The Army has granted offensive tackle Brett Toth permission to join the Eagles (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). Under the previous guidelines, Toth would have been locked into his service requirement. However, he’ll be able to put all of that on hold as he pursues his NFL dream.
Toth made history as the first player from West Point to play in the Senior Bowl and he’ll look for new watermarks with the Eagles. Toth’s entry into the NFL, along with the recently cleared-to-play Austin Cutting, could boost recruiting for all of the U.S. service academies and open doors for current Army, Navy, and Air Force football players.
Toth played 31 games for the Black Knights and seamlessly transitioned from tight end to an offensive line role.
Cody Kessler and Nate Sudfeld say it’s a little late.
Well, that 1st round draft pick at LT didn’t save those guys…
Victims of the “ look out” block…
The military academies should not be recruiting for sports, it is Service above Self. If an athlete is that serious about possibly playing professional sports they should attend a different school.
At the same time, players can develop and suddenly be able to go to the NFL, when prior to entering college they didn’t think it was an option.
agreed. you should be able to persue sports after, but deferring your commitment isnt the way to do it.
Why?
Sometimes people are late bloomers and develop later. He’ll be deferring his commitment not avoiding it. And by recruiting D1 athletes brings better candidates period, regardless if they will be good enough to turn pro down the road. Playing D1 sports puts the academies out there with priceless advertising for future enlistments; even sponsorships in racing were money well spent. I also think some guy named David Robinson would agree.
yes there are few late bloomers but with the way everyone is scouted for everything sporting hard to miss slightest of potential. Purpose of Military academies is to prepare for service. Ivy League schools are not recruiting Div 1 athletes, their bringing in top students for their academic programs.