Much has happened in the three years since freshman defensive back Noah Short blocked a Navy punt that led to a key Army touchdown in the Black Knights overtime victory.
Short, himself, was moved from the defensive side of the ball to become a consistent cog in Army’s option offense as a slotback where he is utilized as both a receiver and a running back.
Army finished 6-6 in the 2022 and 2023, beating Navy each time. But last year, the Black Knights, coming into the Navy game at 11-1 and American Conference champions in their first year in the league, suffered a disappointing 31-13 loss to the Midshipmen.
On Saturday, Short will play in his fourth and final Army-Navy nationally-televised game. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. While Short hopes for a victory, he is just as adamant that he and his teammates focus on their assignments and play the best game they can.
“As always, I am really excited about this game,” Short said. “And it is bittersweet, for sure, because it means that for the seniors we are coming to the end of our college careers. The practices seem to get shorter and the games seem to go by faster. Still, it is going to be great to take this game in one more time and it is really special to be a part of it.”
Short has done his part for Army. In three seasons playing offense, he has caught 67 passes for 849 yards and six touchdowns. He has also run for 1.129 yards and three touchdowns on 169 carries. Interestingly, he has not fumbled the ball in his Army career.
“It is really not my own doing,” Short explained about the switch from defense to offense. “Coach (Matt) Drinkall (now the head coach at Central Michigan) saw me on the scout team and noticed I was pretty fast. He asked me if I could play offense and I jumped at the opportunity. All of the coaches, such as Coach (Aaron) Smith who taught me a lot of the fundamentals of playing wide receiver and slotback, really set me up for success here.”
Now as a senior leader and veteran of three Navy games, