SAN ANTONIO – We are now three days into practice at the All-American Bowl and have seen a number of special performances. Some players have outplayed their ranking, others have struggled at times and we still have plenty of questions heading into Saturday’s game. Here are five players on the East roster that I am most excited to see in the game for various reasons.
MORE FROM ALL-AMERICAN BOWL: Anouncement guide/predictions | Gorney’s Thoughts Day 2 | Stock risers | East vs. West, skills | Rankings questions arising | Proctor details Bama decision | OL vs. DL, Day 2 | East takeaways from Day 1 | West takeaways from Day 1 | Gorney’s thoughts Day 1 | Jelani McDonald previews decision | Mikal Harrison-Pilot previews decision | East OL vs. DL, Day 1 | West OL vs. DL, Day 1 | Jamari Johnson announces finalists | Elzy talks about finalists
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Message board | Transfer ranking | Transfer Tracker
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
*****
1. Justice Haynes
The Alabama signee has looked spectacular in drills, one-on-ones and during the joint team practices. He plays with a low center of gravity, has great balance and body control and has been even better than advertised as a pass catcher. The elite skill set is evident, but through three days of practice there is still one major piece of Haynes’ overall evaluation missing and that is how he will perform against the elite talent when it is a full-tackle game situation. I have little doubt that Haynes will thrive in Saturday’s game, which will likely become an exclamation point to a phenomenal week of practice.
*****
2. Aidan Chiles
Oregon State‘s quarterback of the future has been better than anticipated through three days of practice and he has thrived in a setting where he isn’t fully able to use one of his most valuable assets to its fullest extent – his mobility. While he has thrown on the move and run some zone read plays, Chiles has essentially operated as a pro-style quarterback this week and that is due to the lack of full-padded scrimmaging. This is also the reason why I am so excited to see him in the game setting. The four-star quarterback has shown he possesses the arm talent to be a special player throughout the week, and when he is able to utilize his full skill set on game day I expect an impressive showing.
*****
3. Brenan Vernon
Vernon has all of the tools to be a great player at Notre Dame, but like many of the defensive lineman it has been hard to get a read on him during early practices. The Ohio native stood out the second he stepped on the field during day one practices due to his frame and obvious athletic ability. Vernon also bends as well as any of the defensive lineman in attendance and is very explosive off the ball. He flashed at times during one-on-ones, but there were other times when he seemed to struggle with adjusting to some of the elite offensive lineman in attendance. I was most impressed with Vernon during the combined team practice scrimmage portion. He just looked a lot more comfortable reacting and being a football player than he did in drills and one-on-ones, and that is what has me excited about seeing him play in the game.
*****
4/5. Brandon Inniss and Carnell Tate
The nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 receivers have played as well as anyone in attendance during the week and there will be some interesting debates in our final rankings meetings. The hard part when debating who should have the top spot at WR is that their skill sets are both phenomenal, but each brings something totally different to the table. They have both excelled in every single portion of the practice sessions and deciding who is better at the position almost comes down to personal preference of traits at the position. During a week in which both Inniss and Tate have shown out, it could be the game that decides who takes home the receiver crown, and I cannot wait to see it all unfold.
