SANTA ANA, Calif. – There are many impressive offensive players on the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl West squad. Wednesday’s standouts included: Northwestern QB commit Matt Aliviti, Oregon WR commit Darren Carrington, WR Thomas Duarte from Mater Dei, RB Kendrick Foster, California QB commit Jared Goff, Arizona QB commit Anu Solomon, WR John Ross from Long Beach (Calif.) Jordan and ATH Tyrell Robinson (who played WR today and says that's the position he'll play at Oregon).
Christian LaCouture has been a defensive standout every day at the Semper FI practices.
But Wednesday belonged to the defense.
The defensive linemen for the West squad were led by LSU commit Christian LaCouture. He's able to play strong side DE or three-technique, he's really coachable, has a great motor and should make an impact during his career at LSU.
Washington commit Elijiah Qualls is another kid with a great motor and impressive athleticism. He played some fullback on Wednesday and will be quite a load for Pac-12 defenders to bring down if Steve Sarkisian uses him in that role. Qualls is powerful inside, has great use of his hands and uses his leverage very well.
Cal WDE commit Garrett Hughes also had an extremely solid performance on Wednesday. Hughes is very explosive, very athletic and is another DL from the West who can play inside or out. Garrett had two sacks today as did Austin Hooper from Concord De La Salle (Calif.). Hooper also has a very quick first step, showed quickness off the edge and he displayed his strength by putting a couple of offensive linemen on their backs during the team drills. Washington DE commit Daeshon Hall also caught our eye today. Hall certainly passes the eyeball test and has a frame to add weight and not lose a step. He's probably the fastest guy off the edge on the West Team.
UCLA WDE Deon Hollins is an extremely solid football player who is playing on the defensive line for the Bowl game, but there's a good chance he'll end up an OLB. He has tremendous leverage and is very powerful.
Despite the solid play from the defensive linemen and linebackers, the defensive backs may have stolen the show today at Santa Ana Stadium.
L.J. Moore from Fresno Central East, Oklahoma safety commit Hatari Byrd and Washington State commit Daquawn Brown all played hard and tough today.
Arizona State S commit Otomewo Jayme played strong and fast and should make a name for himself in Tempe.
With the pass rush the West Team possesses, along with some extremely talented DBs, it will take a strong effort for the East Team to do much damage through the air.
The linebacker that was most impressive Wednesday and has been all week is Texas commit Naashon Hughes. He's coachable, his football IQ is high, he never looks worn down and he’ll be a player to keep on eye on Saturday. Hughes, Washington State commit Paulo Lepua and Texas A&M commit Reggie Chevis provide the West squad a solid MLB corp.
On the outside the West's standouts were Narbonne OLB Keishawn Bierria and Cal commit Victor Egu (will probably play MLB).
According to the West coaches, Egu was the man at practice on Tuesday. He's been impressive against the run and pass, and is very good at making the correct adjustments. Also, looks the part of a future star.
On Thursday the East and West teams will have walk-throughs and the game is Saturday at 6 p.m. PST at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The game will be televised on the NFL Network.
- Scott Schrader
- USC Insider - FightOn247