All American Game Review
http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/2006aagame.htm
All-American Game Review
<TABLE style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" width="97%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" vAlign=top><TABLE style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">Best Players:
Raeshon McNeil, East CB- I love all the connections that can be made between the 05 and 06 game. With McNeil, look no further than last year’s stud corner Derek Pegues who used a terrific AA game to launch himself into the top 3 of corners. McNeil is a stud, played a mistake free game, and was simply toying with receivers as the day went on. The best part, he was one of the few DBs out there that knew how to play the ball once it was in the air. AND he runs back a blocked FG for a Touchdown, just call him MVP.
Kenneth “Deon” Beasley, West WR- Opened the game with a great return on a fake reverse then followed with a phenomenal catch on a poorly throw Mustain pass. Terrific speed. Great leaper as well, and made a beautiful adjustment and catch on a high fade that Snead threw into the end zone in the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> quarter. This kid has the athleticism to play either side of the ball, but it’ll be hard to put him any position where the ball won’t be in his hands.
Sam Young, East OT- Didn’t notice Sam Young much during the game? I wouldn’t expect it, considering he was the only OT that was holding his own for much of the contest. Young’s performance playing opposite his normal slot at LT will make him an even hotter commodity than he already is, and as signing day nears, his situation gets even murkier.
Chris Wells, East RB- I wasn’t too sure about Wells because it seemed like he was just walking over far less talented opponents in HS, but this guy came to play. He reminded me a lot of TJ Duckett with his running, perfect for the Big Ten. Not sure about his feet, but he always keeps his legs moving and knows how to get in the end zone. Also, you better bring about 15 guys if you want to tackle him once he gets moving.
Gerald McCoy, West DT- For a big man, this kid has some kind of moves, not that he really needed most of them. Anything and everything he was trying to get past the east OL was working, I’m pretty sure that politely asking them to move would’ve been just as effective.
Worst Players:
Mitch Mustain, West QB- Congratulations Mitch, just like Toney Baker last year, NBC hyped you beyond belief and you laid a massive egg in the game. I know he decommitted from Arkansas recently, if he knows what’s good for him he’ll change his mind and resign. The only completion of note he made was on a badly thrown ball that Beasley made a terrific catch on.
Connor Smith, East OL- I don’t mean to pick on Smith here, really the player should read “80% of the linemen in this game”. Smith got embarrassed by Gerald McCoy play in, play out. You could tell he just had no answer. Honorable mention here will be J’Marcus Webb, Jake Bscherer, Justin Boren, Steven Schilling and all the other OLs that made this possible.
Other players of note:
Jai Eugene, West CB- Eugene gets a lot of praise for his speed and athleticism, but he was absolutely mugging the east WRs on a few of those deep patters. He was going stride for stride with Harvin on one occasion, then resorted to bumping him when the ball came close even though it was unnecessary. Struggled when a bigger WR like Hazelton went against him.
Robert Rose, East DE- Great speed rusher, abused just about every offensive tackle that the west dared to throw at him. Jake Bscherer and Bartley Webb seemed to take the brunt of Rose’s play. He was also taking some snaps in there at Tight End, certainly one of the bonuses to playing with your old HS coach; should be an instant impact kid at the Ohio State University next season.
Maurice Evans, East DE- Rose’s bookend, did the same exact thing to the west’s RTs as Rose did the LT’s. Ian Symmonette and J’Marcus Webb took their turns as the designated, “help the QB up after Evans knocks him down” guy. Committed to PSU during the game, might as well start the kid immediately with Hali gone.
Myron Rolle, East S- Myron is an odd case, because he’s been getting so much hype for so long that one almost expects perfection from him. He made some bad plays early on, letting the quick west WRs get by him, but as the game went on he really turned his game up. He’s got a lot more speed to him than people give him credit for.
Taylor Mays, West S- Taylor will get my “KP Award”, given to the defensive back that is completely and totally avoided all night long. To see a kid as big as he is, 6-3 225, keeping up stride for stride with Percy Harvin and easily knocking a pass away is a terrifying sight. This kid better not move to LB, he’s a Sean Taylor-like freak of a Safety.
David Ausberry, West WR- Is it just me, or did anyone else think that it was Terrell Owens out there playing for the West squad? This kid didn’t get many chances early on, considering finding a QB on the west squad just couldn’t get him the ball, but it certainly looked like he won’t have any trouble adjusting to the college game from a physical standpoint. Once Snead settled in he was able to make some big plays as well.
