Yeah man, you're full of it. It's never an "option B". I dont think you have any idea how much hard work and dedication it takes to get a government official to reccomend you to an academy. You're talking like someone can just apply and get accepted or get an athletic scholarship, which is wildly false. I'm actually certain from your response that you're completely full of it.
"Game, set, match"? Ok then....
I'm full of it? Sorry, I know the kid. You don't. I'm aware of what his intentions were. The Naval academy was not his top preference. For you to suggest you know differently is the most ridiculous thing I've read on this board. Ever. That's saying a lot.
I hate to break this to you, but the "liar, liar pants on fire" argument isn't going to dig you out of the hole you've dug.
I've coached football for decades. Have you? I've seen players that I've coached and coached against move on to college and beyond. I have insight to what many of these players and their families were thinking. I've spoken to recruiters. I know what their options were. Yet you have the audacity to come back at me with the nonsense above? Unbelievable.
If that isn't enough, I cited several examples, including one name, of players that opted for a military/service academy because it was what they considered at the time to be the best of the limited options available to them in order to further their playing career at the D1 FBS level. Several of them didn't like the fit and moved on to FCS schools.
But that's not good enough for you. Instead, you want to pontificate about how hard you believe it is to gain admission -- which was never the topic of this conversation. You're deflecting.
To be clear, I never stated that service academies offer football/athletic scholarships. I'm fully aware that they do not. But they do have football programs. And since Army, Navy, AF all compete at the D1 FBS level (Citadel is a senior military college and is FCS), they often become options for athletes that aren't receiving interest from many FBS programs and are resistant to playing at the FCS or D2 (or lower) level.
BTW, I got news for you. It's not that hard to get in as an accomplished athlete that can find a coherent sentence with 2 hands and a flashlight. It's been widely publicized in recent years how the academies (specifically Army) have relaxed their admission standards in an effort to become more competitive in sports. Athletes get considerations in the nomination and admission process. The New York Times even authored an article about it. But I digress.
I've not only been involved in the process as a coach, I religiously follow college recruiting. I'm very aware and certain about the things I've witnessed over the decades, and what is still going on today.
To your point, it's painfully clear you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Nor did the other guy, which is what prompted this entire spin off.
So I'm done with you. I already destroyed your less than paper thin belief on this topic.