Army All-American Bowl 2022: Top Recruits Announcing Commitments at Game
Some of the top high school senior football players in the country are all set to face off in San Antonio in the Army All-American Bowl. The game has long been a chance for star athletes to say goodbye to prep football and demonstrate what they will soon bring to the college game. Saturday's contest between the East and West squads will start at noon ET on NBC.
While the players' performances can be plenty exciting, the biggest headlines are often generated by what is said at the game. Every year, a handful of uncommitted players use the game's platform to announce which colleges they will join, and 2022 is no different.
According to USA Today's Tyler Calvaruso, 10 players are set to announce their commitments at the game. Here's a look at the highest-rated recruits from that list, based on 247 Sports' rankings.
Earnest Greene is the top-rated uncommitted player set to announce his college future at Saturday's game. He is the No. 40 player overall in the class of 2022 and the No. 2 interior offensive lineman.
While Greene hails from Southern California, it appears he's in all likelihood headed for the SEC. Georgia is the program most likely to obtain his talents, while Alabama had the most recent recruiting visit on Nov. 20. The ability to entice players like Greene to move well across the country is the reason the two powerhouse programs duking it out for a national championship on Monday are likely to continue to contend for years to come.
Greene is ranked as an interior offensive lineman, but it appears he has designs on playing offensive tackle at the next level. According to DawgNation.com's Jeff Sentell, Greene has been working out at tackle ahead of the All-American Bowl, and the opportunity to play the position is a big factor in how he made his soon-to-be-revealed commitment.
"For me, it just came down to me to player development at my position,” he said Wednesday, per Sentell. “Offensive tackle. Explosive offenses. Offenses that like to get their big men out in space and play physical.”
It sure sounds like whichever program convinced Greene he can be a future star at tackle is going to hear its name called during Saturday's game.
Wide receiver Kevin Coleman is the top pass-catching prize left in the class of 2022, ranked No. 4 in the country at his position and at No. 44 overall. Coleman isn't a physically imposing wideout at 5'11" and 170 pounds, but he has no problem making big plays. He turned two receptions into 97 yards and two touchdowns in St. Mary's blowout win in the state championship game in December.
According to Fox 2 Now's Gregg Palermo, Coleman has narrowed down his choices to three schools: Florida State, Oregon and Miami. Palermo notes that coaches at all three schools may have had a chance to develop a relationship with Coleman, even after the flurry of coaching changes:
"Coleman’s decision to wait on an announcement has helped navigate the annual coaching carousel which has seen lots of twists and turns. Oregon, which hosted him on an official visit in November, hired Georgia Defensive Coordinator Dan Lanning as head coach after Mario Cristobal left for Miami. Who did Lanning hire as his Offensive Coordinator? Florida State OC Kenny Dillingham, so he’s at least familiar with the faces even if they all seem to be in new places."
While all of those programs are capable of developing NFL-level talent, the experts at 247 Sports believe the Hurricanes are the most likely team to wind up with Coleman's explosive playmaking ability. Cristobal is going to be looking to make a splash after jumping ship from Oregon. Signing Coleman could be the start of something special in Miami.
We move from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive side with the next highest-rated recruit: Bishop Gorman's hard-hitting linebacker, Cyrus Moss.
Listed at 6'6" and 220 pounds, Moss has the frame to pack on the pounds and develop into a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks at the college level. Like Greene and Coleman, Moss is also expected to leave his home state for a big-time program.
The Nevada native, ranked No. 63 overall and No. 6 at edge rusher, is looking at Alabama, USC, Oregon, Arizona State and Miami. It turns out the Army All-American Bowl could be a statement game for Cristobal more than anyone else, as 247 Sports predicts Moss to join Coleman on the Hurricanes.
"It was a school that I wasn't really looking at before but when coach (Mario) Cristobal got there I started to. That was one of the biggest things for me, because I always had a great relationship with him and something that was big for me," Moss said, per 247Sports' Brandon Huffman.
The Hurricanes went 7-5 in the 2021 season and fired head coach Manny Diaz after three years. Cristobal has been tasked with turning the program around, and he may be able to do it quicker than expected if he keeps swinging recruits like Moss and Coleman his way.
All ranking and recruiting information is obtained from 247 Sports.