Published Jan 6, 2017
Rivals Daily Dozen: Top players from Army National Combine
Josh Helmholdt and Nick Krueger
Rivals.com
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SAN ANTONIO – More than 500 underclassmen descended on the Alamodome on Friday for the U.S. Army National Combine. The event featured a pair of five-star passers from the 2018 class going throw-for-throw.

MORE: Full U.S. Army Bowl coverage | Full Under Armour All-America Game coverage

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In the head-to-head battle with No. 1 and fellow five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Corral came out on top on this day. Granted, this was an off-day for Lawrence, but that does not take away from Corral’s performance. The USC commit gets a lot of juice into his passes and his ball travels well. His footwork was also clean and he got into his drops quickly.

Burney came down awkwardly after a rep and we did not see him rep after that, which is too bad because the four-star was having a great day. The injury looked minor and if he did sit it was likely precautionary. It came on a play where he broke on a quick hitch and flew to break up the pass. Burney also had a spectacular interception on a long pass down the field.

Just a sophomore, Wright already holds multiple Power Five scholarship offers and it is easy to see why. The West Virginia native has a great offensive line frame that will only improve with time in the weight room. During the one-on-one session he manned the left tackle position, which usually matched him against speedy edge rushers and he showed the agility to keep them at bay.

No wide receiver drew more oohs and aahs from his fellow combine participants than Fay, whose ability to explode in and out of his breaks often left defensive backs out of position. He ran an out and up about midway through the one-on-one session that juked the defensive back so bad he was 15 yards out of position by the time the pass arrived in Fay’s hands.

Barnes arrived in San Antonio with plenty of hype as a member of the Rivals100 for the 2018 class. On first glance Barnes looked a little sawed off, but the combine roster said he was measured at 6-foot-5 and he is able to overcome any height disadvantage by having long arms. He is an athletic offensive lineman and did a great job controlling defensive linemen.

Evans showed a lot of moxie by going head-to-head with five-stars Trevor Lawrence and Matt Corral and not backing down. It was impressive to see the sophomore from Colorado put on the performance he did in those circumstances. He is a skinny kid with room to put on much-needed weight, but already he shows good velocity and throws a beautiful football.

LSU offered and took Thomas’ commitment before he even played a down of his sophomore season, so it was no surprise to see the class of 2019 prospect dominating Friday. Thomas bullied defensive linemen throughout the day, even going head-to-head with Rivals250 class of 2018 defensive tackle Jordan Davis and winning a pair of reps.

There was a lack of true edge rushers at Friday’s combine, which made Umerah stand out. Making the drive to Texas all the way from Georgia, Umerah delivered with several impressive wins over a strong group of offensive tackle prospects. It is no surprise with his frame he is explosive off the football, but he was also stronger at the point of attack than expected.

Gaffney is a little undersized for the linebacker position, but that does not pose as big of a problem in a setting like the Army combine. The North Carolina native does have a solid frame and had no trouble matching running backs and tight ends physically. What lands him on this list, though, is his ability to run with the fastest of backs downfield and make plays on the football.

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It continues to baffle me that Big Ten schools are waiting to offer Adams. He reportedly put up some huge testing numbers earlier in the day, then came out in one-on-ones and found little challenge from the linebackers who tried to contain him. Adams did drop a couple balls he should have caught, but otherwise was one of the most impressive-looking prospects in attendance.

Perriman was the receiver who often ran with Trevor Lawrence, and he did his part to get open. A solidly-built wide receiver who measured in at 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, Perriman was getting easy separation from defensive backs throughout the day and also possessed the hands necessary to finish off each play.

A two-way player at Highland High who is currently ranked as the No. 21 defensive tackle prospect in the 2018 class, Lotuleilei decided to work out at offensive center for this event and showed high potential at that position as well. The Utah commit never looked rushed and was rarely out of position. He exudes confidence and played in control throughout the event.