2016 US Army All-American Bowl: Six Future Buckeyes, Big Ten Flavor and Why You Should Watch

SAN ANTONIO – The 16th edition of the US Army All-American Bowl kicks off in roughly two hours and, as usual, there's a distinctive Buckeye flavor to the game.

Although Saturday also marks the start of the NFL playoffs, there are a number of compelling reasons to stay home and make sure you start your football-heavy day with a dose of the finest high school players in the country.

SIX FUTURE BUCKEYES

Ohio State, with six commitments in the game, is the most well-represented college on the field. The Buckeyes have five players on the east squad (wearing black today) and one on the west (wearing yellow), so there's plenty of opportunity to see future members of the Scarlet and Gray do their work.

On the east, the Buckeyes will send:

• Demario McCall • RB • North Ridgeville, Ohio
• Jake Hausmann • TE • Cincinnati, Ohio
• Austin Mack • WR • Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Michael Jordan • OL • Canton, Michigan
• Jonathon Cooper • DE • Gahanna, Ohio

On the west:

• Drue Chrisman • P • Cincinnati, Ohio

Mack, the four-star wide receiver, has been named one of the captains on the East squad. While All-Star games are not usually a showcase for running backs, Demario McCall told 11W on Thursday that he's 100-percent healthy after missing most of his senior season and he's looking for a chance to put on a show. 

Three former Ohio State stars (Ted Ginn Jr., Chris "Beanie" Wells and Terrelle Pryor) have earned MVP honors in the past, could a fourth pick up the hardware Saturday?

CORLEY COMMITMENT AND OTHERS

Five All-Americans will make their college decisions public today, including a handful with some serious Big Ten implications.

These players are set to make their commitments:

• Ross Blacklock • DT • Missouri City, Texas
• Donnie Corley • WR • Detroit, Michigan
• Dylan Crawford • WR • Rancho Santa Margarita, California 
• Javon McKinley • WR • Corona, California
• Isaac Nauta • TE • Buford, Georgia (IMG Academy)

Blacklock, it appears, is leaning towards TCU and McKinley is most certainly trending towards Notre Dame, but the other three players could all end up in the Big Ten.

Dylan Crawford is expected by most folks to land at Michigan, and Nauta, the country's top-ranked tight end, is reportedly choosing between Georgia, Michigan and TCU, with Georgia the supposed leader.

That brings us to Corley, the four-star wide receiver from Detroit who will pick Ohio State or Michigan State today and enroll at one of those schools on Monday. At 9:45 a.m. as I write this, there's been no definitive choice made public here or anywhere. Corley's played his recruitment incredibly close to the vest and has done a remarkable job of making sure his decision stay his decision.

Here's what we know heading into the game:

• Corley has sent applications to both schools
• Corley has maintained conversations with both schools
• Corley had held off on a commitment to MSU multiple times since the summer
• Corley likes the stability at Ohio State, with JT Barrett's place well-established
• Corley said the official visit to Ohio State was a game-changer
• Corley and his family found "real life Wednesdays" a major plus for the Buckeyes
• Corley's longest-lasting relationships are with Michigan State
• Ohio State commitments on-hand haven't got a read on Corley, who's on the west team
• Urban Meyer, Zach Smith, and Kerry Coombs are all involved for the Buckeyes

There's been a tremendous amount of pro-Buckeye sentiment in the last few weeks but it seems that in a lot of these cases, that's done almost to intentionally build up suspense and while Corley isn't a "drama" guy, there's still a bit of theater at play here and it works well to have people discussing it.

There are a number of reasons for Corley to choose Ohio State today, as as you can see, but in recruiting it usually comes down to relationships and for that reason, I'm sticking with Michigan State as the choice. 

OTHER REASONS TO WATCH

Aside from the fact that "Hey, dummy, it's football" there are a number of other reasons to watch today's game. Here's a few of the storylines that I, as a fan of sports, will be keeping an eye on.

• Shea Patterson v. Jacob Eason
  • The country's two best quarterbacks will go head-to-head most of the day (Patterson on the West, Eason on the East, for some reason). The duo, both headed to the SEC, have been excellent all week and it should be quite a show.
• Georgia on My Mind
  • The Peach State continues to show off it's immensely talented prep stars and this week has been no exception. One spot to watch closely? The defensive line for the East team. Julian Rochester, Antwuan Jackson, and Derrick Brown are a devastating trio. I'm also excited to see the speed of Mecole Hardman and Demetris Robertson in person. That pair of five-stars could end up playing together in college for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, so watch out SEC. Finally, Marquez Callaway is a player that caught my eye earlier in the week and I'm interested to see how he shows out at defensive back: the Warner Robins product told me he prefers to play wide receiver.
• Ben Victor
  • I mentioned it the other day, but I'm really interested to see if the light switch comes on for Binjimen Victor when it counts, because he seems a bit lethargic on the practice field. I don't think there's a single wide receiver in the game today with more upside than Victor if he puts it all together, and I want to see him dominate.

Those are a few of the reasons I'll be watching today. What are you looking forward to seeing?