Army Bowl: West Monday standouts

SAN ANTONIO – The practices for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl kicked off on Monday. Despite cold and rainy conditions, the teams took to the field in both the morning and afternoon. Several players stood out and 247Sports takes a look at the top performers on the day from the West squad.

LSU commit Tre'Davious White proved to be a shutdown cornerback on Monday.

Overall Top Performer

-CB Tre'Davious White, Shreveport (La.) Green Oaks – The LSU commit was a standout at cornerback at camps this summer but he has never really been tested in pads due to the level of competition he plays in. With the West roster full of tall wide receivers (only one is under 6-feet), the 5-foot-10.5, 180-pound athlete was forced to cover much bigger men than him.

White thrived in the challenge. Going against the likes of Ricky Seals-Jones and Derrick Griffin, he did a great job jamming them at the line of scrimmage but also running with them and playing physically with them down the field. He did not even allow a couple of receivers to get off the line in one-on-one drills, forcing the quarterback to tuck the ball and run. The nation’s No. 83 overall prospect, he could see a bump if he continues to play like he did on Monday.

Other Top Performers

-OG Josh Boutte, New Iberia (La.) Westgate – Unlike a lot of the other players in the game the 6-foot-4, 305-pound LSU pledge does not have a ton of camp experience coming in. However, he did not show any signs of lack of self-confidence, especially when it came time for one-on-one battles with the defensive linemen. On one play, he simply threw defensive tackle Isaiah Golden to the ground. He is the definition of “country strong.”

It was not just Boutte’s strength that was impressive though. He showed excellent quickness out of his stance as a pulling guard. He has really improved on his mechanics since a year ago. He still needs to develop a bit but he should push for very early playing time in Baton Rouge.

-DT A'Shawn Robinson, Fort Worth (Texas) Arlington Heights – The Texas commit is ranked as the No. 3 offensive tackle in the country but he was flat out dominant at defensive tackle on Monday. It will be hard for the Longhorn coaches to keep him away from that side of the ball. Robinson compares favorably with LSU defensive tackle Anthony Johnson in that they are both incredibly athletic for their size. In fact, Robinson even played some defensive end in practice.

The 6-foot-5, 302-pound defender was a force in the middle and only got beat once in one-on-ones – and that was by fellow top performer Boutte – as he used his lower body strength to bulrush as well as his quickness to beat the offensive linemen off the ball.

Texas commit A'Shawn Robinson was dominant at defensive tackle.

-WR Torii Hunter, Prosper (Texas) High – The Notre Dame pledge came in as one of the less-heralded wide receivers on his team but he was the most consistent at the position on Monday. He played both outside and slot receiver and showed the ability to get open. He ran crisp routes and showed very good hands.

Hunter is relatively lean at 6-foot-1, 172 pounds but he was able to get off the line pretty well when pressed. He cut extremely well, too, as he proved to be dangerous on quick outs when the defender was not able to catch up with him. He was not incredibly flashy but he simply made plays.

-OT Kent Perkins, Dallas (Texas) Lake Highlands – The Texas commit looks most like a prototypical offensive tackle of any of the linemen in the game. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound prospect spent the day at right tackle and that is probably his future position but he showed quick feet on screen passes and moved well in dropping back into pass protection.

Perkins has a very quick drop step in pass pro that allows him to cut off the quick edge rushers. He fires off low and keeps his legs moving in the run game too. He needs to add some muscle mass in his upper body but he is very good technique-wise at this point.

Quick Hitters

-It may have been the rain or it may have been being rusty from too much time off from the regular season but all three quarterbacks were erratic on the day. All three had their moments but LSU commit Hayden Rettig was the most consistent of the bunch. USC commit Max Browne and Texas commit Tyrone Swoopes both missed their targets badly quite a few times.

-The running backs were not heavily used on Monday but, when they were, USC pledge Justin Davis received the majority of the carries. Ohio State commit Ezekiel Elliott played safety early in the morning practice but spent the rest of the time on offense. He was lined up in the slot and in two-back sets quite often. Alabama commit Altee Tenpenny also had a nice catch for a touchdown on a wheel route from Swoopes.

-Like the running backs, the linebackers did not see a ton of action either. Mike Mitchell, who projects as an inside linebacker in college, played outside on Monday and did well. Notre Dame commit Jaylon Smith also had a nice pass breakup.

-The West team has two big wide receivers in Derrick Griffin and Ricky Seals-Jones, both Texas A&M commits, and both were frequent targets on the fade route. The quarterbacks had trouble getting it to them though. Seals-Jones, ranked as a five-star and the No. 1 athlete in the country, needs to work on his hands. The high school quarterback dropped quite a few passes on Monday and also tended to catch the ball with his body.

-Two defensive tackles had impressive plays. Clemson pledge Scott Pagano laid out offensive guard Reeve Koehler in one-on-ones, using his strength to put the blocker on his back. Texas A&M commit Justin Manning used his quickness to easily bet the guard in full team drills and blew up a play.

-Despite the bad weather, a couple of familiar faces were in the stands watching practice. TCU running back Aaron Green, a San Antonio native and Army Bowl alum, was watching as was former San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson. His son Corey Robinson is playing receiver for the West and is a Notre Dame commit.