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!