Most Successful Under Armour, Army-All American Recruits of All Time
Some of the best high school football players in the country will take the field in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and Under Armour All-American Game this weekend.
For the prospects, these showcases are equal parts a reward for their careers to date and a measuring stick for their careers in the future. It is the beginning of a voyage for the next generation of superstars.
The Army Bowl has been around since 2000 and the Under Armour Game has been around 2008, so the former has more distinguished alumni than the latter. But both have produced some of the most memorable college players of the past decade.
Here are 10 sets of footsteps the players on the current teams are hoping to follow—not based on NFL performance but on their college careers.
Sound off below and let us know whom else you'd add.
DB Eric Berry, Tennessee
1 of 10
2007 U.S. Army All-American
Eric Berry was one of the best pure playmakers of the modern era—and that includes offensive players, too.
He started as a true freshman in 2007, was a Jim Thorpe Award finalist as a sophomore in 2008 and won the Thorpe the following year.
His speed and range on the back end were not enough to restore Tennessee to its previous level of dominance, but Berry finished his tenure as one of the top players in program history.
We wish him the best in his fight against Hodgkin lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in December, per Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today.
RB Reggie Bush
2 of 10
2003 U.S. Army All-American
Reggie Bush is the most remarkable college football player that many of us (i.e., fans under the age of 30) have ever seen.
An ex post facto NCAA investigation led to the stripping of his Heisman Trophy, but there is no way to erase the memories of his dominant seasons in 2004 and 2005, during which he posted 2,648 rushing yards, 987 receiving yards and 1,585 return yards.
He wasn't necessarily the best player of the BCS era—although one could make a compelling case in his favor—but there was a time in which his games were mandatory national viewing.
It is hard to replicate that magic.
DT Tommie Harris, Oklahoma
3 of 10
2001 U.S. Army All-American
Tommie Harris was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma and one of the most viscerally dominant defensive players of the decade.
He started as a true freshman in 2001, led the Sooners to a Rose Bowl win as a sophomore in 2002 and won the Lombardi Award en route to the BCS National Championship Game as a junior in 2003.
Oklahoma lost that game to LSU, 21-14, but Harris acquitted himself well enough to get drafted No. 14 overall in the 2004 NFL draft.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
LB Derrick Johnson, Texas
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2001 U.S. Army All-American
Derrick Johnson was the face of some scary Texas defenses, units that are best remembered for their on-field tenacity.
He was a three-time All-Big 12 performer who was twice named a consensus All-American and won the Dick Butkus and Bronko Nagurski Awards as a senior in 2004—the same year he helped lead the Longhorns to a memorable 38-37 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Johnson forced an absurd nine fumbles as a senior and has continued his poaching ways since going No. 15 overall in the 2005 NFL draft. He was the undisputed king of jarring the football loose.
RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
5 of 10
2004 U.S. Army All-American
Adrian Peterson missed the second half of his junior season with a collarbone injury but did enough in his first 2.5 years that he is fondly remembered as one of the best college running backs ever.
He rushed for 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns as a true freshman, living up to the hype that made him Rivals.com's No. 1 overall recruit coming out of high school, and would eventually go No. 7 overall in the 2007 NFL draft.
"I've never seen someone that strong, that big," Colorado defensive back Terrence Wheatley said after encountering Peterson as a freshman, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
Few, if any, can say they have.
DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
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2005 U.S. Army All-American
Ndamukong Suh had a solid first three years (2005-07), a great fourth year (2008) and a transcendent fifth year (2009) at Nebraska.
The hulking defensive tackle finished No. 4 in the Heisman voting after logging 85 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 19 QB hurries, 10 pass breakups, one forced fumble and three blocked kicks, per CFBStats.com.
His signature performance came in a contentious losing effort in 2009, when he sacked Texas quarterback Colt McCoy 4.5 times. The Longhorns won, 13-12, after getting one second put back on the clock and kicking a game-winning field goal. They then advanced to the BCS National Championship Game, where they lost to Alabama.
But Suh was the best player they saw all season.
QB Tim Tebow, Florida
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2006 U.S. Army All-American
Tim Tebow didn't have the arm to stick in the NFL—at least not past than that one magical 2012 playoff push—but his running ability, leadership and functional college arm made him a legend in the SEC.
He platooned with Chris Leak during Florida's national championship run in 2006, then promptly won the Heisman Trophy after becoming the full-time starter as a sophomore. He didn't repeat as a junior or senior, but he did win a second national title in 2008 and registered two more top-five Heisman finishes before graduating.
The complicated legacy Tebow leaves behind is a product of his NFL failings. But that is not what this list is concerned with. It's concerned with the most successful college players who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl or Under Armour All-American Game.
Tebow is at the top of the list.
LB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
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2009 Under Armour All-American
Manti Te'o dragged Notre Dame to a No. 1 BCS ranking and spot in the national title game during his senior season of 2012.
His Heisman runner-up campaign included 113 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, four pass breakups and four QB hurries, per CFBStats.com, but his performance was difficult to quantify with numbers. It was more about the magic he lent to a team that won close game after close game.
He won the Chuck Bednarik, Dick Butkus, Walter Camp, Lombardi and Maxwell Bronko Nagurski Awards and the Lott Impact Trophy. It was one of the best defensive seasons we have seen in the modern era, and it came on the heels of years in which Te'o recorded 128 and 129 total tackles, respectively.
OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
9 of 10
2003 U.S. Army All-American
Before he was one of the best left tackles of the decade in the NFL, Joe Thomas was the best left tackle of the decade in college football.
The 2006 Outland Trophy winner began his career as a blocking tight end but added weight and became a three-year starter under Barry Alvarez and Bret Bielema, helping the Badgers establish the ground-and-pound reputation that still typifies their program.
Running back Brian Calhoun rushed for 1,636 yards in 2005, and his successor, P.J. Hill, rushed for 1,596 yards the following season. Wisconsin finished 12-1 and beat Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl, after which Thomas went No. 3 overall in the 2007 NFL draft.
QB Vince Young, Texas
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2002 U.S. Army All-American
We save the best for last.
Braden Gall of Athlon Sports deemed Vince Young his No. 1 player of the BCS era, and this author agrees with his assessment.
Young defeated Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl before going No. 3 overall in the 2006 NFL draft. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy before playing the signature game of his career, in which he led Texas past supposedly unbeatable USC in the national title game.
He is the All-American Bowl's most successful alumnus.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
