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Black Knights, Mids aiming to play sprint football in 2020: Army - Around the Yard, 7/23/20

The CSFL won’t play in the fall, but Army and Navy are likely to meet in two sprint football games. That and more in this Army edition of Around the Yard.

By Mitchell Northam

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Army plays St Thomas Aquinas College in Sprint Football on Sept. 29, 2018.
STAC Sports, via Flickr (https://bit.ly/3jo5B1b)

The league that governs collegiate sprint football — the CSFL — announced late last week that its fall 2020 season will not occur to safety concerns over COVID-19. The decision was made following a vote from the CSFL’s other 10 institutions, which includes schools from the Ivy League and Division II schools in the northeast.

However, just like the Patriot League did, the CSFL will allow Army and Navy to pursue games on their own this fall. And, according to Bill Wagner at the Capital Gazette, the two schools have discussed a home-and-home series for this fall.

Wagner writes: “Ideally, the initial contest would be classified as an exhibition as both teams shake off the rust. Game 2 would be held in Annapolis and serve as the official ‘Star’ game for the 2020 season.”

A spring season remains possible for the CSFL, according to reports from Wagner and the Daily Pennsylvanian. But for now, it seems like a pair of Army-Navy sprint football games are on for the spring. Army is the reigning champ of the CSFL, posting a 7-1 record last year and beating Navy 13-0 in the final.

Around the Yard — Army

  • Twin brothers from Knoxville, Tennessee have committed to Army, according to Sal Interdonato at HudsonValley.com. Their parents served in the Navy.
  • And, despite Navy offering him first, Army also picked up a commitment from Terrell Jackson, a defensive back from Florida, according to Interdonato.
  • A Pennsylvania state wrestling champion has committed to Army. N.C. State, Virginia and Navy also expressed interest in 113-pounder Ethan Berginc.
  • While the Black Knights won’t be playing Princeton in football this season, their men’s basketball game is still on, as of now. On Dec. 13 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Army will face the Ivy Leaguers as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational, a quadruple-header.
  • In its ongoing “State of the Program” series, the Athletic ($) takes a look at Army. Here’s what Jeff Monken had to say about new defensive coordinator Nate Woody:

“I think Nate Woody on defense was a great example of that for me, just to listen to him and watch him lead our defensive staff and ask them to be simple in their teaching. OK, here’s the call. Teach it to our guys. And tell me how you’re gonna teach it. And make it simple for them to understand.’ And I really appreciated that.”

  • At ESPN, Bill Connelly has an overview of the FBS Independents and what’s in-store for them this coming season. He’s projecting Army to go 6-6. As he points out, the margin between wins and losses could be slim for the Black Knights and a lot could hinge on how successful the successor to Kelvin Hopkins Jr. is.
  • 11 Black Knights made Phil Steele’s All-Independents Team.
  • Rick Lewis, a former volunteer assistant coach for Army men’s lacrosse, has been hired onto the staff at his alma mater, Ohio State.
  • Who could fill Army football’s newly open date on Oct. 10 after the Ivy League scrapped fall sports? KSL.com thinks BYU is an option for a game at West Point.