West Tops East, but Recruiting Announcement Still Take Center Stage

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The granddaddy of national all-star high school football games was won by the West All-Stars 24-12, but ahead of the final score at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl is - which college team won the recruiting game.

Fourteen players announced their verbal commitments Saturday during the nationally-televised game in the Alamodome in San Antonio.

If you were keeping score, the University of California won with three recruits; Louisville and Miami finished second with two players each.

On the field, Mullen High's (Colorado) Cyler Miles and Dorial Green-Beckham of Hillcrest High School in Missouri, who Rivals.com ranks as the nation's top recruit, hooked-up on the longest touchdown pass in the history of the all-star contest.  The 79-yard catch-and-run by Green-Beckham in the second quarter was the key play that led to the players share the game's MVP honors.

Miles, who last year gave his verbal to Washington, finished 7-of-8 for 155 yards and that one touchdown.  He also ran for a touchdown in the first quarter.  Green-Beckham caught two passes in the game for 88 yards.

The game was played before a crowd of 39,011 fans, which set a record.

Below is the players who gave their verbals on Saturday:

QB Anthony Alford (Petal HS, MS): Southern Miss
LB Keith Brown (Norland HS, FL): Louisville
DE Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, N.C.): Florida
S Deon Bush (Columbus HS, FL): Miami
LB Nick Dawson (Phillip O. Berry, NC): Louisville
S Jordan Diggs (Briar Wood HS, VA): South Carolina
DT Ellis McCarthy (Monrovia HS, CA): California
DE Tyriq McCord (Jefferson HS, FL): Miami
LB Brian Nance (Euless Trinity, TX): Baylor
WR Jordan Payton (Oak Christian, CA): California
RB Barry J. Sanders (Heritage Hall, OK): Stanford
CB Kevon Seymour (Muir HS, CA): Southern Cal
S Elijah Shumate (Don Bosco Prep, NJ): Notre Dame
DB Shaq Thompson (Grant HS, CA): California

Just remember, none of this is official until National Letter of Intent Signing Day on February 1st.

Listen to U.S. Army All-American Bowl West Head Coach Tony Severino on High School Football America

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the granddaddy of all national high school all-star football games.

90 of America's best are facing-off in the Alamodome in San Antonio in front of 30,000-plus fans and a national television audience on NBC.

I spoke with Rockhurst High School (Missouri) head coach Tony Severino, who is the head coach of the West All-Stars, on Thursday's High School Football America radio show.

Click here to listen to that interview.

West Wins Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl on 4th Quarter FG

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

It’s a busy week for many of the nation’s top high school football recruits with three national all-star football games being played across America.

The first, and the newest, the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl was played Tuesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

The West All-Stars beat the East All-Stars 17-14 in the inaugural game that was televised by the CBS Sports Network.

The game, which was played with a running clock in the second half because of television time constraints, came down to a 46-yard field goal by Marshall Morgan of Archbishop McCarthy High School (Florida) with 5:30 left in the game.

It was a back-and-forth contest in the first half with all of the game’s touchdowns being scored before the break.

The East took a 7-0 lead on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Nelson of Mankato West High School (Minnesota) to JaQuay Williams of Sandy Creek High School (Georgia).

The West tied the game at seven when Washington recruit Jeff Lindquist of Mercer Island (Washington) tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jaydon Mickens of Dorsey High (California). Lindquist then gave the West a 14-7 lead on a touchdown toss to Corey Batey of Ensworth High (Tennessee).

The teams entered the halftime locker rooms tied at 14, thanks to a 9-yard TD pass from Nick Patti of Dr. Phillips High School (Florida) to Maxx Williams of Waconia High (Minnesota). The score was set-up by a 53-yard kickoff return by Donaldven Manning of Miami Central (Florida).

Dorsey’s Mickens was named the game’s MVP.

Still to come this week is the Under Armour All-America game Thursday night in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game will be televised on ESPN with former NFL head coaches Herm Edwards and Steve Mariucci coaching the high school stars.

On Saturday, the granddaddy of national all-star football games will be played in San Antonio. The 12th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played in the Alamodome and will be broadcast on NBC.

East Beats West in U.S. Army All-American Bowl

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

If you tuned-in to watch the best high school football players in America put on a great show in the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, you were disappointed.