Jake Bcsherer, West OL- Had some nice plays, but will be remembered for the beatings he took. Early on got schooled by Robert Rose on a number of occasions, one of which he was pushed so far back into the backfield that when the HB pitch was missed it fell right into his hands.
Kyle Peterson, West Punter- The 6-5 Californian spent much of the first half desperately trying to avoid a East special teams unit throwing themselves into blocking his punts. The fact that he takes a few steps on the run before he punts certainly didn’t help, but he got them all off. They finally got to him in the 2<SUP>nd</SUP>.
Percy Harvin, East WR- Whatever you think of Percy Harvin, just know that the kid is the same type of gamebreaker that Derrick Williams, Ted Ginn, and Reggie Bush all were before him. It’ll be interesting to see how the Gators use him, because he’s got the talent to be pretty much whatever the coaches dream up. They did say that he had words with Coach Ginn during practice this week, which is pretty ridiculous on Harvin’s part.
Bartley Webb, West OT- Nearly managed to get Mitch Mustain killed on the very first drive. Barely even made an attempt to stop Robert Rose on a pure speed rush.
DeMarco Murray, West RB- Didn’t get a load of carries, but he certainly looked like he had the quickness to make some plays. Made his big splash with his decision to attend Oklahoma. After Moody picked SC and Goodson decided not to declare, it was pretty evident that it was OU or nothing for Murray.
Jacques McClendon, East DL- If there’s one thing I can say about Jacques McClendon, is that he looks like a football player. Played well too, making up for the performance of his future teammate Adam Myers White in last year’s game.
Stafon Johnson, West RB- I get it, he’s not going to be a running back in college, but this kid has the talent to do so if he really wants it. Not that big, but a tenacious runner, he fights for every yard he gets; and he has great speed when he gets around the edge. Probably the same type of case as Leon Jackson last year.
Brandon Graham, East LB- Jevan Snead will certainly think twice the next time he tries rolling out of the pocket when Graham is on the field opposite him. Graham closed on him in no time flat and dropped him like it was nothing. That and he has the biggest neck pad I’ve ever seen.
Al Woods, West DL- Playing out of position at DE, Woods was able to show some impressive athleticism for a man his size. On one play in particular, he blew by Justin Boren on an inside move and got to Zach Frazier before he even realized he had the snap. This 320 pounder will be playing the second he steps on the field at LSU, no question about that with Wroten and Williams off to the NFL.
Eddie Jones, West DE- The fact that the East coaches decided they needed to double team Eddie Jones even though he was already going up against the best OT in the country, Andre Smith, is all you need to know about this kid’s ability. And yes, he was still getting into the backfield.
Andre Smith, East OT- Speaking of Smith, there was some good and some bad. Like I said, they felt the need to give him help against Jones, but on the brighter side, if he gets his hands on a DE, it’s over. Strong, great feet for a guy his size, and really no downside to him whatsoever.
Emmanuel Moody, West RB- Not as big as I thought he would be based on scouting reports, but his pure running style seemed to be pretty well rounded. He only really had three chances, one was a fumble and another was a bigtime loss. The biggest impact he made was being the first commitment of the day, but they even got that wrong on the commit ticker.
Jevan Snead, West QB- Interesting performance from Snead. With the news that Vince Young will be going pro, people might take it a bit harder on Snead because they think he might have a shot at starting next year, but in reality he’s not going to be the guy for a few years. Very good athlete and a strong arm, he stepped up big-time in this game. Needs the same type of coaching Young did, but he was easily the best QB out there.
Zach Frazer, East QB- Of all the QB performances in the game, Frazer probably played the closest to what I’d expected. With Brady Quinn returning, he’ll take over the reins for ND in a couple years. He made one particularly beautiful throw on a rollout pass to TE Nate Byham, just an absolute bullet of a pass.
Antwine Perez, East S- Perez was flying around the field with a purpose today. The West didn’t even bother throwing at him when he was in the game, but when they made the mistake of running the ball anywhere near him, he made sure to make them pay. Two decleaters and a free shot at the punter later, it’s pretty clear that fans won’t forget his name any time soon.
Nate Byham, East and Konrad Reuland, West, TEs- Tight Ends don’t usually get much exposure in a game like this, though both did make some quality catches early on. Nice job by both blocking as well.
