Unbelievably, and if you count the BBVA Compass Bowl, there are just three official games left in the 2011-2012 college football season. So, with so few games left until the game is put into cold storage until late next August, why not take in an unofficial contest to help ease your transition into the offseason?
At 1 ET on NBC this afternoon, some of the most talented and highly-touted high school seniors in the country will take the field in San Antonio for the 11th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl. How talented will the players on the Alamadome field be? Of the 27 recruits rated as five-star players by Rivals.com, 16 of them are listed on the collective rosters of the East and West squads.
In fact, 53 of Rivals’ Top 100 players will be playing in the Army Bowl.
Of course, the name of these types of games is really the verbal commitments sprinkled liberally throughout the contest -- on NBC -- rather than the play on the field and, thanks to a very famous and immensely talented father, Barry J. Sanders’ verbal has garnered an inordinate amount of attention heading into the all-star game. While Sanders is certainly an exceptional running back -- he’s a four-star recruit and is the No. 8 RB in the country, and is expected to commit today to Stanford over his dad’s alma mater Oklahoma State -- there are several five-star recruits who have yet to commit and who will be playing in the game:
- Dorial Green-Beckham -- the No. 1 player in the country, the wide receiver’s final five consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Darius Hamilton -- No. 5 on the Rivals 100 list, Cal is the current leader for the defensive end from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey -- that football-rich school will send four players to this game -- although Florida, Miami and Rutgers are also in the mix.
- Shaq Thompson -- No. 7 on the Rivals 100 list, Cal and Washington are reportedly the finalists for the safety’s services. Oregon and Notre Dame have also been a consideration for Thompson.
- Stephon Diggs -- No. 8 on the Rivals 100 list, the wide receiver has yet to whittle a long list of suitors. Interestingly, and after it was reported Bill O’Brien was taking over at Penn State, the Maryland high schooler said he would listen if the Nittany Lions made a recruiting pitch.
- Ellis McCarthy -- No. 17 on the Rivals 100 list, the defensive tackle has pared his collegiate to-do list down to Cal and USC.
- Josh Harvey-Clemons -- No. 19 on the Rivals 100 list, Florida and Georgia are the finalists for the recruit rated as the No. 1 athlete in the country by the recruiting website. Harvey-Clemons will take an official visit to Athens Jan. 13 before making his final decision.
- Jonathan Bullard -- No. 20 on the Rivals 100 list, Clemson, Florida and South Carolina are the defensive end’s three finalists.
- Kyle Murphy -- No. 22 on the Rivals 100, Stanford and USC are thought to be the leading contender for the offensive lineman, although Oregon and Florida are still under consideration.
- Aziz Shittu -- No. 27 on the Rivals 100 list, and after giving the boot to Texas A&M in late December, the defensive tackle is down to four finalists: Cal, Stanford, USC and UCLA.
It should be noted that, of those eight recruits, only Thompson, McCarthy and Bullard are expected to give a verbal commitment during the game, although four-star recruits such as defensive back Deon Bush (No. 68) and defensive end Tyriq McCord (No. 74) will make televised announcements,
Of course, along with the verbal commitments, there’s also the possibility of a surprise flip-flop from a previous verbal. During last year’s Army Bowl, Brent Calloway decommitted from Alabama, only to give a verbal commitment to hated in-state rival Auburn a couple of hours later.
So, tune in to your local NBC affiliate at 1 ET this afternoon as you never know what may happen. Hell, you may very well witness an epic five-star grounding.