This Football Recruit’s Nephew Was Devastated When His Uncle Picked UCLA Over Ohio State

The dramatic hat selection is the signature moment of the recruiting racket. Put a bunch of hats in a row on a folding table, stand behind it with some friends and family and crush the dreams of a few institutions of higher learning.

This hat selection has become a signature event of the Army All-American Bowl, where the best of high school football come to play in an exhibition game you might stumble across on a Saturday afternoon. This year’s Army All-American Bowl featured one of the best hat ceremonies of all time, in which five-star cornerback prospect Darnay Holmes selected his future college while a very biased nephew was front and center.

While Holmes addressed the crowd, his nephew begins pointing to the Ohio State hat on a table. Holmes keeps talking, and the young man keeps pointing until he finally makes his decision.

“For the next three or four years I’m going to play at the Rose Bowl,” Holmes says, grabbing the UCLA hat as the crowd cheers. Holmes’s nephew, however, is furious. He pounds the table over and over again and angrily watches as Holmes tries on his new hat.

Watching the iso on this kid really is magic.
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If I know anything about super villain origin stories, this little guy will be a force for the Buckeyes in about a decade. Little dude is going to dedicate his life to ending the UCLA football program as we know it.

Holmes is the second-best cornerback recruit in the nation, according to his 247Sports Composite rating. That’s a really good get for the Bruins. But seeing as how it made his nephew upset, Holmes may have to reconsider his decision.