Army All-American Bowl 2015: Score, Recruit Commitments and Twitter Reaction

In a wildly exciting 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the West held off a frantic comeback by the East to win 39-36 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The West led by as many as 27 points, but the East made things interesting in the fourth quarter. The deficit was ultimately too much to overcome, however, thanks to the contributions of running back Derrius Guice.

The LSU commit had a monster game as a pass-catcher, which resulted in him being named MVP, according to Bleacher Report's Tyler Donohue:

Here is a full recap of how the U.S. Army All-American Bowl played out, along with a rundown of the recruits who announced commitments throughout the game.

Game Recap

The game got off to an unassuming start, as Georgia commit Rodrigo Blankenship gave the East a 3-0 lead with a 34-yard field goal, but the action truly started to pick up on subsequent drives.

Guice is a running back by trade, but the future LSU Tiger showed his receiving chops by burning the East secondary and securing a 92-yard touchdown reception to put the West ahead 6-3.

The West didn't convert on the extra point, but it was able to build upon that lead when quarterback and Arizona State commit Brady White fired a 25-yard scoring strike to soon-to-be Florida Gator Derrick Dillon.

White looked extremely smooth on the touchdown drive, and Doug Kimmel of Scout.com believes he has an extremely bright future with the Sun Devils:

"

I think Brady White is the perfect fit for Norvell & #ASU. White has a high football IQ & makes great reads. @DevilsDigest #ForksUp

— Doug Kimmel (@DougKimmelScout) January 3, 2015"

With the West offense firing on all cylinders, the defense decided to get in on the act as well. Utah commit Porter Gustin read future USC quarterback Sam Darnold like a book and returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.

While it was an excellent play by Gustin, Josh Helmholdt of Rivals.com placed the blame on Darnold for a poor read:

That put the West up 20-3, but it was far from done. On the ensuing drive, the East was intercepted again when Missouri commit Drew Lock had his pass tipped into the hands of Duke linebacker commit Ben Humphreys.

The California native took the interception to the house, which prompted Greg Biggins of Scout.com to comment on Humphreys' uncanny nose for the ball:

It appeared as though the rout was on, with the West leading 27-3, and it continued to pour it on, as USC commit Ricky Town threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Guice. That marked the second touchdown reception of the day for the electric running back, and he had a simple explanation for why he was able to burn the defense, per Chris Kamrani of The Salt Lake Tribune:

"

Army All-American and LSU commit Derrius Guice when asked to elaborate on his touchdown-scoring play: "Once again, it's that swag."

— Chris Kamrani (@CKTribune) January 3, 2015"

The West hoped to enter the locker room with a commanding 33-3 advantage, but the East found the end zone late in the opening half. Wide receiver Lawrence Cager caught a deep touchdown shortly after announcing his commitment to the University of Miami (Florida), according to InsideTheU.com:

That made the score 33-9 in favor of the West at halftime. The West's lead grew a bit more late in the third quarter when a field goal made it 36-9.

A scary moment occurred late in the third quarter, as East offensive tackle and Ohio State commit Matthew Burrell went down with an injury. As pointed out by Helmholdt, he appeared to be favoring his leg:

Burrell's status is unclear, although he did manage to leave the field under his own power, per Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com:

The East made things interesting in the fourth quarter when Darnold found future Duke wide receiver T.J. Rahming for a 63-yard touchdown to cut the West's lead to 36-15.

Rahming is diminutive at 5'8", according to 247Sports, but that didn't stop him from making a big play, per Helmholdt:

The East then managed to recover an onside kick, and Rahming struck again soon after. The East ran an exciting trick play that featured a reverse, a handoff back to Lock and an across-field screen to Rahming before he finished the play off with a long run down the sideline for a touchdown.

Rahming's touchdown drew heavy praise from Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com:

That cut the deficit to 36-22 with just under eight minutes remaining, but the East wasn't lucky enough to recover a second onside kick.

Its fortunes changed quickly, though, as Town threw an interception while under pressure on the first play of the West's drive. The East wasted no time taking advantage, as Lock found a wide-open Deon Cain for a 50-yard touchdown to suddenly make it 36-29 in favor of the West.

With the momentum firmly in its favor, the East attempted another onside kick, but the West was once again able to secure it.

