The East team was loaded with wide receiver talent, but based on the week of practice Ruggs would not have been our pick to make the game’s Daily Dozen. It was not that he was bad in practice, he just did not do much noteworthy. On Saturday, though, there was plenty noteworthy about his play, including a 61-yard touchdown reception and a second reception that showed off his run-after-catch ability.
