Texas in January usually means one thing for football junkies: the Alamodome gets packed with teenagers who are basically built like Greek gods but still need a hall pass to go to the bathroom. The All American Bowl 2024 wasn't just another exhibition game. It was a chaotic, high-stakes glimpse into the future of the SEC, Big Ten, and the NFL Draft three years from now. If you followed the recruiting cycles, you knew the names. Jeremiah Smith. TJ Moore. KJ Bolden. But what happened on that Saturday in San Antonio actually told us a lot more about who was ready for the college jump and who might have just been a "workout warrior" in shorts and a t-shirt.
Let’s be real for a second. Most of these high school all-star games are a mess. The offensive lines haven't played together. The quarterbacks are trying to learn a playbook in four days. It’s usually a defensive struggle because it's easier to hit someone than it is to time a post-route with a guy you met on Tuesday. Yet, the 2024 edition felt different. The East beat the West 31-28, but the score is the least interesting thing about it.
The Jeremiah Smith Show and the Wide Receiver Revolution
If you walked into the Alamodome not knowing who Jeremiah Smith was, you left wondering if he was secretly a 24-year-old pro disguised as a kid from Chaminade-Madonna. Smith, the Ohio State signee, arrived with the kind of hype that usually ruins a player. People were calling him the best receiver prospect in a decade.
He didn't just meet the bar. He hopped over it.
During the All American Bowl 2024, Smith caught a touchdown pass that made the stadium go silent for a beat before the cheering started. It wasn't just the catch; it was the way he moved. Most high schoolers are "leggy" or unrefined. Smith played with a violence in his hands and a smoothness in his breaks that looked like Marvin Harrison Jr. had never left. Honestly, it’s scary. When you see a kid that size—6-foot-3 and change—moving with that much twitch, you realize why Brian Hartline at Ohio State was probably grinning like a madman watching from the sidelines.
But he wasn't alone. TJ Moore, the Clemson commit, was arguably just as impressive throughout the week. While Smith had the "wow" factor, Moore had the "how did he catch that?" factor. He won the MVP for the East for a reason. He finished the game with nearly 100 yards and two scores. It’s rare to see two receivers in the same game look that "pro-ready" before they’ve even attended a college orientation.
Why the West Failed to Close the Gap
The West team had plenty of talent, but they lacked the cohesive vertical threat that the East possessed. You had guys like Gatlin Bair—the speedster from Idaho who everyone was watching—showing flashes of elite speed. Bair is an Olympic-level track athlete, and when he gets into the open field, he's a blur. But in the structured environment of the All American Bowl 2024, he struggled to find the consistent separation needed against elite DBs who were playing physical press coverage.
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It highlights a massive gap in high school football: the difference between "track speed" and "football speed."
Then there was the quarterback play. We have to talk about it. It was... inconsistent. Hauss Hejny and Marcos Davila had their moments, but you could tell the timing wasn't there. When you're used to a high school offense where you can just out-athlete everyone, suddenly facing a defensive line of five-star recruits is a wake-up call. The pocket collapses faster. The windows close in a blink.
The Trench Warfare Nobody Talks About
Everyone watches the skill positions. We love the touchdowns. But the All American Bowl 2024 was won and lost in the dirt.
Eddrick Houston, another Ohio State get, was a problem for the West offensive line all day. He’s got this low center of gravity and a bull rush that just displaces human beings. On the flip side, Jordan Seaton—the Colorado signee who took a lot of heat for his recruitment process—actually showed why Deion Sanders fought so hard for him. Seaton is massive, but he’s light on his feet. He had several reps during the game where he just completely erased pass rushers.
Most people don't realize how hard it is for these linemen. They’re used to being the biggest kid in their county. Suddenly, they're lined up against a guy who is just as big, just as fast, and twice as mean. It’s a psychological shock. The players who handled that transition best in San Antonio are the ones who are going to start as true freshmen this fall.
Surprising Defensive Standouts
- KJ Bolden: The Georgia commit played with a level of instinct that you just can't coach. He was always around the ball. Whether it was coming down in the box to stop the run or covering ground in the secondary, he looked like the next great SEC safety.
