2008 ESPN All-American Game - Jan. 5th

[BB73]

Some competition for Lemming's Army All-Star game in San Antonio.

bucknuts

ESPN Set To Debut High School All-American Game

By Dave Biddle, Assistant Editor
Posted May 30, 2007

The ESPN All-American Game will debut Jan. 5, 2008 and will include 80 of the best players in the country. It will be held at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and will include televised practices and a skills competition. Dave Biddle checked in with ESPN recruiting coordinator Craig Haubert for much more on this breaking story.

Cont'd ...

[LightningRod]

Lemming's day of reckoning has arrived. ESPN is going to run Lemming's Army game out of business. ESPN will promote this game to the hilt. They will cover practices, conduct interviews, etc. What top rated player in his right mind would pass up the ESPN hype for almost a week versus NBC coverage for a few hours on one day.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by LightningRod

Lemming's day of reckoning has arrived. ESPN is going to run Lemming's Army game out of business. ESPN will promote this game to the hilt. They will cover practices, conduct interviews, etc. What top rated player in his right mind would pass up the ESPN hype for almost a week versus NBC coverage for a few hours on one day.

[BuckeyeNation27]

Now they can officially change the name of the Army All American game to the Notre Dame Recruit Game.

[schwab]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Bye-bye Tom...

[IrishCalves]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNation27

Now they can officially change the name of the Army All American game to the Notre Dame Recruit Game.

No kidding. I'm an ND fan, and know that Hafis Williams will probably be the lowest rated DL recruit ND will bring in the fold this year. If you're not in the know, scout has him rated as a 3 star prospect, and his offer list included guys like PSU and Rutgers - nothing over the top, mostly regional. With that in mind, I just about choked on my drink when I saw he rated Hafis Williams as a 5 star player:

Defensive standout commits to ND

Williams, who visited unofficially for the April 21 Blue-Gold Game, registered 106 tackles and six sacks as a junior, according to recruiting Web site Rivals.com. Williams is ranked as one of the top 100 players nationally by CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, and Lemming ranks him as a five-star recruit, his highest ranking.

"He's got a motor that's always going," said Lemming, who ranks Williams as the best defensive lineman in New Jersey. "I like him because Notre Dame is desperate for defensive line-types."

I really needn't explain, because its self evident that he's the biggest recruiting homer in the world.

[TheStoicPaisano]

Originally Posted by LightningRod

Lemming's day of reckoning has arrived. ESPN is going to run Lemming's Army game out of business. ESPN will promote this game to the hilt. They will cover practices, conduct interviews, etc. What top rated player in his right mind would pass up the ESPN hype for almost a week versus NBC coverage for a few hours on one day.

Not everything ESPN touches turns to gold. Their mobile service offering was a colossal flop.

What the All-American Bowl has going for it is the National Combine--their relationship with the kids starts at an early age. You think a guy like Marcus Hall is going to some ESPN game when he's been in San Antonio each January since he was a freshman? At what event is ESPN going to make their pitch? Rivals and the All-American owners both have their own camps at which they can talk to the players, ESPN doesn't have that 'in'. Further, they will have to come up with something more enticing than just "exposure". Rivals' Offense-Defense game basically mimiced the list of events from the A-A game and quite frankly didn't compete. However, I believe multiple games could co-exist like they do in baseball (Playstation's, AFLAC's) and basketball (McDonald's, Jordan Brand game).

[OSU_Buckguy]

Originally Posted by IrishCalves

Defensive standout commits to ND

"I like him because Notre Dame is desperate for defensive line-types."

and there you go.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNation27

Now they can officially change the name of the Army All American game to the Notre Dame Recruit Game.

it will be definitely be interesting to see just how many more notre ame recruits and commits there are in the army a-a game than in the espn a-a game.

[Buckeyecty4]

I hate the multiple games... Two big ones is okay... but after that you're just breaking up too many of the top players... I want to see the best of the best playing in one game.. not spread out over 3 or 4 games..

It's kinda like the Big 33 game and Ohio N/S... the fact that the talent is split up between the two games hurts both games in my mind...

I'm cool if all the top guys still opt to attend the Army All American like they should... it works hand in hand with the US Army and promotes a strong message... the combines down in San Antonio are well established, and i would like to see the best talent still opt to participate in that game..

After that I'm okay if ESPN and Rivals has an All-Star game with some of the next tier talent (guys who are in like the Rivals250, but outside the Top100) of some of the kids in the Top100 who didnt get selected for the AA game...

That is cool... but i hope it doesnt get to the point where all 3 of these games starts pressuring the top players to each attend their particular game, and then u have the top talent all broken up..

[osugrad21]

Pittsburgh Gazette

The first ESPNU High School All-American Game is slated for Jan. 5, 2008 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida. Organizers yesterday unveiled a list of more than 40 players who have accepted invitations to play. Local players who are scheduled to play are Aliquippa receiver/tight end/defensive end Jonathan Baldwin, Jeannette linebacker Michael Matt, Trinity linebacker and Ohio State recruit Andrew Sweat and Montour linebacker Christian Wilson.
The rosters are not complete, and more players will be added to the game as it draws nearer.

[BearBuck27]

An update on some of the players that have accepted and other things.

Link

[TheStoicPaisano]

he nation's top two prospects, Foley High School (Ala.) wide receiver Julio Jones and St. Peter's Prep (N.J.) versatile quarterback Will Hill, are among the players who have agreed to play in the game so far.

I, for one, am shocked that ESPN's rankings just happen to rank these guys #1 & 2 in the nation when they've committed to their game. It isn't just Lemming, folks.

[jwinslow]

Originally Posted by TheStoicPaisano

I, for one, am shocked that ESPN's rankings just happen to rank these guys #1 & 2 in the nation when they've committed to their game. It isn't just Lemming, folks.

At least those two are respectable choices (#3/3 & #5/7 on Scout/Rivals).

[TheStoicPaisano]

Originally Posted by jwinslow

At least those two are respectable choices (#3/3 & #5/7 on Scout/Rivals).

Right, but the headliners at the USAAB have always been highly ranked by services Lemming has no pull with (i.e. Clausen #1 on Rivals list, Pryor and Scott 1/2 this year). I don't really care if the last three roster spots are filled with Notre Dame guys.

And if the USAAB already has commits from 68 of the 75 players invited (as they've claimed), that isn't a lot of top-tier talent left for ESPN.

[RB07OSU]

To me it seems as if ESPN is just as biased with ND as Lemming was...it will always be an Irish lovefest over there, as well as USC. I didn't check who all was playing but I don't really like ESPN all that mucha and I don't like Lemming that much, so I am just going to sit back and watch both.