Sergio Kindle, West LB- I don’t think there’s a player included in Texas’ very impressive class that should excite the fans more than Kindle. I really can’t find any weaknesses in his game; he can do whatever the staff will ask of him, and do it extremely well. I wish I’d have gotten a chance to see the equally talented RB line up on offense once or twice.
Tim Tebow, East QB- Not quite the performance one would really want from the best QB prospect in the country, but it wasn’t terrible. He really is made for a certain kind of offense, and the one setup in two weeks preparing for the game really isn’t it. Was effective running the ball, which I’m sure Urban Meyer loved to see.
Chris Bell, East WR- They relegated him to returning for the first 3 and a half quarters of the game, then when he finally gets his chance on offense he can’t bring in an end zone pass from Frazer.
Allen Bradford, West LB- Plays like a linebacker, but looks like a cornerback. Odd that he’d pick USC, considering that they have tremendous LB depth, as well as safety depth. He’d have had a much bigger short term impact if he’d have went to a school like UCLA, now he risks being lost in the shuffle.
Vidal Hazelton, East WR- The thought of he, Ausberry, and Patrick Turner from last year all winding up at the same school is a terrifying thought. Hazelton only made a couple plays, but he’s got the speed and strength to be a very good WR early on in his college career.
Justin Harrison, East OT- Made a great block on the Chris Wells TD run in the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> quarter completely walled off the DE (not to mention Nate Byham blowing up Allen Bradford) and gave Wells an easy walk into the end zone.
Micah Johnson, East DE- Many rate him as the #1 DE in the country, but he had a relatively quiet first three quarters. He made some nice plays when Stephen Schilling was matched up against him, but in Schilling’s defense, he was out of position.
Michael Goodson, West RB- Decided not to commit during the game after all, Lemming said it might have been because of the Moody selection of USC. After watching that one huge run, I’m sure the Trojan staff are a little disappointed that Goodson didn’t enter the fold already. Whoever gets him is picking up a stud, plain and simple.
Terrence Austin, West WR- The UCLA commit took a while to make an impact (that’s what’ll happen when Raeshon McNeil’s covering you), but made a great TD catch in the 4<SUP>th</SUP> when the ball was thrown to his outside shoulder.
Best Moments (on the field):
- The East was just waiting for the opportunity to get Percy Harvin the ball, and when they handed it to him on a reverse, he didn’t disappoint. He first ran all the way left, stopped on a dime, and ran straight back across the field to get an 18 yard game out of nothing. I bet SC wishes they’d convinced this kid to be the next Reggie Bush. Also, East RB Chris Wells lit up West LB Anthony Lewis on the play.
- After the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> poor pass on the same exact play, a simple out to the right side of the field, the color commentator praises Mustain for settling down. After all, when the first two passes go 5 yards over the WR’s head, nothing spells progress like bouncing it to a 6-5 WR.
- Late in the first, Emmanuel Moody dives into the line in front of him and loses the football. Kenny Beasley sees it, picks it up and somehow takes it for a first down. This kid is electric I tell you.
- Early on in the 2<SUP>nd</SUP>, after a beautiful playaction by Snead to DeMarco Murray, Snead rolls out to the right and picks up a bunch of yardage. It was so good that Murray actually tried to take the ball, then got rewarded by getting hammered by East DE Maurice Evans.
- I’d figured that the story of the trenches would have been the great west DL vs the equally talented east OL, but it’s clear that it’s the East DE’s Maurice Evans and Robert Rose. On one play during the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> quarter, both did a speed rush to get around the two tackles and just lay out Josh Freeman.
- Perhaps it’s just me, but as the game goes along I’m starting to really see the difference in the two coaching staffs. The West coach, Jim Rackley, is from Texas, and the near-paranoid way he’s acting on the sideline suggests that he’s used to close, tough games. On the other side, Ted Ginn Sr. is the epitome of cool, that’s what coaching on of the most dominating teams annually in the country will do for you.
- 3<SUP>rd</SUP> and 28 early on in the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> quarter for the East squad, Tebow takes the snap, avoids pressure from Gerald McCoy, and throws a bomb down field that’s somehow caught by Vidal Hazelton after Jai Eugene runs helplessly by. Not the smartest throw to make by Tebow, but a definitely the type of gutsy play that will be needed in the Florida offense.
