Ben Davis HS (Indianapolis, IN) scores in their contest at Lucas Oil Staduim

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will return to the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX next year. Since 2001, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has been showcasing the athletic talents of the nation’s top high school football recruits in a battle between the East and the West.

Each season, players from across the country are nominated for the honor to participate and compete in the premier game. Eighty-four players will be selected for the USAAA Bowl, and the game will be aired live on NBC; Saturday, January 3, 2009, at 1 PM (ET).

Play It Smart would like to congratulate the following student-athletes and schools on their nomination(s):

Daveon Barner RB Long Beach Polytechnic/Long Beach, CA

Michael Brockers DE Chavez/Houston, TX

Michael Carter DB Blanche Ely/ Pompano Beach, FL

Morgan Fennell QB Long Beach Polytechnic/Long Beach, CA

Kawame Geathers DT Carver's Bay/Hemingway, SC

Calvin Guyton RB Lamar/Houston, TX

Marcus Hall OL Glenville/Cleveland, OH

Keldon Hampton RB Skyline/Dallas, TX

Chris Henderson DT Carter/Dallas, TX

Willie Hickman CB Pahokee/Pahokee, FL

Kendrick James LB O. Perry Walker/New Orleans, LA

DeMario Jeffery S Columbia/Columbia, SC

Matthew Johnson DT W.J. Keenan/Columbia, SC

Carlos Lammons CB Pahokee/Pahokee, FL

Darius Moffett LB Hubbard/ Chicago, IL

Joseph Okafor DE Bellaire/ Houston, TX

Melvin Richardson RB Long Beach Polytechnic/Long Beach, CA

Nu'Keese Richardson WR Pahokee/Pahokee, FL

De'Andre Richardson CB Pahokee/Pahokee, FL

Vincent Smith RB Pahokee/Pahokee, FL

James White RB Skyline/Dallas, TX

Emmanuel Yeager QB Ballou/Washington, DC

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With major financial support from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, the program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth mentoring programs, achieving dramatic results that include:

• 95% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 76% of their peers;



• 80% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 63% of their peers;



• Participants completing more than 55,000 service hours annually;



• Participants earning more than $8 million a year in scholarships; and



• 270-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2008 season on Football Bowl and Championship Subdivision rosters.

Prominent alumni include Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Rutgers’ Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), California’s Desean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Miami’s Leon Williams (Cleveland Browns), LSU’s Craig Davis (San Diego Chargers) and Super Bowl champion Jay Alford, who attended Penn State, and currently plays with the World Champion New York Giants.
Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.

ABOUT PLAY IT SMART
Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at www.PlayItSmart.org.


ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME:
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.