The most wonderful time of the year is just about over. The Grandaddy of Them All didn’t quite get the blood boiling the way fans had hoped. Team Saban certainly disappointed. And the National Championship game is still six days away.

All is not lost however. The future of the greatest sport on the planet will be on display all weekend long – and it wont even cut into NFL Playoff viewing! On Saturday, almost like an under-card, is the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The deepest field of high school senior football players will come together at 1 p.m. (E.T.) in the Alamodome on NBC.

The Army Bowl in is its 9th year of existence and has been easily the biggest and the brightest national showcase of elite high school talent each of those years. It still can claim the largest pool of talent, as more AC100 prospects will be on display in San Antone than any other all-star event this year. However, the star power of the second annual Under Armour All-American Game will give it a run for its money this season. The UU Game will take place Sunday evening (8 p.m. E.T.) in Orlando, Fla. Sunday evening on ESPN.

There will be 54 AC100 prospects on the field in the East/West Army Bowl and 30 in Orlando at the Black/White UU Game. However, the nation’s top three players – Matt Barkley, Russell Shepard and Manti Te’o – will be playing in the Citrus Bowl rather than the Alamodome. Also, the country’s highest rated defensive tackle (Jaccobi McDaniel) and safety (Craig Loston) will be at the Under Armour event. Oh, and the last two winners of the Gatorade National Player of the Year award– Barkley and Garrett Gilbert. It is so even, in fact, that each event can claim ten of the top-20 prospects in the nation (AC100).

So which game is the best? The answer is who cares. For the recruiting fan out there, this weekend is probably more entertaining than Signing Day. For the average college football fan, its a glimpse of the future.

Decisions Decisions

These all-stars games serve numerous purposes. Future teammates can get to know one another as some schools will have four, five or even six different prospects at each of the games. Many committed kids actually turn into recruiters for their future teams. Talent evaluators get to see top-flight talent go against other elite prospects. Fans get a chance to see some of the kids that will be joining their respective clubs in the fall (or spring). A head start on 2010 takes place as hundreds of juniors will be on display at a combine hosted prior to the event. But not in the least is the rumor mill and announcement list. 

Practice at these two all-star events has acted as a stimulus package to the internet-message board-rumor mill monster. A story from one recruiting website reads, “If you base things off talking to the players from the West squad, wideout Rueben Randle will end up at LSU over Alabama in the end.” Randle is the top wide receiver in the nation this season, but is not likely to announce this week. Most seventeen year-old kids are unsure of decisions like these, so how could anyone else really know?

However, there are plenty of kids that will be announcing this weekend. Here is a look at the announcement list:

U.S. Army All-American Bowl Announcements:

Rank	Name	Pos.	Hometown	Finalists	Projected
17.	Xavier Nixon	OL	Fayettville, NC	Fla, LSU, Mia, UNC	Florida
24.	William Campbell	DT	Detroit, MI	Mich, USC, Mia, LSU, Fla	LSU
34.	Marcus Hall	OL	Cleveland, OH	Illinois, Ohio St	Ohio St
48.	Christine Michael*	RB	Beaumont, TX	TAMU, Okla, LSU	Texas A&M*
81.	Kraig Appleton^	WR	East St. Louis, IL	Wisconsin, Illinois	Wisc.
91.	Tajh Boyd^	QB	Hampton, VA	Ohio St, Ore, BC	Oregon
92.	Bryce McNeal	WR	Minneapolis, MN	Ore, Minn, Okla, Colo, Clem	Clemson

Others set to announce in San Antonio:
Jon Bostic, LB                      (Florida, FSU, Miami, Clemson, LSU)
Michael Carter, CB              (Florida, Minnesota, WVU)
Brennan Williams, OL         (BC, UNC, Wake)
Adam Hall, ATH^                 (USC, Arizona, Cal, Oregon)

Under Armour All-American Game:

Rank	Name	Pos.	Hometown	Finalist	Projected
13.	Craig Loston*	S	Houston, TX	LSU, Ore, Bama, TAMU	LSU*
30.	Andre Debose	WR	Sanford, FL	LSU, Florida	Florida
39.	John Martinez^	OL	Salt Lake City, UT	LSU, USC, UCLA	USC
46.	Brandon Smith	CB	Atlanta, GA	UGA, FSU, Fla, Bama	Georgia
73.	Ray Ray Armstrong	ATH	Sanford, FL	Fla, LSU, Mia, UGA	Miami

Others set to announce in Orlando:
Dyron Dye, ATH                 (S. Carolina, LSU, FSU, Miami, Florida)
Mark Brazinski, OC            (FSU, UNC, BC, Penn)

* - already made decision
^ - announcement is possible

Breaking Down the Talent

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will feature more than half of the Athlon Consensus 100 list for 2009. The strength of these rosters lies in the trenches and in the running game. The nation’s top-two running backs – Bryce Brown (#5 overall/Miami verbal) and Cierre Wood (#11/Notre Dame) – will take the field opposite one another on Saturday. Brown has been the talk of practice and appears to be earning his ranking as the nation’s top prep tailback.

