SAN ANTONIO — A steady, cold rain fell for the duration of the West’s afternoon session at Tuesday’s All-American Bowl practices from Trinity University in the heart of the Alamo City. Nevertheless, the 247Sports national team made the most of the available action, despite the conditions, the lack of linemen 1-on-1 reps, and an understandably early ending to the afternoon practice because of the rain. Here’s the rundown of the top performers from the first day of West practices.
ALPHA DOG: MARQUISE LIGHTFOOT, EDGE (Miami)
A top five edge in the 2024 Top247, Lightfoot flashed explosive get-off that particularly revealed itself during the abbreviated, rain-soaked afternoon practice. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound edge bender coupled that explosiveness with closing juice and a hot motor, and he consistently puts his 35-inch arms to good use. Lightfoot recorded three would-be sacks during the team scrimmage session. As he adds mass, Lightfoot’s long-term upside is immense.
NEXT TEN: AARON FLOWERS, S (Oregon)
From the start of Tuesday morning’s session, to the end of the rainy afternoon period, Flowers was all over the place. The athletic Forney (Texas) High School standout, who ranks in the top 10 safeties in the Top247 rankings, broke up multiple passes, triggered quickly on checkdowns, and repeatedly put himself in the vicinity of the ball. Tuesday’s do-everything performance represented a continuation of what Flowers has done in games for the past couple of seasons.
NATE FRAZIER, RB (Georgia)
247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins noted that Frazier’s Tuesday efforts were among the most impressive for a running back in the postseason action he’s seen, which covers South Carolina Shrine Game week, Under Armour All-American Game practices, and Tuesday’s All-American Bowl context. Frazier, who’s a 5-foot-9, 206-pounder track speedster with three-down capability, displayed the sudden acceleration and top-end juice expected of the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei playmaker.
COURTNEY CRUTCHFIELD, WR (Missouri)
Pine Bluff (Ark.) High’s multi-sport standout showed athleticism, suddenness, and dexterity in the cold, wet weather. He snagged a Hauss Hejny (TCU) intermediate out along the boundary with an impressive leaning grab, then shortly after beat 1-on-1 coverage on a deep comeback after leveraging the defender at the top of the route. A high jumper and long jumper with exciting basketball footage, Crutchfield on Tuesday lived up to his No. 1 player in Arkansas label.
TERRELL ANDERSON, WR (NC State)
Anderson provided the lone touchdown of the afternoon team session on a post-route pluck delivered by Trey Owens (Texas). Anderson’s athleticism and body control really grab your attention considering his size: 6-foot-2 3/4, 188 pounds with a 33 1/2-inch arm and a 9 1/2-inch hand. Furthermore, Anderson’s size-athleticism combo particularly stands out when considering his four kick return touchdowns in Fall 2023. He impressed throughout the morning session in drills and carried that over to the afternoon practice.
CHARLESTON COLLINS, DL (Arkansas)
The competitive fire was burning for Collins during Tuesday’s afternoon session. He made plays a few different times, including when he crashed down on a run from the left edge for a would-be tackle for loss, then a few snaps later ran the arc for a pressure that produced a rushed throw and incompletion. Collins could provide personnel versatility thanks to his size and movement abilities.
JUSTIN SCOTT, DL (Miami)
After measuring 6-foot-4 1/4, 299 pounds at Monday’s check-in, the Chicago St. Ignatius five-star displayed promising movement ability and fluidity aligned often as a two-point edge defender. Scott knifed into the backfield a few times and bent the edge on a couple of occasions. His athleticism and size could make him a disruptive chess piece at the next level.
DeANDRE CARTER, IOL (Auburn)
Carter impresses every time we see him. He lacks ideal measurables in the length department, but Carter shows over and over that he’s nimble enough to compensate, and he’s an absolute killer in the run game. North of 6-foot-3 and 350 pounds, Carter casts an enormous shadow, especially aligned at left tackle, where he worked Tuesday and has played for years at Mater Dei. Carter also had one of the day’s positive reps against Justin Scott, standing up the five-star D-lineman and anchoring with body control and strength power to spring a left-side run during afternoon action.
GATLIN BAIR, WR (uncommitted)
One of the freakiest athletes in the 2024 class, Burley (Idaho) High’s own Bair — a top 40 overall Top247 prospect — was well-established as a top-end burner thanks to his track prowess. Well, Tuesday he showed impressive fluidity and suddenness paired with that linear top-end gear. He looked natural at wideout and provided a reliable target for the West’s quarterbacks.
KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA, LB (Notre Dame)
A top five prospect in the state of California, Viliamu-Asa measured 6-foot-2, 233 pounds at Monday’s check-in and showed no problem moving that stout build in space, especially when asked to crash gaps. Viliamu-Asa made what would have been a handful of tackles for loss during the morning session. He displayed broad pursuit range and, despite the ready-made college weight exiting high school, could become an every-down off-ball defender.
DANIEL HILL, RB (announcing Saturday)
Hill recorded the “truck stick” play of the day on an outside run in the afternoon, when he flashed his run-finishing juice that derives from his encouraging functional athleticism and his enormous size relative to a running back projection — he measured 5-foot-11 1/2, 239 pounds at Monday’s check-in. Hill could legitimately play either way in college, but he’s clearly a higher-ceiling prospect at running back based on what we have seen.
AROUND PRACTICE …
— Tuesday’s conditions did not provide a good setting to get a proper view of the quarterbacks competing, but Auburn-bound Walker White and Texas-bound Trey Owens had their fair share of moments. White may have thrown with the most consistent downfield juice, while Owens got better as the day progressed, despite the terrible afternoon conditions. White pushed the ball well to the perimeter, while Owens threw with promising accuracy, especially considering the rain and cold. That aligns with the 68.5 completion percentage he recorded across 600-plus game throws in 2022-23.
— We did not get West squad linemen 1-on-1s Monday, but we want to keep a keen eye on Minnesota-bound offensive lineman Brett Carroll, who served as the West’s center. Carroll looked at home snapping, which is highly valuable not only from a projection standpoint, but a functional perspective in relation to this week’s practices. Carroll was a pleasant surprise at Monday’s check-in, where he measured 6-3+, 300 with 34+ arm and a nearly 10-inch hand.
— LSU-bound linebacker Kolaj Cobbins snagged a wet-ball INT that popped skyward from a QB’s hand and drifted to the boundary, where Cobbins collected it and scampered the other way. Cobbins cuts a lean, athletic profile at linebacker and played with encouraging athleticism.
— Jericho Johnson arrived Monday at 6-foot-2 1/2, 366 pounds, and while he noted that’s a bit heavier than he wants to be, he wore the mass well. That reflected at Tuesday’s practices, where Johnson displayed encouraging movement ability relative to his mass. The Oregon signee will be a fun watch as an interior stalwart in the future.
— Jason Brown, who’s dropped 20-plus pounds and now resides around 195, flashed some impressive acceleration and a subtle second-level cut for one of the days better runs, which came in the afternoon session. The Arizona State signee exits his Seattle O’Dea career with strong production and knows how to provide high-volume functionality.
— 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins, Brandon Huffman, and Blair Angulo contributed to this report.