The East beat the West 13-10 in a game that didn't have much excitement. The West amassed minus-20 yards rushing thanks to 12 sacks by the East defense.

The real show in this annual game is the announcement by the blue chip players on where they will play their college ball.

This year 14 players made their announcements before the national television audience on watching on NBC.

Demetrius Hart (Dr. Phillips HS, FL) was named the game's MVP after becoming the first player to rush for 100-yards in the game. Hart, who earlier in the week was named the U.S. Army National Player of the Year, confirmed his commitment to Alabama during the game.

Here's the list of those that made their verbal commitments during the game...

Odell Beckham - Isadore Newman, LA - LSU
Brent Calloway - Russellville HS, AL - Auburn
Kris Frost - Butler HS, NC - Auburn
Dee Hart - Dr. Phillips HS, FL - Alabama
Gerold Holliman - Miami Southridge HS, FL - Louisville
Harvey Langi - Bingham HS, UT - Utah
Colt Lyeria - Oregon
Wayne Lyons - Dillard HS, FL - Stanford
Villami Moala - Hillsboro HS, OR - Cal
James Sample - Central Catholic HS, OR - Washington
Tobias Singleton - Madison Central, MS - Mississippi
Donovan Smith - Owings Mills - Penn St.
Damian Swann - Grady HS, GA - Georgia
Lateek Townsend - Marlboro HS, SC = Clemson

Parade All-American Team Announced

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Growing up, the release of the PARADE All-America high school football team was always a big deal. Nowadays, everyone has their own version.

But today, the granddaddy of them all was released. The 47th PARADE All-America team honors 58 players from 24 states. The team was chosen by a panel of coaches, journalists, scouts and recruits.

Heading the list is Seantrel Henderson of Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, who has been chosen as PARADE's Player of the Year. The 6-8, 310-pound offensive lineman is the third player from the school to win the honor. Chris Weinke, the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner and current Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer won the award during their senior seasons.

Other top awards went to Mission Bay (San Diego, CA) High School's Dilon Baxter, who was named the Top All-Purpose Player; Jake Heeps of Skyline (Sammamish, WA is the Top Quarterback and Jordon Hicks of Lakota West (West Chester, OH) is the Top Linebacker.

Here's the 2010 All America Football Team...

Name/High School/City/State/Ht./Wt.

Quarterbacks
Jake Heaps , Skyline, Sammamish, Wash. , 6’2”, 195
Phillip Sims,, Oscar Smith, Chesapeake, Va., 6’2”, 225
Scotty Young, Billy Ryan, Denton, Tex. , 6’3”, 195
Devin Gardner, Inkster, Inkster, Mich., 6’4”, 205
Hutson Mason, Lassiter, Marietta, Ga. , 6’3”, 185
Barry Brunetti, University, Memphis, Tenn., 6’2”, 205
Dylan Favre , St. Stanislaus, Bay St. Louis, Miss., 5’11”, 190

Running Backs
Marcus Lattimore, Byrnes, Duncan, S.C., 6’1”, 220
Malcolm Jones, Oaks Christian, Westlake Village, Calif., 6’1”, 215
Michael Dyer, Little Rock Christian, Little Rock, Ark., 5’9”, 205
Kevin Parks, West Rowan, Mount Ulla, N.C., 5’7”, 195
Traylon Shead, Cayuga, Bethel, Tex., 6’2”, 215
Matt Perez, Maine South, Park Ridge, Ill., 5’11”, 205
Roy Finch, Niceville, Niceville, Fla., 5’9”, 180
Erick Howard, Hoover, North Canton, Ohio, 5’11”, 205
Shakir Bell, Warren Central, Indianapolis, Ind., 5’8”, 185

Receivers
Kyle Prater, Proviso West, Hillside, Ill., 6’5”, 205
Robert Woods, Serra Gardena, Calif., 6’1”, 180
Da’Rick Rogers, Calhoun, Calhoun, Ga., 6’3”, 205
Xavier Grimble, Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas, Nev., 6’5”, 245
Darius White, Dunbar, Fort Worth, Tex., 6’3” 205
Darius Terrell, DeSoto, DeSoto, Tex., 6’3”, 215

