Just Received A Verbal From Someone Out Of Houston

Green92 · September 24, 2016

Don't mess up a good story with facts.

PlummMeanGreen · September 24, 2016

Linemen, folks, we need linemen on both sides of the ball. That the toughest position for many G5 schools to recruit it seems.

Mike Jackson · September 24, 2016

8 hours ago, greenminer said:

What's the basis for the bold? Air Force and Navy have over 20 bowl appearances each.

Navy has missed only 1 bowl game since 2003. Air Force only 1 miss since 2007.

The service academies might not win a national title in this FBS environment, but they have had no trouble making bowl games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_bowl_records

Let me be more specific. I don't even count bowls that did not exist before 1990. So while I was ecstatic that UNT went to the Heart of Dallas like all other Mean Green Alumni/Fans I hardly look at it as somehow equal to going to a historic bowl with 30 years of history. These new generation of bowls just means your team is average and in several instances below average. So the last Bowl game Army appeared in that was testament to them be really better than average was the 1996 Independence Bowl. Navy has been way more successful during that time but let look at the bowls and their records. So I give them credit for any regular season they completed with less than 5 losses cause throughout the modern history of college football since 1984 a 4 loss season usually meant you get an invite to prestigious bowl. But as I look at Navy's recent bowl history I find a collection of bowl that did not exist before 2000. If the Bowl game you are playing in is not older than most of your players, sorry but I don't hold the bowl game in high esteem as validation of a really good season. There is a reason is for the increase in Bowl game appearances since 2000 for Navy and it has more to do with TV networks, corporations and cities with vacant stadiums in the holiday season trying to cash in than it does to do with Navy being great since 2000. They had a couple of great seasons since 2000 (three 9 regular seasons).

Air Force has been the best of the 3 no doubt since 1990. However their success points back to what I referenced in detail about Army. AF makes more accommodations for their football players than the other 2. And their physical fitness test is less stringent. I would get all in the details but I will share that they a run 1.5 mile test (Navy runs 1.5 also) instead of the Army's 2 miles.

But I think my original comment was dissected way too much. The main point was that the service academies students have to work harder and make a bigger commitment to be successful students let alone student-athletes. So a scholarship offer from anyone of them is totally different than a scholarship offer from civilian school. And all things being equal I wish I would have entered by career in the Army through USMA West Point instead as enlisted. And that isn't because I wanted to be an officer. I would have like to have the experience and education.