Top performers, impact on rankings from the Navy All-American Bowl

San Antonio – Some of the nation’s best recruits from the 2025 and 2026 classes have been participating in practice for the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl all week. Saturday, they finally took the field.

Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Auburn, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa State, SMU and more are represented by signees. There will also be an elite group of prospects from the 2026 recruiting cycle, as Navy’s All-American Bowl will include underclassmen for the first time.

Rivals national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman was on site for the Navy All-American Bowl, where both teams competed at the Alamodome on Saturday.

Here are the game’s top performers and their main ranking impacts:

jalen cooper He made the most of his last game in San Antonio. After a productive year at nearby Cibolo (Texas) Steele High School, the four-star SMU signee scored the game’s opening touchdown on a 91-yard catch-and-run. Cooper has been away from All-American defensive backs all week, and that theme continued in a big way into Saturday’s game. Cooper also made a big reception downfield in the fourth quarter, setting up a West field goal. For a week, Future Ponies staked their claim to being the best ponies in the country. He capped it off with Rivals MVP honors.

Kayshawn Henderson picked up Navy’s All-American Bowl MVP hardware after emerging as the top-performing quarterback in Saturday’s game. Henderson had a 91-yard TD strike to Cooper. Henderson made impactful maneuvers in the pocket and extended plays, including the aforementioned touchdown pass. The 2026 Houston four-star was just as dynamic with the ball in his hands. He is a threat to score goals every time he touches the rock.

4 star ATH Darren Penson He is attracting attention as a cornerback during Navy AAB Week. The Georgia Tech signee from the Peach State made the leap to football, where he was an aggressive tackler and a gunner on special teams. But he did his best job in coverage, shadowing taller receivers downfield or breaking on routes along the sideline or in the end zone.

tyler atkinson A threat that works from the second level of defense. A true Swiss Army knife, the 5-star LB from Grayson, Loganville (Ga.) patrols from sideline to sideline with conviction. Atkinson made several stops in the flat and led the attack from the linebacker position. He has great speed and great positional instincts. Throughout the week, we saw Atkinson winning streaks in coverage, defending the run, and putting pressure on the QB. We love his skill set as a difference-making off-ball LB.

Jaime Ffrench scored East’s only touchdown in the Navy All-American Bowl, beating the defense with conviction. The five-star Texas signee is one of the most polished pass catchers in this loaded 2025 class. The future Longhorn has a huge catch range and very sure hands, and he came up with some acrobatic grabs and tough fighting catches throughout this week. Ffrench is one of the better receivers who appears to have the highest floor.

jazabian currency He drew attention all week in San Antonio and ended his time with a strong performance at the Alamodome. Barber, a four-star from South Carolina, looked great as he made tackles in the open field from a safe position and dove toward the football. He also got away with defending passes in the flat. Because of his size (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) and athleticism, Currence can line up in multiple positions and has proven to be a dynamic and well-rounded defender anywhere on the field.

When Jamarion Carlton wasn’t making splash plays behind the line of scrimmage, Texas’ four-star EDGE was heating up opposing quarterbacks in the East. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder is explosive off the line and slides downhill at a high clip. Carlton forced the issue and took some pressure off. We love his turnaround after a great week with the Classes of 2026 and 2025 at the Navy All-American Bowl.

Four-star WR Winston Watkins felt like a broken tackle when he missed several baskets at Navy’s All-American Bowl. The Elemis signee from Florida saw action at receiver, gadget plays, and punt returns, with chunk gains in all three phases. Watkins is dynamic with the ball in his hands and can accelerate very smoothly. Once he arrives in Oxford, he will be a spark plug for Lane Kiffin’s offense and special teams.

Only Navy DL signee Garrison Dibble qualified for the inaugural Navy All-American Bowl. Gibble had two sacks in the contest, using his strong hands and mobility to close the gap on several quarterbacks, and both came on money on Saturday.

Quincy Porter had a great return to football all week, and that theme continued into Saturday’s game, with the future Buckeye making several impressive plays with the glove and the stone in his hands. The rising New Jersey native broke through with two big plays for YAC in this game. At 6 feet 3 inches tall and 200 pounds, this long strider is difficult to wrestle in the open field. He made the most of his glove, including a big splash catch from the sideline. He was a top performer in San Antonio all week.