Day 1 Notes: Team West
Navy All-American Bowl
East vs West
The Alamo Dome, San Antonio, TX
12 p.m. CT January 11, 2024
All recruiting rankings from 247Sports Composite Ranking
Day one of practices in San Antonio was filled with learning and getting better with every rep. Players have to build chemistry with one another, coaches learn how to best motivate their players and live reps are earned against top competition.
The morning session was filled with false starts and bobbled snaps at Trinity University, where Team West practiced on Tuesday. Despite the miscues, there was an abundance of raw talent on display in position drills and one-on-ones. Even in offensive walk throughs you could tell things were quickly starting to click for everyone.
The second session started with more drills but ended with more 11-on-11 scenarios including some seven-on-seven. We are starting to see who is standing out amongst the top prospects in the country and some 2026 recruits have made some good impressions on those in attendance.
Texas wide receiver signee Daylan McCutcheon makes a one-handed grab during a drill. Photo by Kelii Horvath/East Coast Gridiron.
Small Takeaways
I always try to do is compare listed position versus where a player is being lined up in drills or scrimmages. I also like to see who is first in line in drills, who is fighting for more reps, who is running each rep at full speed, giving maximum effort. Just based on those things I can tell you this much:
Texas A&M offensive tackle signee Lamont Rogers was lined up at left guard during drills in the morning session. He also won a solid rep against future teammate defensive lineman Chace Sims.
Texas wide receiver signee Daylan McCutcheon took reps out of the slot. Most other receivers lined up out wide during drills and one-on-ones.
Auburn running back signee Alvin Henderson ran hard and made excellent cuts in a drill that required him to read and follow his blocks as they opened up.
Uncommitted offensive tackle Felix Ojo told me he plays left tackle for his high school but today was playing on the right. Ojo said he expects to play on the left in college and that’s where coaches project him to play.
Texas wide receiver Kaliq Lockett made a few solid plays today, but he did have a case of the dropsies at times today. Maybe it was the sun and the cold, which I think threw everyone off a little bit—especially the guys from Texas. Nonetheless, Lockett will look to bounce back tomorrow. I am not worried about any continued drop issues as of now.
Top plays
Michigan wide receiver signee Andrew Marsh made a handful of incredible catches near the sideline, both in drills and against a defender. He seems to be emerging as a favorite target for the Team West quarterbacks early on.
SMU running back signee Dramekco Green ripped off two massive gains during the 11-on-11 portion of practice, with one certainly being a touchdown and the second one being at worst a 20-yard gain. I was impressed by his burst through the gaps.
Georgia Tech quarterback signee Grady Adamson made a couple of terrific throws, both avoiding traffic. He lasered one toward the right sideline, letting Texas wide receiver signee Kaliq Lockett snag it out of the air. Adamson also lofted a pass over a linebacker to Alabama tight end signee Kaleb Edwards, who brought the ball in and gained a few more yards. I was impressed by Adamson and he was the only quarterback who I do not distinctly recall having issues handling the snap in practice today.
Georgia Tech quarterback signee Grady Adamson throws the ball during warmups. Photo by Kelii Horvath/East Coast Gridiron.
Day 1 Standouts
Dramekco Green - SMU - Signed (No. 648 NATL. No. 47 RB)
Green had those two big runs today and showed off explosiveness despite very vanilla play design (today was focused on the basics). Green may have done enough to warrant an early lead for being the starting running back on Saturday, and I am excited to see what he can do in the coming days.
Charles Ross - LSU - Signed (No. 91 NATL. No. 7 LB)
Ross made a lot of plays today in the live scenarios, making tackles in the backfield and breaking on the ball in coverage. Ross’s speed and quickness was on full display, as he made a lot of plays simply by getting from point A to point B in a flash. There was little man coverage today, so I want to see how he fares when asked to mark a tight end or running back. Both Team West tight ends are five inches taller than Ross.
Kade Phillips - Texas - Signed (No. 57 NATL. No. 7 CB)
Phillips made plays all over the field and really stood out amongst a solid group of defensive backs. I will also point out he excelled in coverage against some really stinkin’ good receivers. Phillips not only logged an interception in seven-on-sevens, but he also was in on a blocked field goal attempt and would have returned it for a touchdown if the play wasn’t called back by the coaches after the recovery.
Grady Adamson - Georgia Tech - Signed (No. 636 NATL. No. 38 QB)
As I wrote earlier, Adamson made some elite throws in live scenarios and did not mishandle many snaps. Given the snap count, which was new for everyone, I’m actually counting that as a positive, even if catching a snap seems like it should be a given. Adamson’s ability to control his velocity and ball trajectory was superb today, and it told me he not only can change things up, but he knows when to change things up.
Jalen Cooper - SMU - Signed (No. 256 NATL. No. 33 WR)
Cooper was arguably the best receiver out there today, despite being teammates with some elite prospects. SMU had two of the top performers from Team West and the future is bright for the Ponies. Cooper was reliable catching the football and also displayed some explosiveness, as he took a quick slant to the house in the 11-on-11 portion of practice. He also cooked Texas A&M defensive back signee Adonyss Currie in one-on-ones, utilizing a quick release paired with breakaway speed.
Final Thoughts
I was impressed with the offensive line today. Once they got communication down they began to pick up stunts very well and had some impressive one-on-one wins. The fact that I did not have any standout defensive linemen from Team West says something about how the offensive linemen played. There were a couple instances of shenanigans post-play, both involving Texas A&M defensive lineman Marco Jones.
Overall I saw lots of good things and I am pleased to have seen some underrated guys have a day today. I always like seeing guys out-perform their rating coming out of high school.
Tomorrow will be at Team East’s practice in the morning, with a joint practice featuring both teams in the Alamo Dome in the afternoon.