SAN ANTONIO - With just one day left of practice before the Army All-American Bowl on Saturday, both East and West teams went heavy on full offense versus defense scrimmages. Some of the players that have been strong all week continued their high level of play, and some others turned in their strongest performance of the week to land in Thursday’s Daily Dozen.
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As good as Fromm has been this week, Thursday may have been his best overall day. Even though it was a shortened practice, half of his best throws of the week came in Thursday’s action. The Georgia commit was dropping the football 40 yards downfield into the hands of wide receivers who had defensive backs in their back pocket. It was another really impressive showing from the Rivals100 passer.
Phillips has been the most dynamic defender all week long for the West and had another explosive day on Thursday. The number of reps that he’s spent in the backfield has rivaled some of the offense’s running backs. Phillips has been great at getting the first step off the snap and is strong enough to turn and drive at sharp angles toward quarterbacks without getting pushed off balance.
Harris’ average play is often so good that extraordinary is considered the norm with him. Thursday he put his full skill set on display, punctuated by some especially shifty outside runs in the team scrimmage session. He’s found lanes in team inside run sessions where he has planted a foot and burst through for long touchdown runs more successfully and frequently than the other backs on the West side pick up basic chunk-yardage plays.
Where Phillips had a strong day as an attacking defender, Browning was particularly impressive securing the back end of the defense. Once team scrimmages got underway, he had one pass breakup in red zone work and afterwards hit the dirt to scoop up a busted pass for an interception. In addition to the plays he made on the ball, he was quick to close down on receivers catching screens and swing passes into the flats.
Most of the talk about LeCounte this week has not necessarily been about his play, but about him being very vocal on and off the field and also for dumping Devonta Smith over a bench on a rep during Tuesday’s practice. Thursday was more about LeCounte’s impressive coverage skills, and he put them on display during one-on-one and team action. His pass break-up against five-star Donovan Peoples-Jones in red zone practice was particularly impressive.
Lugg got the honor of going head-to-head with a soldier from the U.S. Army who put the pads to run from the defensive end position for one play. Unfortunately for our nation’s finest, he did not have the skill set to beat Lugg in a one-on-one rep, but then few have been able to this week. We saw Lugg last off-season at a Rivals Camp, and the player who showed up this week has been a really pleasant surprise.
Looking at this top performers list, it should be no surprise that Georgia was one of our hot three teams from Thursday. Thomas has been challenging Lugg for the title of the East’s best offensive lineman this week. From a physical build standpoint he does not look like a left tackle prospect, but he has the fleetness of foot to handle the best speed rushers. His technical proficiency makes him a candidate for that role as well.
It had been a rather quiet week for Parks until Thursday’s run-scrimmage. The Florida State commit was slicing past blockers and blowing up running plays 3-4 yards in the backfield. This past offseason we measured Parks north of 300 pounds, but he looks to have lost quite a but of weight since then. He does look a little light at the point of attack, but the lower weight has aided his quickness.
This is a second consecutive appearance on the Daily Dozen for Retimaier, which is a surprise considering he was not on the radar like that coming into this week. The interior defensive line prospect is a great mix of size and athleticism, and he has surprised offensive linemen this week with his get-off, the quickness of his hands and how fast he can change direction.
If the week of practice the West had is any indication, there won’t be a lot of passes thrown downfield in Saturday’s game. The few that were tried and completed in Thursday’s practice all came to Calvin, who worked vertical routes from the slot very well. Both long catches were thrown behind him, but he did a nice job adjusting and sliding to make the grab while his momentum carried him away from the ball.
Young has been the defensive end on the East team who has shown the most consistency getting to the passer this week. The Ohio State commit claims he is inching toward 250 pounds, but he looks closer to the 6-foot-5, 220 pounds he is listed. And while he is definitely a weakside defensive end, Thursday he proved once again to be more than sufficient in the strength department, throwing offensive lineman D’Antne Demery backwards.
Davis was one of the more fun players to watch in practice, as he spent the morning working primarily in power-run packages calling for him to pull and bulldoze paths for runners. Davis was assertive finding his first target and finished on every block. The West offense had success running read-option plays, which favored Davis’ downhill style, in the team scrimmage session.
