Army All-American Bowl 2016: Score, Recruit Commitments and Twitter Reaction

The West team came out on top in the premier college recruit all-star game Saturday, as it easily defeated the East 37-9 in the 2016 Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Ole Miss quarterback recruit Shea Patterson took home MVP honors for the West, according to Yancy Porter of Scout, as he completed six of his 10 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns in an efficient performance:

Here is an in-depth look at how the 2016 Army All-American Bowl played out, along with a breakdown of the five recruits who announced their collegiate commitments Saturday.

Game Recap

The West came out of the gates firing thanks to the play of Patterson and his wide array of offensive weapons.

Following a 55-yard kickoff return, Patterson took advantage of the East's lax coverage in the secondary by finding Stanford wide receiver commit Simi Fehoko for a 35-yard touchdown.

According to Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports, Patterson's strong opening performance was quite consistent with what he brought to the table at the high school level:

While Patterson certainly has a lot of work to do before assuming the starting quarterback job with the Rebels, Chad Simmons of Scout firmly believes he will develop into one of the best signal-callers and players in the nation:

The East had a chance to answer on the ensuing drive with Georgia commit and No. 1-ranked quarterback Jacob Eason at the helm.

Eason fumbled a snap deep in his own territory, though, and then fumbled again after recovering it and getting hit. That allowed TCU running back commit Sewo Olonilua to punch the ball in from one yard out to give the West a 13-0 lead. A missed extra point followed.

As Mike Farrell of Rivals pointed out, Eason didn't look particularly comfortable on what turned out to be a disastrous opening drive for the East:

Scoring stalled out for a while after that, but there were some spectacular defensive plays sprinkled in, including Miami (Fla.) cornerback commit Tyler Byrd picking off Stanford recruit KJ Costello.

While Byrd showed excellent ball skills on the play, Bleacher Report's David Kenyon pointed out that he was helped out by a less-than-stellar Costello throw:

The West extended its lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half when Patterson threw his second touchdown of the day to Javon McKinley, who announced his college decision later in the game.

After Patterson found pay dirt on the play, Farrell pointed out that he was establishing himself as the game's top passer:

That score put the West up 19-0, but the East finally got on the board when Byrd blocked an extra-point attempt and returned it all the way to make it 19-2.

Former NFL quarterback and current Yahoo analyst Shaun King was among those who loved what they saw out of Byrd:

Byrd's big play gave the East the momentum it needed, as the team's ensuing drive ended in its first touchdown of the day when Louisville quarterback commit Jawon Pass ran for a short touchdown to pull to within 10 points of the lead:

Despite Pass sparking the East on offense, Woody Wommack of Rivals believes he has a lot of developing to do in comparison to the game's other quarterbacks:

The West bounced back, as it added 11 more points to its total in the final few minutes of the opening half.

Costello connected with USC commit Tyler Vaughns for a 19-yard touchdown before finding Olonilua for a two-point conversion to make the score 27-9:

After watching Vaughns' TD, Greg Biggins of Fox Sports lauded the pass-catcher for his skills as a receiver:

BYU kicker commit Skyler Southam had a rough first half, but he atoned for it just prior to halftime by knocking a 28-yard field goal through the uprights to put the West ahead 30-9 after 24 minutes.

Following a scoreless third quarter, the West continued to pour it on early in the fourth when Costello threw his second touchdown of the day, this time to uncommitted California tight end and defensive end Devin Asiasi to make it 37-9.

The 4-star Asiasi is ranked as the No. 4 athlete in the class, and Jason Howell of Rivals loved what he saw out of him on the play at the tight end position:

Eason's struggles continued for the East on the next drive, as he was intercepted by undecided cornerback Jack Jones. That prompted ESPN.com's Max Olson to observe that Eason may have been dealing with a thumb injury, although nothing was confirmed on that front.

The East team didn't take any chances, holding him out for the remainder of the game. Neither team was able to add to its respective scoring totals.

While there was a major disparity on the scoreboard, both the East and West showcased a ton of talent in the 2016 Army All-American Bowl.

If Saturday's game was any indication, then college football is in for a major infusion of talent.

Recruit Commitments

The first of five live college commitments during the 2016 Army All-American Bowl occurred during the first quarter when wide receiver Dylan Crawford made his choice.

The Rancho Santa Margarita, California, native ranks as the No. 20 wide receiver in his class, and he will attempt to live up to that billing at the University of Michigan, according to the Army All-American Bowl's official Twitter account:

Per Nick Baumgardner of MLive, Crawford pointed toward Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh's presence as one of the defining factors in his decision to make the move to Ann Arbor during the game's broadcast.

"I just felt it was the all-around best fit for me," Crawford said. "They've got a good network there, I can go in there and try and compete from the beginning. Coach Harbaugh's going to get you right."

After Michigan secured Crawford, 247Sports pointed out the Wolverines have the best recruiting class in the Big Ten and the second-best in the nation:

In the second quarter, defensive tackle Ross Blacklock chose between TCU, Houston and Texas A&M.

The Missouri City, Texas, native ultimately decided to join Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs in the Big 12 Conference:

At 314 pounds, Blacklock rates as the No. 28 defensive tackle and No. 271 overall prospect in the 2016 recruiting class.

Fellow TCU commit and 4-star defensive end Isaiah Chambers was excited after hearing that he will play alongside Blacklock at the collegiate level:

Donnie Corley is an impressive wide receiver and cornerback recruit, and he declared his college choice in the third quarter.

Big Ten powers Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State were in the running, but the No. 2 player from the state of Michigan decided to remain close to home by committing to play for the Spartans:

While Corley is a 4-star wide receiver and the No. 19 wideout in his class, he is certainly talented enough to play on both sides of the ball.

According to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports, Corley said during the Army All-American Bowl broadcast that his dual-threat ability played into his decision.

"They've just been real with me since the beginning," Corley said. "It was one of my first offers. I just love what Coach [Mark] Dantonio is doing up there. They've been winning the last couple years. They're in need of a lot of receivers and I got a chance to play both ways."

The third and final wide receiver to commit on the day did so in the fourth quarter, as Javon McKinley considered finalists Notre Dame, Oregon and Washington.

While the Corona, California, native is far closer to Pac-12 country, he decided to make the long trip to South Bend, Indiana, to play for Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish:

The 4-star wideout ranks as the No. 18 receiver in the class of 2016, and, according to Wiltfong, he gave a number of reasons for his desire to be a Golden Domer on the broadcast.

"One of the best degree schools you could get," McKinley said. "I connected with the coaching staff really well. The whole tradition of Notre Dame is something to really look into. I just like Notre Dame."

The biggest announcement of the day was saved for last when 5-star No. 1-ranked tight end Isaac Nauta ended his recruiting process.

While Michigan made a late push to land him in addition to Crawford, Nauta's preference to remain close to home won out, as the Buford, Georgia, native committed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.

Even though the Wolverines came up short in the their pursuit of Nauta, Steve Lorenz of 247Sports still felt as though it was a significant step for Michigan in its quest to become a recruiting power once again:

Nauta will combine with Eason to create one of the most exciting, young offensive combinations in college football.

One can only assume that Nauta will be huge for Eason's development as a passer since he is among the highest-rated tight ends to enter the college ranks over the past several years, per Paul Maharry of UGASports.com:

Georgia may have scored the biggest coup of the day by getting its quarterback an elite weapon, but a number of schools significantly improved.

All five of the prospects who committed during the 2016 Army All-American Bowl have a chance to be NFL players, while several others who put forth strong on-field performances during the contest will have that opportunity as well.

*All recruit information and rankings courtesy of 247Sports.