Lineman
Seantrel Henderson, Cretin-Derham, St. Paul, Minn., 6’8”, 310
Jackson Jeffcoat, Plano West, Plano, Tex., 6’5”, 230
Sharrif Floyd, George Washington, Philadelphia, Pa., 6’3”, 310
James Hurst, Plainfield, Plainfield, Ind., 6’5”, 290
Ronald Powell, Rancho Verde, Moreno Valley, Calif., 6’4”, 230
William Gholston, Southeastern, Detroit, Mich., 6’7”, 250
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, David Douglas, Portland, Ore., 6’3”, 245
Christian Lombard, Fremd, Palatine, Ill., 6’6”, 295
Jake Matthews, Elkins, Missouri City, Tex., 6’5”, 285
Robert Crisp, Athens Drive, Raleigh, N.C., 6’7”, 300
Kelcy Quarles, Greenwood, Greenwood, S.C. , 6’5”, 270
Chris Ward, Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. , 6’4”, 290
James Stone, Maplewood, Nashville, Tenn., 6’4”, 300
George Uko, Don Lugo, Chino, Calif., 6’4”, 300
Shep Klinke, Katy, Katy, Tex., 6’6”, 285
Jacques Smith, Ooltewah, Ooltewah, Tenn., 6’3”, 245
Taylor Bible, Guyer, Denton, Tex., 6’3”, 300
Jordan Allen, West Monroe, West Monroe, La., 6’6”, 260

Linebackers
Jordan Hicks, Lakota West, West Chester, Ohio, 6’2” 220
Corey Nelson, Skyline, Dallas, Tex., 6’1”, 210
Jeff Luc, Treasure Coast, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 6’1”, 240
Chris Martin, Grandview, Aurora, Colo., 6’5”, 240
C.J. Mosley, Theodore, Theodore, Ala., 6’3”, 215
Hayes Pullard, Crenshaw, Los Angeles, Calif., 6’2”, 225
Tony Jefferson, Eastlake, Chula Vista, Calif., 6’0”, 200

Defensive Backs
Matt Elam, Dwyer, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 6’0”, 205
Alec Ogletree, Newnan, Newnan, Ga., 6’3”, 210
Keenan Allen, Northern Guilford, Greensboro, N.C., 6’2”, 205
Demarcus Milliner, Stanhope Elmore, Millbrook, Ala., 6’1”, 185

Kicker
Kip Smith, Legacy, Broomfield, Colo., 6’1”, 210

All-Purpose
Dillon Baxter, Mission Bay, San Diego, Calif., 6’0”, 195
Lamarcus Joyner, St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. , 5’10”, 175
Demarco Cobbs, Tulsa Central, Tulsa, Okla., 6’2”, 210
Joshua Shaw,Palmdale, Palmdale, Calif., 6’1”, 195
Latwan Anderson, Glenville, Cleveland, Ohio, 6’0”, 195
A.J. Derby, Iowa City, Iowa City, Iowa , 6’4”, 215

Mission Bay (CA) QB/RB/WR Named U.S. Army All-American Bowl National Player-of-the-Year

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Mission Bay High School's Dillon Baxter had one of the most incredible high school football seasons ever, and Friday the San Diego-area senior was named as the National Player of the Year by the officials of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Baxter, who also was named as California's Mr. Football on Friday, played quarterback, running back and wide receiver this season, accounted for 76 touchdowns and 5,115 yards of total offense. NBC San Diego reports that Baxter's senior year will go down in the record books.

Now the big question facing Baxter is whether he should stick to his verbal commitment to play his college ball at USC. According to the NY Times today, Baxter is re-thinking his decision because Pete Carroll has resigned to take the head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks.

West Wins U.S. Army All-American Bowl

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Game MVP Ronald Powell of Mission Viejo High School (CA) led the West stars to a 30-14 win over the East squad in the 10th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio Saturday.

The 6-5, 230-pound Powell, who committed to Florida during the broadcast on NBC, ended the game with five tackles, one for a loss and one forced fumble, plus caught a 23-yard touchdown pass and returned a block extra point for two points.

Probably the most interesting thing about the game was how Pete Carroll's announcement that he was leaving for USC for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks affected some of the players. ESPN Rise takes a look at that topic.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

US Army All-American Bowl

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Today I send-out congratulations to the Army All-American Bowl that will celebrate its 10th anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.