The West tacked on another field goal with less than two minutes remaining to take a 10-point lead. That seemingly iced the game, but the East showed its resiliency once again on the ensuing kickoff.

Florida State commit Tarvarus McFadden took the kick to the house by virtue of his blazing speed and the West's terrible coverage.

The East still had life and appeared to recover another onside kick when 247Sports' No. 1 overall recruit, offensive tackle Martez Ivey, pounced on the ball.

The ball didn't go 10 yards, though, so the East was whistled for illegal touching, according to Helmholdt:

That gave the West an opportunity to run out the clock, but it was stopped on fourth down with 36 seconds remaining, which gave the East one last chance to complete the comeback.

The East could not move into field-goal position, though, and the West preserved the victory.

Recruit Commitments

One of the most exciting aspects of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the fact that so many top recruits announce their commitments during the game. That was once again the case this year, as nine prospects made their collegiate decisions.

It started with defensive end Kyle Phillips, who decided to remain in state. The Nashville, Tennessee, native committed to the University of Tennessee, according to Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee:

Phillips is the 110th-ranked recruit, per 247Sports, and staying close to home was an important part of his choice, according to Teran Johnson of 1180 AM VLZ:

Defensive tackle Neville Gallimore also made his announcement during the first quarter. The Canadian defensive tackle was a highly sought-after recruit, as he is ranked as the No. 10 player at his position, per 247Sports.

In the end, it was Oklahoma that managed to land the 6'3", 300-pound lineman, according to ESPN.com's Tom VanHaaren:

One of the most versatile players in the class of 2015, Devonaire Clarington from Miami, Florida, announced his choice as well. He has played both tight end and defensive end, although he projects primarily at the former position.

He is listed as the No. 4 tight end recruit in the nation by 247Sports, and he committed to the University of Texas, per Ryan Autullo of the Austin American-Statesman:

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports gave Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong a great deal of credit for branching out beyond the Texas area to land a big prospect:

Stanley Norman is a 4-star athlete from Gardena, California, but rather than remaining in the Golden State, he committed to Arizona State, according to Doug Haller of AZCentral.com:

Norman is a speedster who excels at both wide receiver and cornerback, and while it is unclear what role he will play for the Sun Devils, he certainly has the ability to thrive on either side of the ball.

Lawrence Cager was the only pure wide receiver set to make an announcement Saturday, and he certainly made a big splash.

The 6'5", 202-pound wideout is ranked No. 42 at his position by 247Sports, and he intends to play at the University of Miami (Florida), per Radi Nabulsi of UGASports.com:

Nabbing the Maryland native was a major coup for the Hurricanes, as they beat out Alabama and seemingly came from out of nowhere to secure the big pass-catcher, according to Donohue:

The versatile Ykili Ross was the first player to announce his commitment in the second half. He is rated highly as both a wide receiver and cornerback by 247Sports, and he decided that he will play for USC, per Jason Howell of Rivals.com:

He also may have revealed that he doesn't intend to spend all four years with the Trojans, according to Feldman:

It could have been a slip of the tongue, but USC fans are undoubtedly happy to have him regardless of how long he stays in school.

After securing Clarington earlier in the day, Strong and Texas struck again when 4-star athlete Tim Irvin from Miami committed to the Longhorns, according to Corey Bender of Scout.com:

Irvin is the nephew of Dallas Cowboys legendary wide receiver Michael Irvin, and while he could follow in the footsteps of his uncle as a wide receiver, he is also skilled at running back and safety.

USC entered the day with an already impressive recruiting class, but it continued to build upon something special. 

Shortly after Ross announced that he would play for the Trojans, safety Marvell Tell did the same, per Howell:

Tell is the No. 4 safety recruit in the nation, according to 247Sports, and he could help form an elite secondary at USC down the line if Ross is utilized as a defensive back as well.

The final commitment of the day was made by defensive end D'Andre Walker, whom 247Sports rates as the No. 10 player at his position.

While the Fairburn, Georgia, native had no shortage of options, he decided to stay close to home by committing to the University of Georgia, per Nabulsi:

Although plenty can happen between now and national signing day, several college football fanbases are extremely excited about what the future holds for their favorite teams.

USC and Texas were clearly among the biggest winners, but since many of the players who competed in Saturday's game are still undecided, there will be plenty of opportunities for other programs to beef up their recruiting classes in the coming weeks.

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