- After Wells’ second rushing touchdown, the extra point was snapped over the holder’s head, and picked up by kicker Matt Bosher. Bosher, a Miami commit, thought he might have had a seem apparently and tried a few cutbacks out in the open field, but eventually got smothered by about 10 West defenders.
- A great return by the West’s Chris Caflisch is cut short when Myron Rolle comes out of nowhere to make the tackle 72 yards downfield. Caflisch, playing the token local, wild card kid this year, is playing returner, holder, long snapper, pretty much any role the team asks of him, so seeing him break that would have been incredible.
- Toward the end of the third, USC commit Antwine Perez showed Mitch Mustain that just because he’s a Free Safety doesn’t mean he can’t hit. Mustain was falling forward but Perez came in and popped him, sending him flailing back. Perez’s tackling skills have been on display all night, but this is the one for the highlight reel.
- After getting close all day, the East squad gets to Kyle Peterson. He somehow got the kick off as Antwine Perez was hitting him, yet he still got up and made the touchdown saving tackle of Akeem Hebron. That isn’t just a punter, that’s a football player.
- There seems to be a theme developing here. Another blocked kick, this one a FG for the East squad. Brandon Graham came up through the middle and blocked the attempt early in the 4<SUP>th</SUP> quarter, then laid some nice blocks as Raeshon McNeil ran it back for 6.
- Beautiful run by Michael Goodson toward the middle of the 4<SUP>th</SUP> quarter. Up until now there hasn’t been much noise from the West RBs, but he made about 6 guys miss, reversed field and somehow found a seem and flew up the sideline. On the next play, Maurice Evans laid out Jevan Snead after JMarcus Webb forgot block him.
Best Random Moments (not directly football related):
- Early on in the broadcast we get our first shot of Jamie Newberry from Scout.com. I don’t know what it is, perhaps the goofy 1985 headset he’s wearing or the fact that he’s basically posed next to a computer, in case you didn’t know scout.com was a website obviously, but I get the feeling we’ll be seeing some unintentional humor from him. Oh, and he looks like a thin Jimmy Kimmel.
- Ahh on air commitments, there’s nothing quite like it in all of sports. Brandon Spikes got the group off to a fantastic start with his choosing of Florida early on in the first quarter. Much like Jerrell Powe from last year, this one took a few rewinds, but I think I got it:
Reporter: So Brandon, where will you be headed?
Spikes: well. Lissue, I beheaded flowah.
Somehow that becomes, Next year, I’ll be headed to Florida. Can’t write some of this stuff.
- After Jai Eugene commits, Newberry comes on to say that he’s surprised that he thought it’d be LSU, Miami, or maybe Florida. Way to rack up the subscriptions there. Also about Eugene, he seemed to go on for about 15 minutes flashing random signs at the camera after his commitment. Apparently, the only sign he doesn’t know is that of pass interference, which is what he was getting away with all night.
- Just the first quarter and the announcer is already racking up the quotes. He may have set a record for most consecutive jokes that utterly bombed. The first, saying that he couldn’t run for 2000 on his own; and the second:
“128 pancake blocks? Wow. I’d need some syrup with that many.” (dead silence for about 5 seconds)
This guy is my hero.
- After a beautiful TD pass from Jevan Snead to Kenny Beasley, the two future Horns share a mighty whiff of the jumping high 5 made famous by Miami during the ‘01 National title run. It’s not really that important, just wanted to mention the great Kenny Beasley again.
- It’s getting harder and harder to show much love to this announcing team. Jamie Newberry is trying, but the fact that it took him a whole half to get one email question kind of brings up some red flags. Can’t forget Tom Lemming up there either, though it’s very easy to do so. I swear, the man is a fountain of useless information. I guarantee that if you ever ran a 100 meter dash in your life Lemming knows the time.
- If there’s one thing that I hate, it’s when recruits start to lean one way during these live declarations and pick another team. Terrence Austin started to grab the Oregon hat, but dropped it and went with UCLA. Not really sure what that accomplishes besides collectively destroying the hopes of every Oregon fan watching on TV.
- The winner of the most awkward commitment of the game goes to Butch Lewis and Allen Bradford. It seemed like the announcers weren’t even prepared for it, they sent it down hurriedly to a clearly shaken sideline reporter. He said a few random comments, then needed to make three comments about them picking their school before Bradford of Lewis even moved. In a shocking move, they selected the only team with two hats on the table, USC.
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