Navy Recruiting Update 1/29

Bummer about Bobby Ross. I know the Black Knights struggled and most of the fans weren't in a hurry to see him back, but I've always admired the guy and despite rooting against him in the Army-Navy game, always pulled for his success the rest of the season. My comments about the guy they've got coming in? Uh, who exactly is Stan Brock? And all of this coming on the day Barbero was euthanized...I thought sports were suppose to make us feel better things?

Anyways, on to recruiting. Army likely will take a fairly big hit in their efforts this offseason, so Navy clearly will lead the way in the fight for recruits. The Midshipmen landed Norcorsse (Georgia) Middle Linebacker James Simien today, while once prized Navy-commit Philip Davis went a different direction and committed to Tulane. Tulane? I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly does that school or its football team have going for it right now?

Regardless, Davis is in the past and Simien's commitment is in the here and now. When I first saw his Scout.com page reporting he runs a 4.98/40, obviously I was a little concerned. I ran a faster time at the Navy Football Camp when I was a freshmen in high school, and that's saying a lot considering how bad of a football player I actually was. Thankfully the Scout.com page is a little off, and if you scroll down you can see he ran a respectable 4.66 at the Atlanta combine. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has Simien listed at 6'1 (advise a little shorter per scout listing) and reports that he had received offers from Air Force, Ball State, and both Eastern and Western Kentucky (which will soon be I-A) prior to choosing Navy. He also drew heavy interest from Southern Miss, but apparently his visit last week wasn't enough to swoon him away from Annapolis. He looks like another solid pickup for the class of 2007 and hopefully a future component in a great linebacker tradition.

Navy also recently picked up another running back, this time getting 5'11, 195-lb Delvin Diggs from Claxton High School in Georgia. He will be attending NAPS before coming to the Academy. Best of luck to both of these young men!

Note of Interest

As most of you know, I moved my regular operations to the Fan House for the past season, where I've been providing daily coverage relating exclusively to Navy football. It's been fun, and the interaction with other bloggers, readers, and fans has surpassed anything I've ever done over here at Pitch Right. Unfortunately, starting next week, the Navy Fan House is, well, dead.

AOL has decided to move in a different direction, one that doesn't include the services of numerous team oriented blogs like the Navy Fan House. I'll admit that I'm a little bummed, but I can completely understand where they're coming from, and want to use this experience to springboard Pitch Right further onto the blogsphere. So, starting next week and continuing with what I hope will be a growing consistency, regular posting picks back up at Pitch Right. Some ideas I've been kicking around:

• Friday Lists, a collection of random rankings and/or lists pertaining to various college football subject matter (ie. Top 10 most obscure I-A teams, junk like that)


• Wall to Wall "Mid-Major Coverage." I love Navy football and couldn't dream of shifting away from keeping this a Navy-oriented blog, but I would like to up my coverage of other non-BCS teams.


• "Holding Phil Accountable," a look at the abysmal job my buddy Phil Steele did on his 2006 guide.


• Fourth and Inches Podcast. Set you calenders for May, where I and several friends will develop a daily Sports Podcast. Not Navy or even college football exclusive, but hopefully still something to tune in for. Much more information on this in the coming months.


• Other stuff, recruiting coverage, spring practice coverage, and whatever comes up.

• Official Meeting Ground of the Jeff Deliz fan club, hence the picture.

Well, that's that. Comments, musings, collective brainstorming actions, or general pleasantries can go in the box below. Thank you to all my Fan House readers for reading, and hopefully we can move forward and make this offseason go as smooth as possible.

-Adam

(Photo From Navysports.com)

Miles to Transfer

The 6'2, 189-lb safety was granted a release from the team and the Academy by Johnson last week, and is looking to enroll at another Division I school in time for the spring semester. Miles reportedly told Coach Johnson that the reason for his leaving was the five year military commitment he'd have to serve after his graduation. The Capital reported that Miles is eying Temple, Bowling Green, and I-AA UMass. Our friend Frank from the UMass football blog has already begun a campaign for Miles, who was named an Honorable Mention Freshmen All-American as well as the All-East Freshmen on the Year.

Read More

Navy Outlook '07: Quarterback

While Kaipo-Noa has started the last six games and played well, don't rule out a spirited competition with fellow sophomore Jarod Bryant this off-season. Kaipo-Noa's knowledge of the offense, which he ran in High School and at NAPS, has been his chief advantage over Bryant to this point, but the Hoover product is catching up. Bryant has all the physical tools to be a great option quarterback, plus the kind of arm that could really add another dimension to the offense. If nothing else, he should be able to push Kaipo to become a more complete player, which will ultimately benefit the entire team.

Continue Reading

Cole Smith Holding: It's Your Call

The Third and One

I was going to wait until later this week to post this, but judging by the comments I've been seeing thought the day, I thought I should address it now. First though, the usual discretionary speech. Most of us have never coached a college football team, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That being said, fans are always going to second guess and play arm chair coach, so I post this in the confidence that I won't be burned at the stake. Ok, now that we've established that, lets talk about Paul Johnson's play-calling, and in specific the third and one at the end of the first half.

Read More

(AP PHOTO)

Meineke Car Care Bowl In Pictures

View The Entire Gallery (With Commentary)

(Photos By Dan Nettina)