Winners and Losers of the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game
The 2016 Under Armour All-America Game has come to a conclusion, and Team Highlight shut out Team Armour 27-0 at the Citrus Bowl on Saturday. The game proved the age-old adage once again: Defense wins championships.
Team Highlight walked away with the game trophy, but several colleges collected some major victories of their own. On the flip side, a few schools that hoped for some good news with players committing Saturday were disappointed.
The all-star game, now in its ninth season, had its winners and losers. Here are some of each.
Winner: LSU
1 of 8
If there was ever a time for LSU to land a big-time commit, Saturday was the day. And the Tigers scored two in 4-star receiver Drake Davis and 4-star linebacker Michael Divinity.
The school won a major recruiting battle with fellow SEC schools Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M in landing Davis. He joins a receiver class that includes 4-star Stephen Sullivan, 4-star Dee Anderson and 3-star Da'Monte Coxie.
The commitments helped LSU move to the No. 1 spot in the 247Sports composite team rankings. The Tigers now have 19 commits, including 13 4-star players and one 5-star in Under Armour All-American cornerback Saivion Smith.
Divinity recommitted to LSU after reopening his options Dec. 16. He chose LSU over Texas A&M and others.
Loser: Michigan
2 of 8
Prior to Saturday, Michigan followers felt comfortable about landing one of two offensive linemen in guard Terrance Davis and tackle Jean Delance, if not both.
Instead, both athletes chose to stay in their respective states.
Davis, the nation's No. 2 guard and Maryland's top-ranked player, chose to follow head coach D.J. Durkin and commit to the Terrapins. And Delance, the nation's No. 10 tackle and a top-15 player in Texas, chose to play for Charlie Strong and the Texas Longhorns.
Michigan missed out on two offensive linemen, but the Wolverines were only losers on Saturday alone. Jim Harbaugh and his group are still doing well in the class and have four offensive linemen committed, including their top-ranked pledge, 4-star tackle Ben Bredeson.
Winner: Defensive Linemen
3 of 8
Any time a team can pitch a shutout, it says a lot about the talent on the defensive side of the ball. Saturday showed that the hype the defensive linemen received was worth every sentence.
Team Highlight proved to be dominant, and it's easy to see why when you notice the team's defensive linemen. Rashan Gary is the nation's top-ranked player for a reason. He had three sacks, tying an Under Armour All-America Game record for most sacks in a game.
Add in playmakers such as Ole Miss pledge Benito Jones and Arkansas commit McTelvin Agim, and it was clear why Team Highlight gave Team Armour's offense fits. The defensive linemen were solid all day. Additionally, the Team Armour linemen—including Houston commit Ed Oliver, Florida pledge Antonneous Clayton and Penn State-bound Shane Simmons—were impressive, as well.
Winner: Miami
4 of 8
The Miami Hurricanes have 17 commits in the 2016 class, and three of their top four pledges—all 4-star athletes—proved to be contributors in the Under Armour game.
Quarterback Jack Allison threw a second-quarter touchdown in splitting playing time with two other signal-callers for the day. He completed three of seven passes for 83 yards.
His touchdown pass went to another future Hurricane. Receiver Dionte Mullins made arguably the catch of the game in snagging a 24-yard touchdown pass. He adjusted his route to make a one-handed grab that had social media buzzing.
Sam Bruce, the top-ranked Hurricanes commit, only had one reception for two yards, but it was his special teams play that garnered attention. Bruce had two kickoff returns for 71 yards and nearly broke free on a 46-yarder.
Loser: Ole Miss
5 of 8
For several weeks, Drake Davis had Ole Miss high on his list. Many thought the 4-star wide receiver—a teammate of 5-star quarterback pledge Shea Patterson at IMG Academy—would join Patterson in Hugh Freeze's offense.
Davis, however, surprised several people by choosing LSU Saturday. While the Tigers have a few receivers already committed, Ole Miss only has one receiver pledge in DeKaylin Metcalf. The Rebels were hoping to pair Metcalf and Davis for a solid receiver group of the future.
Ole Miss still has a few receiver targets on deck, but losing Davis was big. With weeks remaining until signing day on Feb. 3, you can bet the Rebels will still recruit him in an effort to flip him at the last minute.
Winner: Arkansas
6 of 8
Before the game started, Arkansas received huge news when 4-star running back Devwah Whaley committed to the Razorbacks.
As the nation's No. 4 running back, Whaley will give an Arkansas team that loves to run a player who gets the job done in the ground game. The 6'0", 209-pound back rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior for Central High School in Beaumont, Texas.
Whaley, a onetime Georgia commit, chose Arkansas over Texas and Georgia. It was a huge recruiting win for Bret Bielema and for an offense that averaged nearly 193 rushing yards and more than 35 points per game.
Winner: Texas
7 of 8
Texas hoped to go 2-for-2 in landing Under Armour commitments Saturday. The Longhorns struck out with running back Devwah Whaley, but they picked up a standout player at a much-needed position along the offensive line.
Offensive tackle Jean Delance became Texas' top-ranked pledge in the 2016 class. He chose the Longhorns over Michigan and LSU, among other schools, and became the 13th overall pledge for Charlie Strong and his staff. Depth on the offensive line is a priority, as the Longhorns will lose key seniors from their 2015 team.
For Strong, landing a running back is key, but the bigger need for the class was at offensive line. On Saturday, the Longhorns filled a need.
Loser: Alabama
8 of 8
When Calvin Ridley signed with Alabama's 2015 class, Crimson Tide fans looking into the future were anticipating his younger brother, Cavin Ridley, to follow suit when it was his time. Instead, the 4-star 2016 prospect—after the game and not during a scheduled, televised spot—announced he was blazing his own path Saturday.
According to Justin Wagner of TDAlabama, Cavin committed to South Carolina over Alabama and a host of other programs. The commitment gave the Gamecocks their 19th overall pledge and their highest-ranked receiver pledge.
Cavin's decision means no Ridley brothers reunion in Tuscaloosa. It also means Alabama is still looking to land a couple of receiver pledges. T.J. Simmons, a 3-star pledge, is Alabama's lone natural receiver commitment. Trevon Diggs, who could end up playing receiver, is listed as the nation's No. 6 athlete.
Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles
