Army All-American Bowl 2015: 5 Lessons We Learned

There was no shortage of fireworks in the 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a high school exhibition game that turned into a nail-biter and was won by the West, 39-36.

But the real story of the game—as always—was the performance and commitments of the individual players, many of whom will make an impact at some of the biggest college football programs in the country next season.

One can only learn so much from an all-star game, but the Army Bowl provided a good enough glimpse into the future to derive some important takeaways. Some had to do with new commitments; others had to do with previously committed players going off.

But all of them will have an impact on the 2015 season.

Here are five things we learned from San Antonio.

Note: All recruiting info refers to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Tennessee's Defensive Line Is Unfair

Credit: 247Sports

Tennessee landed the first commitment of the day from defensive end Kyle Phillips, the No. 110 overall player in the class.

In doing so, the Vols got richer along the defensive front, which is scary considering what they already have.

Tennessee Class of 2015 Defensive Line Commits

Player	Pos.	Rating	Class Rank	Pos. Rank
Kahlil McKenzie	DT	5-star	10	2
Shy Tuttle	DT	4-star	40	5
Kyle Phillips	SDE	4-star	110	8
Andrew Butcher	SDE	4-star	233	11
Darrell Taylor	WDE	4-star	263	12
Quay Picou	DT	3-star	449	28
Marques Ford	SDE	3-star	482	20

True freshman Derek Barnett finished second in the SEC with 20.5 tackles for loss this season. He is not allowed to declare for the NFL draft until 2017 at the earliest. The Vols could theoretically start a front four of Barnett as a junior and McKenzie, Tuttle and Phillips as sophomores with Butcher and Taylor providing depth in 2016.

And that is only using players from the past two classes.

Butch Jones and Jon Jancek are on fire.

Duke Is on the Up and Up

Credit: 247Sports

Duke University is many things. A recruiting powerhouse is not one of them. The Blue Devils almost never land recruits from the All-America games, unless the sport in question is played on hardwood.

But the times in Durham, North Carolina, are a-changin', and the 2015 class is a big step in the right direction. Two future Blue Devils—4-star linebacker Ben Humphreys and 3-star receiver TJ Rahming—played in the Army Bowl, and both found their way to the end zone.

Rahming, as it were, found the end zone twice, first catching a 63-yard pass from Ricky Town and later scoring on an insane "Mayhem" trick play in which he broke one tackle and coasted for six.

Humphreys scored on a pick-six in the second quarter.

Charlie Strong Kept His Florida Ties Strong

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Texas head coach Charlie Strong spent seven years on the defensive staff at Florida, and he's kept his recruiting ties strong.

The Longhorns landed a commitment from Booker T. Washington tight end Devonaire Clarington and Westminster Christian athlete Tim Irvin (the nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin) during the Army Bowl, locking up a pair of top-300 recruits from the Sunshine State.

Clarington's high school teammate, 4-star cornerback Davante Davis, committed to Texas on New Year's Day also, giving the Horns a trio of crucial Florida pledges since the calendar turned to 2015.

"Your 'top recruiter' lists are worthless if Charlie Strong isn't on them," tweeted Bleacher Report recruiting writer Sanjay Kirpalani.

The Longhorns are trending upward—and fast.

LSU Found the Perfect Complement to Leonard Fournette

Eric Gay/Associated Press

LSU commit Derrius Guice stole the show in the second quarter, catching touchdowns of 92 and 61 yards. He didn't make a splash in the second half, but those two plays were enough for him to be named MVP of the game.

Guise is the No. 50 overall player and No. 4 running back in the class and should pair up well with Leonard Fournette in Baton Rouge. The bruising Fournette is a wrecking ball on standard downs but struggles to run routes and catch passes from the backfield.

In Guise, though, the Tigers locked up one of the best pass-catching backs in the class. He is the perfect complement to Fournette because he can make things happen on passing downs.

LSU already had its thunder. Now it has its lightning.

USC's Secondary (Somehow) Got Stronger

Credit: 247Sports

USC landed a pair of commitments at the Army Bowl, both from players with the potential to play defensive back in college.

The first pledge came from Ykili Ross, a 4-star cornerback (who also plays receiver) and the No. 108 player in the class. The second came from Marvell Tell, a 4-star safety and the No. 57 player in the class.

Ross and Tell joined Isaiah Langley, a 4-star cornerback and the No. 85 player in the class, as future Trojan DBs who took the field in San Antonio. They will join an already loaded secondary that includes former 5-star recruits Su'a Cravens and Adoree' Jackson and promising youngsters Leon McQuay III and Chris Hawkins.

"You know we're gonna bring that national championship back," Tell said after committing on the NBC broadcast.

If they keep landing blue-chippers, he might not be wrong.