- Justin Scott: The Miami signee is a literal mountain. He occupied so much space in the middle of the line that it freed up the linebackers to run wild. If you're a Hurricanes fan, you should be ecstatic about the "size" he brings to that interior.
- Deshawn Warner: Maybe the most underrated performer of the week. The Kansas signee proved he belongs in the elite tier. His get-off at the line of scrimmage was arguably the fastest of anyone in the building.
The Reality of the "All American" Label
Let's pull back the curtain a bit. Being an "All American" is great for the ego, but the All American Bowl 2024 showed that the rankings aren't always right. Every year, there are four-star kids who outperform five-stars, and this year was no different.
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There's a specific kind of pressure in San Antonio. Scouts from every NFL team are there. Every major college coach is watching. The kids are exhausted from a long season and a week of intense practices. Some players shrink under that. Others, like Cooper Perry or Daniel Hill, seemed to feed off it. Hill, who announced his commitment to Alabama during the game, ran with a physical "downhill" style that felt very much like the old-school Bama backs we’re used to seeing.
It's also about the "announcement culture." We saw several hats on the table. We saw the tears and the celebrations. But behind that, there's a real business happening. These kids are navigating NIL deals while trying to remember their pass protection assignments. It’s a lot for an 18-year-old.
Moving Beyond the Box Score
If you just looked at the stats from the All American Bowl 2024, you’d think it was a decent game. But the real value was in the 1-on-1 drills during the Tuesday and Wednesday practices. That's where the "dog" comes out.
I watched tape of those practices, and the intensity was higher than the game itself. You had receivers and corners chirping at each other after every rep. You had offensive linemen demanding "one more go" after getting beat. That competitive drive is what separates a Saturday afternoon superstar from a Sunday afternoon professional.
The East team's victory wasn't a fluke. They had a better mix of "ready-now" players. The West had a lot of "potential," but potential is a dangerous word in football. It usually means you haven't done it yet. The East players, particularly that receiving corps, were doing it from the first whistle of the first practice.
What This Means for the 2024 College Season
We’re already seeing the ripples of this game.
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Jeremiah Smith didn't just go to Ohio State and wait his turn; he started turning heads the second he stepped on campus for spring ball. The All American Bowl was his launchpad. Similarly, the defensive dominance shown by the SEC-bound players in this game has translated to the physicality we’re seeing in early-season college depth charts.
The game also served as a reminder that the transfer portal hasn't killed high school recruiting. While some coaches are obsessed with "buying" older players, the sheer talent on display in San Antonio proves that if you can land a top-tier high school class, you have a foundation that the portal can't provide. You can't "buy" the chemistry that develops when these kids play together in these all-star settings and then head to the same campus.
Key Takeaways for Fans
- Don't ignore the "quiet" recruits: A guy like Courtney Crutchfield might not have had the most flashy highlights in the game, but his technical skills are elite.
- Watch the offensive line transitions: Players like Cooper Cousins (Penn State) looked like they could play in the Big Ten tomorrow.
- The "Speed Gap" is real: The difference between the elite national recruits and the regional stars is getting wider, especially at the cornerback position.
Actionable Next Steps for Recruiting Fans
If you’re trying to follow these players now that the All American Bowl 2024 is in the rearview mirror, don't just look at their college stats. Look at their "snap counts."
A true freshman getting 20+ snaps a game in September is a direct indicator that what we saw in San Antonio was real. Start by tracking the "All American" alumni on sites like Pro Football Focus (PFF) or 247Sports.
Specifically, keep an eye on:
- Snap-to-target ratios for Jeremiah Smith and TJ Moore.
- Pressure rates for Eddrick Houston and Justin Scott.
- Special teams contributions: Many of these All-Americans start there to prove their toughness.
The 2024 game was a bridge. It bridged the gap between high school legends and college reality. For some, the bridge was easy to cross. For others, the gap proved to be much wider than their five-star ranking suggested. That’s the beauty of the game. You can't hide in the Alamodome. The lights are too bright and the competition is too fast.
Ultimately, the All American Bowl 2024 gave us a blueprint. It told us who was a "football player" and who was just a "prospect." As these names start appearing on Saturday TV broadcasts, remember the week in San Antonio when they first had to prove they belonged. The tape doesn't lie, and the 2024 tape was some of the most revealing we've seen in years.