The Naval Academy announced today that defensive end Joshua Jones has left the team. Coach Ken Niumatalolo said in a statement that Jones decided to focus on finishing his graduation requirements and wished him well. Jones appeared in nine games in 2011, recording 25 tackles and one sack. Navy’s spring game is April 14 and the Mids open the season against Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland, on Sept 1. H/T Collegefootball Talk
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Sure, there might be some other minor football developments scheduled for this afternoon, but here’s three quick military-themed gridiron hits for your Wednesday: 1. Steelman will sit. As reported by Sal Interdonato with the (Middletown, N.Y.) Times Herald-Record and confirmed by an Army football release, junior quarterback Trent Steelman will miss Friday’s Black and Gold spring game at Fort Benning, Ga., with a leg injury. Steelman battled leg and ankle injuries last season and had his Army-record streak of 32 straight starts snapped. Sitting Steelman for the Benning game is a precautionary move, Interdonato reports. “Trent (Steelman) had a good…
One was a senior leader on what’s probably the best Air Force football team ever. The other coached both of Navy’s Heisman winners and led the Mids to a de facto national title game in 1963. Not much in common, except another chance at enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame. Air Force’s Scott Thomas and Navy’s Wayne Hardin are back on the hall’s ballot, which was announced Feb. 28. Thomas appeared for the first time in 2011, and Hardin has been on since at least 2006. Once a candidate clears the nomination process (here’s the lofty criteria; non-All-Americans…
The Navy’s commitment to join the Big East as a football-only member in 2015 was one in a series of rapid-fire realignment moves by the conference, which recently parted ways with West Virginia and will lose Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference in the next year or two (probably not two). Farewell, Mountaineers, Panthers and Orange. Hello, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, Southern Methodist and, straining the dictionary definition of “East” to the breaking point, San Diego State. And now, according to a New York Times report, Temple. The Owls’ last stay in the Big East ended…
Consolidation. Improved “stability.” An “exciting new venture.” Sure, it sounds like the spin the military might put on the latest budget cuts, but it’s actually the spin the Mountain West Conference is putting on the latest college-conference shakeup: A merger of schools from the MWC and Conference USA to create an as-yet-unnamed superconference starting in 2013. Air Force will be a charter member of the new league, which is slated to have 16 football teams in its first season. According to the release, the superconference will look to expand to 18-24 teams and will be the first to set up…
During the Jan. 24 teleconference that welcomed Navy football into the Big East starting in 2015, conference commissioner John Marinatto was pretty clear: “I’m not done with regard to our expansion efforts.” Less than a month later, he’s apparently made good. Multiple reports, including one from USA Today, have Memphis joining the conference in all sports as of 2013. If the rest of the conferences’ arrivals and departures go off as scheduled, Navy will enter a 12-team football league, likely split into two to-be-determined divisions, in 2015. Memphis leaves Conference USA to join the Big East, creating a reunion of…
Not the hardest of hardcore sports fans? Saw the Orange Bowl score cross the bottom of the screen this morning and wondered out loud, “Say, Clemson’s 3-point shooters must be terrible”? Don’t want to be caught off-guard in the new year? Here are five important military sports dates to circle on your brand-new desk calendar. 1. Jan. 14, rivalry renewal: The first Army-Navy game of the new year takes place on the hardwood, with the women’s hoops teams squaring off at noon in Annapolis, followed by the men’s teams at 2:30 p.m. (both games on CBS Sports Network). Patriot League…
Yes, the Army-Navy game was a classic, with the outcome in doubt well into the fourth quarter. Navy’s win streak continued, a new stadium was welcomed into the rivalry, and the end zones were left intact for Sunday’s Redskins-Patriots NFL game as part of the Redskins’ military appreciation week, which they apparently forgot to tell anyone about. Instead of looking back, let’s look forward: In nine months, the Midshipmen will be back in the national spotlight, taking on Notre Dame. It’s another storied rivalry, but with a twist: The Irish fans in the stands will be Irish. On Sept. 1,…
Sure, the game’s more than a week away, but the trash talking has started on both sides and will be in full effect well before kickoff. It’s not always a good idea to let facts get in the way of a good rivalry game, but for those curious, here’s four quick hits: 1. QB question: Army’s official depth chart lends no hits on the health of junior quarterback Trent Steelman, who injured his knee in a 42-14 loss at Temple on Nov. 19. Steelman shares top billing with freshman Angel Santiago, who’s played in four games this season and completed…
Air Force ended its regular season with a 45-21 win at Colorado State, giving the Falcons a 7-5 record and a fifth-straight season of bowl eligibility. Which bowl? There’s at least three possibilities, and fans shouldn’t plan on booking any plane tickets until this weekend’s action wraps up. Frank Schwab of the Colorado Springs Gazette lays out a few of the scenarios here, with some words from the key players. Here are three key points for the Air Force faithful and armchair bowl projectors to consider. 1. Finish vs. value. The Mountain West Conference has agreements with four bowls –…