I was involved in the first-ever national high school football all-star game in the early 90's in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I must be getting old, because for the life of me, I can't remember the game's name, which was broadcast live on ESPN2. I also can't find any on-line info on the game that I think was called the All-American All-Star game. It was the brainchild of a guy from the Lehigh Valley, who created it as part of his college thesis.

What I do remember is future NFLers Grant Wistom (Nebraska/Rams and Seahawks) and Jay Foreman (Nebraska/Bills, Giants & Texans) played in the game at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

The other thought is the difficulty that the organizer had in creating the event that lost money...very different from all the corporate sponsors that are now throwing truckloads of dough at the present day all-star games. The game never made it back for a second year, but on this Saturday, I'm throwing out props to a guy, whose name I can't remember...maybe his first name was Dave...for having the vision to give high school football fans a look at the best-of-the-best on one football field.

If anyone out there recalls the Allentown game, please write me an email at jeff@highschoolfootballamerica.com.

Enjoy today's broadcast on NBC that starts at 1 P.M. eastern time!

Here are the rosters....

East Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht., Wt. Hometown College
1 Ivan McCartney WR 6-3, 180 Miramar, Fla. Undecided
2 Christian Bryant DB 6-4, 190 Cleveland Undecided
3 Spencer Ware RB 5-11, 220 Cincinnati LSU
4 Martavis Bryant WR 6-0, 185 Anderson, S.C. Clemson
5 Markeith Ambles WR 6-3, 190 McDonough, Ga. Tennessee
6 Joe Boisture QB 6-6, 205 Saline, Mich. Michigan St.
7 Jaylen Watkins DB 6-0, 175 Cape Coral, Fla. Florida
8 Silas Redd RB 5-11, 198 Stamford, Conn. Penn St.
9 Keenan Allen DB 6-3, 195 Greensboro, N.C. Alabama
10 Christian Green WR 6-2, 200 Tampa, Fla. Undecided
11 Barry Brunetti QB 6-2, 207 Memphis, Tenn. West Virginia
12 Shakim Phillips WR 6-2, 195 Wayne, N.J. Boston College
13 Paul Jones QB 6-3, 226 McKees Rocks, Pa. Penn St.
14 Cole Marcoux QB 6-5, 234 Bronx, N.Y. Undecided
15 A.J. Derby QB 6-5, 225 Iowa City, Iowa Iowa
20 Austin Collinsworth DB 6-1, 190 Fort Thomas, Ky. Notre Dame
21 Kyle Prater WR 6-5, 205 Hillside, Ill. USC
22 Matt Elam DB 5-11, 205 W. Palm Beach, Fla. Florida St.
23 Nick Forbes LB 6-1, 225 Frederick, Md. Cal
24 Cullen Christian DB 6-3, 230 Pittsburgh Michigan
25 Latwan Anderson DB 5-11, 195 Cleveland Undecided
27 Will Hagerup P 6-4, 215 Whitefish Bay, Wis. Michigan
28 Marcus Lattimore RB 6-1, 210 Duncan, S.C. Undecided
30 Michael Palardy K 6-2, 175 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Tennessee
31 Victor Hampton DB 5-11, 176 Darlington, S.C. Undecided
32 Gerald Christian LB 6-0, 180 W. Palm Beach, Fla. Florida
33 Gabe King DE 6-5, 260 Eugene, Ore. Undecided
36 Jacques Smith LB 6-4, 250 Chattanooga, Tenn. Tennessee
37 Chris Martin DE 6-4, 240 Aurora, Colo. Cal
40 Zach Zwinak LB 6-1, 227 Frederick, Md. Penn St.
42 Blake Leuders LB 6-5, 250 Zionsville, Ind. Notre Dame
49 Mike Hull LB 6-1, 218 Canonsburg, Pa. Penn St.
51 Khairi Fortt LB 6-3, 227 Stamford, Conn. Penn St.
53 Ego Ferguson DE 6-3, 275 Chatham, Va. Undecided
54 Carlos Thompson DE 6-5, 220 Hollandale, Miss. Undecided
55 Jeff Whitaker DT 6-4, 295 Warner Robins, Ga. Undecided
56 Garrison Smith DT 6-3, 240 Atlanta Georgia
58 Chance Carter DE 6-4, 250 Evanston, Ill. Northwestern
59 Arie Kouandjio OL 6-6, 310 Hyattsville, Md. Undecided
65 Brandon Linder C 6-6, 295 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Miami
66 Andrew Norwell OL 6-6, 275 Cincinnati Ohio St.
67 Andrew Donnal OL 6-7, 285 Whitehouse, Ohio Iowa
72 Shon Coleman OL 6-7, 285 Olive Branch, Miss. Auburn
73 Sharrif Floyd DT 6-4, 310 Philadelphia Undecided
75 Christian Lombard OL 6-6, 295 Palatine, Ill. Notre Dame
76 Quinton Spain OL 6-5, 330 Petersburg, Va. West Virginia
77 Matt James OL 6-8, 285 Cincinnati Undecided
78 Robert Crisp OL 6-8, 295 Raleigh, N.C. NC State
79 Damien Robinson OL 6-8, 330 Olive Branch, Miss. Undecided
88 C.J. Fiedorowicz TE 6-6, 250 Johnsburg, Ill. Iowa
89 Brandon Willis DT 6-4, 250 Duncan, S.C. Undecided
99 Kelcy Quarles DT 6-5, 265 Greenwood, S.C. S. Carolina

