On Senior Day
I received an email asking for the transcript of my pregame show segment on Senior Day. I figured I’d just post it here.
Today is Senior Day, which is a big deal here in Annapolis. I suppose you could say that it’s a big deal at every program, but I don’t know how true that is in the transfer portal era. So many players bounce between two or sometimes three colleges that they don’t have the same connection to their schools, teams, and communities that the Midshipmen have. I’m not criticizing players who transfer between other schools. That’s just the way things are now, and if anything, I think it’s kind of sad, knowing what I value from my own college experience: the education, lifelong friends, and Annapolis roots that I can always return to.
So in a way, Senior Day is a celebration of so many things that set the Naval Academy apart in modern college football. But beyond that, I think there’s a lot that can be said about this senior class in particular.
We talk a lot about how Navy is a developmental program. In recruiting, the coaches look for top talent just like everyone else, but they also look for guys who aren’t finished products. Maybe they’re undersized, raw, or they played out of position in high school, but Navy’s coaches project what they can become at 21 or 22, not what they are at 18. Over 3 or 4 years of stacking days, and Brian Newberry calls it, they become so well-versed in the fundamentals and doing their jobs that they can beat teams that, on paper, are more talented.
That makes coaching continuity so important at the service academies. You don’t want players changing what they’re learning halfway through the process. But this senior class didn’t have that luxury. They’ve had two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, and came up during a time of unprecedented roster turnover. Because of that, many of them got playing time much earlier than normal, and they took their lumps.
But look how far they’ve come. They won ten games a year ago, and they’re fighting to do it again. They helped to restore Navy as a contender in the American Conference. They returned the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to Annapolis, and they have an opportunity to do it again in a few weeks. They’ve set records, thrilled fans, and brought stability back to a program that depends on player leadership. Even among the many exceptional classes that we’ve seen at the Naval Academy, the class of 2026 stands out.
And not just for its stars. We’ve seen electrifying runs from Blake Horvath and Alex Tecza, Eli Heidenreich chasing records and Landon Robinson chasing quarterbacks. But there are so many other guys who found ways to do whatever they could to contribute to the program. There’s Jake Lusk, who moved from defense to the offensive line this spring to provide depth because they needed it. There’s Nicholas Bell, from my neighborhood in Jacksonville, who was forced to medically retire, but stayed with the program to contribute a a manager. The perseverance of Kenny McShan and Cody Howard set an example for everyone on the team about what a privilege it is to play and what it takes to get on the field.
So when we celebrate senior day, we celebrate the memories these players gave us, and encourage them for the fight ahead. But we’re also celebrating everyone who trusted the process, and came out better on the other side.
