Pictured at the honorary jersey presentation are (left to right) SSG China Lee, SSG Justin Winebrenner, Jaelen Gill, and SSG Kyle Thorpe.
Westerville South High School’s Jaelen Gill, who will play for The Ohio State University next year and is the top all-purpose back recruit in the country, has been selected as a 2018 U.S. Army All-American. He will play in the eighteenth edition of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, presented by American Family Insurance. The annual East vs. West matchup will take place on Saturday, January 6, 2018, in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Bowl will be nationally televised, live on NBC at noon CST, and will feature the nation’s top 100 high school football players.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl consistently draws an annual crowd upwards of 40,000 to the Alamodome and is the most-watched high school sporting event of each year, with 5.1-million viewers tuning in to last year’s broadcast.
Gill was selected by the All-American Bowl Selection Committee, consisting of All American Games and 247Sports. U.S. Army All-Americans are eligible for the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award, the American Family Insurance Defensive Player of the Year Award, the Lockheed Martin Defensive Back of the Year Award, the Pete Dawkins MVP Award, and the Felix “Doc” Blanchard and Glenn Davis Awards.
Because Gill was selected as a U.S. Army All-American, Westerville South’s head coach, Matthew Christ, is invited to travel to San Antonio to attend the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, an elite three-day learning experience, and participate in Bowl Week activities.
For 18 years, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has been the nation’s premier high school all-star event and football game, serving as the preeminent launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars. Odell Beckham Jr., Andrew Luck, Eric Berry, Tim Tebow, and Sam Darnold are just some who made their national debuts as U.S. Army All-Americans. Three-hundred-fifty-one U.S. Army All-American alumni have been selected in NFL drafts. Last year’s Bowl drew an all-time record crowd of 40,568 to the Alamodome.