This marks the 12th annual contest between some of the best college football prospects in the country.
ORLANDO, Fla. — With the Early Signing Period behind us, college programs are now able to evaluate their 2019 recruiting classes and finalize to whom their remaining scholarships should be awarded. Several of those coveted spots will be held for high school players competing in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game.
Some of those spots will be filled Thursday night.
Three players are expected to make their commitments.
- Arjei Henderson, WR, Richmond (Texas) Fort Bend:
This is what we learned about Henderson on Sunday.
Four-star receiver commitment Arjei Henderson, of Houston, has been hearing from many schools recently since his decommitment from Oklahoma. But he has narrowed his list down to five: Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Penn State, and LSU.
He will take four official visits in January, and knows he’ll be visiting FSU on the 25th. He was previously committed to Oregon when Willie Taggart was the head coach.
Despite this being his fourth commitment (Oregon once, Oklahoma twice), the four-star Henderson is apparently going to go ahead and commit on TV before taking four of his five official visits. Florida State is the favorite.
- Shammond Cooper, LB, St. Louis (Mo.) Catholic: Cooper is the No. 17 inside linebacker prospect nationally. Despite saying he will likely take more visits, he too is going to make an announcement on TV. Illinois is considered the favorite. He is also considering Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Florida State.
Over the summer, Cooper discussed what Illinois would need to do to get his commitment.
“They gotta be somewhat decent, where we can go somewhere and change things around. I don’t want to go to a program that’s dead, can’t get out the water. I have to see improvement, but I see potential,” Shammond Cooper said. “They have to have a decent season, win like five games, show some potential against the big teams like Ohio State. I don’t want to see them getting 60-balled. I’d give it a 50-50 chance that Illinois sweeps all of us.”
Illinois won four games, not five, but is still in good position here.
- Tre’Mon Morris-Brash, DL, Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS: Morris-Brash has already signed his letter of intent, and though he has not said publicly who his choice will be, it is widely expected to be UCF since that is the only official visit he has taken to this point.
- A mystery player? This lineup of live commitments feels light. Perhaps someone else will want some shine on national TV?
Only 21 of the 110 recruits participating are unsigned.
Of those, only 10 are uncommitted. These all-star events look far different than they did before the advent of the Early Signing Period. This follows the larger trend nationally.
Alabama has 11 commitments in the game
Alabama’s class is absolutely ridiculous. Its only player who is not rated four- or five-stars is the kicker.
Texas, Florida State, and Texas A&M all have six commitments in the game.
What I’m watching
There are all sorts of storylines to follow, aside from Alabama having ten percent of the rosters.
I am very excited to see receivers like Ohio State’s Jameson Williams and Texas A&M’s Dylan Wright go up against corners like Kaiir Elam (undecided, between Georgia and Florida), Mykael Wright (Oregon), and Akeem Dent (FSU).
Will the quarterbacks be able to get them the football? This position has taken a large step back nationally compared to the elite level of the QB spot in 2018. Auburn signee Bo Nix has been good all week. Arizona State signee Jayden Daniels and Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada have had their moments. But overall, high level QB play in the 2019 all-star games is anything but guaranteed.
They should have blocking, though. All-star games are notorious for terrible offensive line play, making them difficult to watch, since the linemen have little to no chemistry due to practicing for just a few days. But credit Under Armour for getting some truly elite tackles in Devontae Dobbs (Michigan State), Kenyon Green (Texas A&M), Trente Jones (Michigan), Amari Kight (Alabama), Wanya Morris (Tennessee), and Evan Neal (Alabama).
That’ll be a potential challenge for Kayvon Thibodeaux, the top rated player in the game. A recent Oregon signee, Thibodeaux is a flash off the edge with good length, and has had a strong week.
The linebackers are also worth watching. Auburn signee Owen Pappoe, Nakobe Dean (Georgia), and Brandon Smith (Penn State) can all be special.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
- Time: 6 p.m. ET
- Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
- TV: ESPN2
- Streaming: WatchESPN