All-American Bowl Notebook: Buckeyes Shining On Both Sides Of The Ball

SAN ANTONIO — We are halfway through All-American Bowl practices in Texas as a handful of future Ohio State Buckeyes are participating this week and the future looks bright with players making an impact on each side of the ball for the East team during Tuesday and Wednesday practice sessions.

Eddrick Houston – Defensive End – Buford (GA)

The five-star prospect from the Peach State has been as advertised this week. He was finally able to turn it loose a bit on Wednesday afternoon as a joint scrimmage between East and West rosters was a more physical setting than the first three sessions of the week.

Houston has incredible raw power and combines a tremendous bull rush with the flexibility to bend and get around the edge. Houston was really good against the run on Wednesday afternoon, making a couple of stops around the line of scrimmage and his motor is always running.

Ian Moore – Offensive Line – New Palestine (IN)

Moore had a solid day Wednesday with a good performance in 1-on-1’s and then helped spring a couple of nice runs during run game work against the West front seven.

Moore is working at right guard this week but is expected to get his first look at tackle when he arrives in Columbus next week. Moore is a physically developed prospect who already has good strength and delivers a powerful punch. The flexibility to play inside or outside is reminiscent of Luke Montgomery coming out of Findlay (OH) last year.

James Peoples – Running Back – San Antonio (TX) Veterans Memorial

‘Surprise’ would be the wrong word to use to describe Peoples this week. I already knew it was an outstanding running back, but his stock might be up for me the most of any Buckeye in attendance. Peoples has an incredibly powerful lower body and his burst is among the best in San Antonio this week.

He has also shown to be more than capable as a pass catcher coming out of the backfield. Between the physical traits and the versatility to run inside or outside and be a factor in the passing game, it would not surprise me at all for Peoples to earn a spot in the Ohio State running back rotation as a true freshman.

Jeremiah Smith – Wide Receiver – Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna

What more can be said about Smith? He’s the best wide receiver prospect that I’ve ever covered. He’s the most talented receiver in the nation and the scariest thing about him is that from his 7-on-7 coaches, to his high school coaches, to the coaches working with him down here in San Antonio, the first thing that comes out of their mouths is how driven and coachable he is.

It’s a scary combination and Smith has been the best player on the practice field both days so far in my opinion. He has made some highlight reel catches in traffic and also showed his special top gear, easily beating man coverage for big plays.

With all due respect to the talented wide receiver room in Columbus, Smith is going to be an ultra-rare true freshman starter at Ohio State.

Garrett Stover – Linebacker – Sunbury (OH) Big Walnut

These all-star events can be a tough deal for linebackers as there isn’t a ton of tackling in practice and you’re left evaluating guys in borderline ridiculous 1-on-1 situations against running backs in space. Stover has very much looked the part, however, and Wednesday afternoon’s more physical session allowed him to run around and make some plays.

The highlight of the day for Stover was him shooting a gap during the run game portion of the scrimmage and recording a tackle-for-loss. Stover is a plus athlete for the linebacker position and has tremendous closing speed. As his instincts continue to evolve after a transition from safety, he has a chance to be an excellent player at Ohio State.

You can check out our latest Skull Session Recruiting Podcast below to get more of our breakdowns of what we’ve seen so far this week in San Antonio.