Many of the country’s top high school players met in Orlando for a week to prepare for the 2022 Under Armour All-American game, which was played Sunday in Camping World Stadium.
Among them were two Florida State signees: IMG Academy quarterback A.J. Duffy and Lake Gibson High defensive back Sam McCall.
While FSU lost out on a talented running back target who announced his decision before kickoff, Seminoles fans were treated to a first glimpse at their future quarterback as he competed against the nation’s best.
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The day wasn’t perfect for FSU, as the Seminoles lost out on four-star running back recruit Jovantae Barnes out of Las Vegas. Barnes, who was down to Oklahoma, USC and FSU, selected the Sooners live on the broadcast just before kickoff. He later scored a key touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game.
Despite missing out on adding to the ‘Noles participating in the game, Duffy quickly picked up the excitement on the field. The future FSU quarterback started for Team Icons, scoring on the opening play of the game.
Duffy passed to his left and hit Missouri wideout commit Luther Burden in stride, and Burden broke a tackle and raced down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown.
After quickly jumping out 7-0 his first drive, Duffy methodically led his squad to a double-digit lead the next time out. He completed two more passes to set up a fourth-and-short near midfield.
Duffy showed off his cadence by drawing several defenders offsides for a key first down. Another big play came a few snaps later, when Duffy used a pump-fake to draw away a defender before scrambling up the middle of the field for over 20 yards.
An 18-play drive saw Duffy take a few more shots to the end zone, but it was Penn State commit and his high school teammate, running back Kaytron Allen, who scored this time to make it 14-0.
Later in the second half, Duffy re-entered the game for two more drives. He originally earned the starting quarterback role by way of a strong week of practice, culminating in winning an accuracy passing challenge against the rest of the blue-chip quarterbacks the day before the game.
Stuck in a desperate, third-and-21 situation on his third drive, Duffy was intercepted by future USC defensive back Zion Branch. Duffy had more success moving the ball on his fourth and final drive, again flashing his running ability with a successful zone-read.
McCall, who was limited all week with an apparent ankle injury, and Duffy ended their high school careers with a win, as Team Icons came out on top, 23-17.
None of the Team Icons quarterbacks completed more than 50 percent of their passes, as they struggled to find chemistry with their receivers and also dealt with drops. Duffy completed just 5 of 16 passes for 97 yards with one touchdown, while Texas A&M signee Conner Weigman completed 6 of 14 for 77 yards and no scores.
Duffy’s yardage total was the highest of any quarterback in the game.
Next up for Duffy is enrolling at FSU this week for the spring semester. McCall is expected to be an early enrollee as well.