Head coach — George Quarles, Maryville (Tenn.); Assistant coaches — David Ellis, Maryville (Tenn.); Dick Beck, Lansdale (Pa.) North; Jeff Herron, Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County; Otis Yelverton, Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy; Patrick Burrows, Miami Southridge; Lee Campbell, Eastman (Ga.) Dodge City; Rick Connor, Ijamsville (Md.) Linganore

West Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht., Wt. Hometown College
1 Trovon Reed WR 6-0, 175 Thibodaux, La. Auburn
2 Robert Woods WR 6-2, 185 Gardena, Calif. USC
3 Dior Mathis DB 5-9, 175 Detroit Undecided
4 Keanon Lowe DB 5-10, 175 Portland, Ore. Washington
5 Sean Parker DB 5-11, 190 Harbor City, Calif. Undecided
6 Anthony Barr RB 6-4, 225 Torrance, Calif. Undecided
7 Ronald Powell DE 6-4, 230 Moreno Vall., Calif. Undecided
8 Nate Askew WR 6-4, 213 Madison A&M
9 Jake Heaps QB 6-2, 205 Sammamish, Wash. BYU
10 Connor Wood QB 6-4, 212 Houston Texas
11 Tevin Jackson LB 6-2, 220 Garland Texas
12 Austin Hinder QB 6-4, 190 Steamboat, Colo. Cal
13 V.J. Fehoko LB 5-11, 215 Honolulu Undecided
15 Lache Seastrunk RB 5-11, 192 Temple Undecided
16 Matt Darr P 6-2, 215 Bakersfield, Calif. USC
17 DeAndrew White WR 6-0, 170 Galena Park Alabama
19 Justin McCay LB 6-3, 200 Shawnee, Kan. Oklahoma
20 Jarrick Williams DB 6-2, 205 Prichard, Ala. Alabama
21 Malcolm Jones RB 6-0, 218 Westlake Vill., Calif. UCLA
22 O. Odighizuwa DE 6-3, 240 Portland, Ore. Undecided
23 Cade Foster K 6-2, 220 Southlake Alabama
24 Demetrius Wright DB 6-1, 201 Corona, Calif. Undecided
25 Traylon Shead RB 6-2, 215 Cayuga Texas
26 Ahmad Dixon DB 6-2, 202 Waco Baylor
28 Dillon Baxter RB 6-0, 200 San Diego USC
30 Eric Reid DB 6-2, 208 Geismar, La. LSU
31 Tony Jefferson LB 6-1, 201 Chula Vista, Calif. Oklahoma
32 C.J. Mosley LB 6-2, 224 Theodore, Ala. Undecided
34 D.J. Morgan RB 5-11, 180 Wood. Hills, Calif. USC
36 Marquis Flowers DB 6-3, 200 Goodyear, Ariz. Undecided
42 Jackson Jeffcoat DE 6-5, 230 Plano Undecided
43 Cecil Whiteside LB 6-3, 224 Nwprt. Beach, Calif. Cal
51 Dominic Espinosa C 6-3, 285 Cedar Park Texas
53 Ricky Heimuli DT 6-4, 280 Salt Lake City Undecided
55 Sione Potoae DT 6-3, 285 Lakewood, Wash. Washington
64 Calvin Barnett DT 6-3, 300 Tulsa, Okla. Okla. St.
71 Cedric Ogbuehi OL 6-5, 270 Allen A&M
72 Reggie Wilson DE 6-4, 240 Haltom City Texas
74 Jake Matthews OL 6-5, 285 Alief A&M
75 Trey Hopkins OL 6-4, 275 Galena Park Texas
76 Jimmy Gjere OL 6-7, 295 N. Brighton, Minn. Minnesota
77 Seantrel Henderson OL 6-8, 300 St. Paul, Minn. Undecided
78 Andrew Rodriguez OL 6-6, 300 Aurora, Neb. Nebraska
79 Nick Demien OL 6-6, 310 Wentzville, Mo. Missouri
80 Ross Apo WR 6-4, 200 Arlington BYU
81 Marcus Lucas WR 6-5, 205 Liberty, Mo. Missouri
83 Curtis White DE 6-4, 240 Eugene, Ore. Oregon
85 Christian Thomas TE 6-3, 235 Palmdale, Calif. Undecided
91 Cassius Marsh DT 6-4, 270 Westlake Vill., Calif. LSU
93 Josh Shirley DE 6-3, 220 Fontana, Calif. Undecided
Head coach — Jim Streety, Madison; Assistant coaches — Glenn Mangold, Madison; Kevin Pearson, Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral; David Aymond, Galena Park North Shore; Tony Severino, Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst; Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo (Calif.); Tim Grunhard, Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege; Raul Lara, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly

