The season of bowls are finally upon us. The amount of college football games is slowly dwindling and teams are preparing to hire new coaches or fire old ones. While the college football season is coming to a close, the recruiting cycle is just heating up. As of right now we are in a period that is called the dead period. There is no contact between coaches or players, but that doesn't mean they can't watch them. Every year at the end of the high school season, seniors get the chance to participate in All-American all-star games. With these upcoming All-American games coaches and fans can scout the incoming talent for their squads.
Under Armor- January 2, 2026
The Under Armour All-American game was established in 2008 and the goal was to bring in talented high school seniors to play with one another or against one another before they made the jump to college. The game is held in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida (the home of the Tampa Bay Rays). This all-star game used ESPN's recruiting team to decide who will ultimately play in this game and there have been some notable players over the years. The way they decide is by sending out invitations to kids they deem good enough to play and then the kids decide whether accept the invitation or not. Since the beginning of the bowl they have continually had some of the best recruits to join them in their festivities. Here are some notable Stanford alumni: James Vaughters, Joshua Garnett, Andrus Peat, and Keller Chryst. This year Stanford will be represented by TE Kaden Smith. (though some sources say Smith tore his ACL while playing basketball, will not play in the UA All American game.) The game will be held on January 2, 2026 and will be live on ESPN2.
Other Prospective Stanford Commits:
1. OLB Jeffrey McCulloch
2. ATH Brandon Burton
US Army All-American Bowl- January 9, 2026
Just like the Under Armour All-American Game, the US Army All-American bowl features some of the top talent in the nation. The US Army Bowl was created in 2000 and has always been played in the Alamodome in San Antonio. The US Army Bowl is considered one of the most prestigious bowls to participate in because of its selection process. The athletes that are chosen have to have qualities such as: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. The Army All-American graduates have consisted of Heisman Trophy winners, NFL MVPs, and 299 of its athletes have been selected in NFL Draft. One notable Stanford alum is Andrew Luck. As the week leading up to the game unfolds, these kids meet veterans from around the country as well. The Army All-American Bowl will be on NBC on January 9, 2026 at 1:00 PM EST or 10:00 AM PST. Here is the list of 2016 Stanford commits who will be participating in this event:
1. QB KJ Costello
2. OLB Curtis Robinson
3. OL Clark Yarbrough
4. WR Simi Fehoko
Other Stanford Targets:
1. WR Dylan Crawford
2. ATH Demetris Robertson
Check out the current 2016 recruiting class.
