[Baltimore Sun] Florida is an important state for Navy football from a recruiting standpoint
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Within the Navy football locker room, there is much chattering back-and-forth about whose home state has better high school football.
Perhaps the most heated debate is between the Navy players from Florida and Texas, both of which like to claim superiority . Those two states have always been tremendously important to the Navy football program in terms of recruiting. The Midshipmen currently have 30 players on the roster from Texas and 16 from Florida.
Kendall Whiteside, who hails from Tampa, Florida, doesn’t think there should even be any argument.
“I think Florida football players are just tougher than those other guys,” Whiteside. “They go down there and complain about the heat and humidity. We grew up playing in those conditions.”
Whiteside is set for a triumphant homecoming Saturday when Navy travels to Tampa to take on South Florida. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle, who has started five of eight games this season, will have a large contingent of family and friends in attendance at Raymond James Stadium.
“I can’t even put into words the emotions I have for this game. Going back home and playing in front of friends and family will be amazing,” said Whiteside, a huge Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan who has attended many games at Raymond James. “Being able to play in that stadium is like a dream come true.”
Whiteside was a top two-way player for Seffner Christian Academy teams that captured consecutive Class 2A, Region 3 championships. He had scholarship offers from Florida International, Tennessee-Martin and West Florida, but never heard a word from USF.
That makes Saturday’s game personal for Whiteside, who said USF curiously did not recruit the Tampa area very hard when he was a senior in 2020-21.
“This is definitely a huge opportunity to go punch them in the mouth and show this is a hometown boy that you missed on,” he said.
Whiteside got his foot in the door with former Navy assistant Danny O’Rourke when he came to Seffner Christian Academy to recruit his team’s quarterback.
“I was able to talk to the recruiter and after finding out more about the Naval Academy. I quickly realized that was the type of place I wanted to be,” said Whiteside, who was a junior at the time. “I realized Navy was the place to be because it has a whole lot to offer other than football.”
Whiteside is one of six Florida products playing prominent roles for Navy this season. Of the 16 Florida players on the roster, nine are on the current depth chart.
Starting outside linebacker Luke Pirris hails from Ponte Vedra, Florida. Pirris was a two-time All-State selection but he did not receive a single scholarship offer from any Division I school in Florida. Ponte Vedra High basketball coach Kevin Whirity is a 2003 Naval Academy graduate and helped steer Pirris to his alma mater.
“Not many schools in Florida looked at me and I kind of take that personally, especially going into this game,” said Pirris, whose grandmother and uncle live in the Tampa area. His parents and several other relatives will make the three-hour drive from the Jacksonville area for the game.
“It’s going to be a great environment in the Bucs’ stadium and I’m excited about it,” Pirris said.
Florida and Texas are so important to the Navy football program that two assistants are assigned to recruit those states. Ivin Jasper has been recruiting Florida since he came to Navy along with former head coach Paul Johnson in 2002. Jasper initially handled the whole state by himself, but now handles north and central Florida. He was responsible for signing Pirris, starting snipe Brandon Chatman and four other Sunshine State players on the current three-deep.
Jasper still has to cover a lot of territory, hitting schools from Jacksonville down to Brevard County and across to the Orlando and Ocala areas.
“It’s a big state with a huge population, so that means a lot of talent. There’s an awful lot of speed down in Florida and the kids love football,” Jasper said. “You’ve got to pound the pavement and find the hidden gems. You have to make sure you cover all your bases and get to every school you can.”
After more than two decades recruiting the same parts of Florida, Jasper has gotten to know dozens of high school coaches and therefore gets calls and emails recommending players all the time. He discovered Diego Fagot, one of the best inside linebackers in Navy history, at Calvary Christian Academy, then went back to that private school to get Chatman.
“There are certain schools that I know have players willing to consider the Naval Academy. I know my recruiting area so well that I know where to go,” said Jasper, who enjoys the east coast of Florida so much he bought a condominium in Cape Canaveral.
Brent Wimberly, in his second season coaching inside linebackers at Navy, recruits south Florida and the west coast. His areas start at Indian River County on the east coast, Polk County in the central portion of the state and Hillsborough County, which is where Tampa and St. Petersburg are located.
“We have our niche and you know the criteria we are looking for: Is he smart, is he tough, is he a good athlete, does he love football? When all those traits align you go after them,” Wimberly said.
Wimberly traveled to Tampa first thing Friday morning in order to get around to a bunch of high schools. He can sell the fact Navy will likely play at South Florida at least once during a player’s career.
“One thing about Florida is that the coaches are always calling, texting and reaching out about certain players. They make it easy to build those relationships,” said Wimberly, who has been impressed by the type of prospects he’s finding in the state.
“Those Florida guys play football from the time they are little. That’s just what they do down there. They’re all fast and they’re confident. That’s what we love about Florida kids.”
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.
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