High School Football Player Ratings...What Are They Worth?

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The Army All-American Bowl will be played Saturday in San Antonio with a NBC broadcast crew spending the day spewing out player rankings...who's going where...some players will actually announce their college choice live on-the-air.

For those of you who are regular readers of The High School Football Huddle, you know I'm not a huge fan of these rating services. With that in mind, check out USA Today's Jim Halley's column Prep Player Rankings Raise Plenty of Questions. Halley does a great job of putting things in perspective.

Bottom line...whether it's Rivals.com or Scout.com...it's just a business...not an exact science.

Approximately 1.3 million kids play high school football across America, but Rivals.com and Scout.com only focus on a small fraction (several thousand) of those players. There's a huge segment of the high school football population that's being missed and that's where High School Football America and The High School Football Huddle come in.

Thanks for a great 2009...and Trish and I look forward to 2010!

U.S. Army All-American Game Names Seven Players to January, 2010 All-Star Game

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

It's a fun time of year for the top high school football seniors around the country, as America's oldest national high school football all-star game begins delivering its invitations. So far seven players have been named to the two 45-man rosters for the 10th Annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played on January 9th in San Antonio.

How big is this game for the seniors? Just ask Byrnes (Duncan, SC) star running back Marcus Lattimore, who according to GreenvilleOnLine.com, was invited to the Under Amour All-American Game, but held-off excepting because he wanted to play in the U.S. Army game that airs on NBC.

Lattimore won't be travelling alone to Texas. His teammate, defensive end Brandon Willis, will also play in the all-star game.

Here are the rest of the players chosen so far with links to the news releases...

Dillon Baxter (Mission Bay HS, San Diego, CA)
Seantrel Henderson (Cretin Derham Hall, St. Paul, MN)
Shakim Phillips (DePaul Cathollic HS, Wayne, NJ)
Ronald Powell (Rancho Verde HS, Mereno Valley, CA)
Lache Seastrunk (Temple HS, Temple TX)

To make the game a little more special, for the third straight year, game officials are also choosing high school musicians to be part of the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.

For more info on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl go to www.usarmyallamericanbowl.com.

U.S. Army All-American Bowl Announces It's Nominees

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

Officials of the 10th Annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl have announced the 400 nominees for next year's all-star game that will be played January 9, 2010 in the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas. The pool of 400 will be eventually reduced to an East and West squad made-up of 45 players each.

Texas has the most nominated players with 49 on the initial list.

Last month, eight former U.S. All-American Bowl players were drafted in the first round of the NFL draft with 21-players overall being drafted. Over 32,000 fans attended last year's game.

The High School Football Huddle is compiling the players nominated from each state. To check-on your state, please go to the links section in the righthand column and click.