Byron Cowart: 5-star DE dominating lineman at The Opening (Videos)

The quarterbacks had their time in the sun at Nike’s “The Opening” on Sunday and Monday, but now it’s time for the big boys in the trenches to have their moment and show what they can do in workouts and drills and five-star defensive Byron Cowart (Seffner, Fla. Armwood) has really stood out.

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The 6-4, 250-pound defender has looked like the proverbial man amongst boys in 1-on-1’s with some of the top offensive tackles in the nation, including five-star recruits Mitch Hyatt and Martez Ivey.

Cowart is believed to be a Florida-Oregon battle, where he could end up as a teammate to Ivey with the Gators, who he beat like a rag doll in a drill on the sun-soaked field on Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Here’s Cowart showing the lightning-quick first step he possesses to beat Ivey, the No. 5 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Cowart also stood out in the circle drill where he was chasing down each of his opponents. Here he is chasing down one of the 10 Alabama commits at The Opening in Jonathan Ledbetter.

Cowart had 72 tackles last season with 15 going for a loss in addition to 13 sacks and two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, two being returned for scores.

He looks the part of an NFL defensive end and is doing everything well off-the-field to suggest he has the maturity to be an early-impact performer wherever he decided to continue his career, which looks like it will be in Gainesville with the Gators or out west with the Ducks.