The defensive line and linebackers are also very well represented. Two of the country’s top three linebackers – Dorian Bell (#8/Ohio St) and Vontaze Burfict (#14/USC) – will be tracking down those elite runners. Burfict has been the most physical defensive player for the West and watching him track down Brown all game should be fun. Bell will have his hands full with Wood.

Both lines should give their respective players ample opportunity to shine on both sides of the ball. Two of the top three defensive ends and three of the top four tackles will be in the Alamodome Saturday trying to get pressure on the quarterbacks and clog up running lanes. Jamarkus McFarland (#12/Oklahoma) and Chris Davenport (#16/LSU) are two of the strongest prospects in the nation and should make it very difficult to run the ball up the middle.

Trying to block them will be seven of the top eight offensive lineman in the nation. The names to watch are converted defensive tackle D.J. Fluker (#28/Alabama) and former Michigan commit William Campbell (#24). Fluker is a 6’7 350-pound monstrosity and is easily the biggest player in the game. The second biggest player might be Campbell. The midwest product is as big on personality as he is size (6’4, 320): he led a dance off between the two teams earlier this week.

The starting quarterback for the East will be Tampa (Fla.) Plant gunslinger Aaron Murray (#32/Georgia). The future Georgia Bulldog is a little short in stature but not in success. He was State Player of the Year as a junior and led his team to a state championship this season after missing most of the year with a broken left leg. He rehabbed extraordinarily quickly and played in the final two games of the year. Murray should feel very comfortable throwing to Plant teammate Orson Charles (#87). Charles has the build of Travis Beckum and has been a nightmarish mismatch thus far in practice.

The West has a playmaker of its own in Rueben Randle (#6). The Bastrop, La. native is the top wide receiver prospect in the nation, but don’t be surprised if he lines up behind center as he made the switch to quarterback for his senior year. Also keep an eye on the SoCal speedsters Randall Carroll (#21), Patrick Hall (#43/USC) and Shaquelle Evans (#22/Notre Dame).

So the question becomes who will be the next in a line of players announcing their talents to the nation. Brown? Burfict? Randle? The list is formidable and includes a standout performance by Terrelle Pryor last season as well as Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow, Adrian Peterson and Vince Young before him. So stay tuned.

Who is Number One?

The Under Armour All-American Game brings a slightly different collection of talent. Although not as deep at the top like the Army Bowl, the UU Game may finally offer insight into the race for number one. When the AC100 is revamped following this weekend, there may be a new number one prospect.

Santa Ana, Calif. quarterback Matt Barkley (#1/USC) has been the top player in the nation for over a year. The uber-athletic Russell Shepard (#2/LSU) has made a push for the top spot as Barkley‘s stock has dipped a bit due to a less-than-stellar senior season. Many of his issues can be attributed to a youthful and inexperienced offensive line at Mater Dei High School, so this game may answer the question as to who is the best quarterback in the nation for 2009.

Who the best defensive player is, however, is not a question. Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou’s Manti Te’o (#3) has proven all season and all week that he is the best. He has dominated practice all week like fellow Punahou grad Barack Obama did in November. His size, speed, instincts and power are second to none and could put Te’o into the number one spot come next week. A couple other missiles to watch will be Wheaton (Md.) Good Counsel linebacker Jelani Jenkins (#18) and Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep's Frankie Telfort. Te’o has USC, Stanford, BYU, Notre Dame and UCLA as his finalist while Jenkins lists Florida, USC, Penn State, Illinois, Notre Dame and Boston College. Telfort has narrowed it down to Florida and USC.

Future Texas Longhorn quarterback Garrett Gilbert (#10/Texas) will not challenge for number one but few recruits will ever leave high school with as distinguished a resume. Gilbert claims two state titles over his last two seasons and a national player of the year award. He also supplanted Graham Harrell as the most prolific Texas high school passer of all time with the career state record for passing yards at 12,536 yards.

These guys will have tons of options on the edge with names like Andre Debose (#30), Logan Heastie (#36/WVU) and Ray Ray Armstrong (#73) catching passes and making plays. Debose has drawn comparisons to Percy Harvin and could be the breakout star of the entire event and Armstrong could be the best athlete at his size (6'4, 220) of any player in the nation. The safeties trying to stop these athletes are extraordinary, though. Craig Loston (#13/LSU) and Devonte Holloman (#42/S. Carolina) are the nation’s top two players at that position and will make sure the receivers think twice about crossing the middle. Both were once committed to Clemson and have now jumped ship.

Others like running back Trent Richardson (#20/Alabama) and defensive tackle Jaccobi McDaniel (#7/Florida St) have been the best players at their positions and will certainly be names to watch this Sunday.

ESPN.com’s J.C. Shurburtt publishes the SouthEast Recruiting Blog and has been down at practice all week, “It gives our team of evaluators a great chance to see the best face the best. You can see two guys with 20-plus BCS offers go head-to-head. It is not the end all be all for evaluators but it is a great tool.”

“There is more talent here (Orlando, Fla.) than at any other all-star game in the nation and its only in its second year of existence. Plus, you cannot beat the location. The Citrus Bowl is a great venue for everyone involved. It is an outstanding experience.”

It should be a lot of fun for us football junkies too.

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