How Longhorn signees fared in the All-American Bowl
The All-American Bowl can sometimes be an entertaining game pitting an East all-star team versus their West counterparts. The 2023 edition was not that, as the East dominated in a 55-17 win.
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-UCLA quarterback commit Dante Moore took home MVP honors thanks to several passing touchdowns.
-The biggest highlight for the day came when 2023 Waco (Texas) Connally LB/ATH Jelani McDonald announced his commitment to Texas during the fourth quarter. The Longhorns topped TCU and Oklahoma State for his signature.
McDonald played corner against some of the best wideouts in the country, including Brandon Inniss, Nathaniel Joseph, and Jalen Brown. He was beat a handful of times but also made a handful of plays. Despite getting beat, no stats were recorded against him. He tallied at least two tackles.
-Linebacker signee Anthony Hill made an important play on the first drive of the game for the West on defense. He was able to make a leaping PBU to prevent what would have been an open touchdown had he not gotten a finger on a Moore pass to the flat. One play later, Hill barreled down on Moore but let up as an all-star game courtesy. Moore still made a nice pass to Brown.
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Hill was at WLB and MLB in the standard 4-3 defense.
-West quarterback play was abhorrent in both halves. There were only four completions in the first 24 minutes, and one of them went to Texas signee Ryan Niblett. The four-star pass-catcher ran a nice out route and made a move to get eight yards. Niblett also made a diving effort on a pass intended for him in the end zone a few drives later. He did a solid job to create separation but could not come up with the play on the dive. In the fourth quarter, he posted a solid kick return while his team was down 39 points.
–S’Maje Burrell was a late mid-week add for the East team, but he put himself into the middle of the action on several occasions. He had two first half tackles, including one where he brought down Texas A&M signee Rueben Owens II, and few more in the second half. On an interception by Alabama signee Caleb Downs, Burrell could be seen carrying the route of the running back up the seam, then switching gears and blocking for Downs on the interception return.
–Payton Kirkland started at left guard for the East team and also served as one of the captains. He used his size to help create lanes for the East in the run game, and was part of the effort that led East to over half-a-hundred points. He could be seen pushing the pile late on an East run near the end zone, and also having some fun running downfield for a late pass when the result was extremely clear.
–Tausili Akana had a quiet game, with just one assisted tackle. He was playing out of position at off-ball linebacker. He’ll be a pass-rusher on the edge when he arrives in Austin.
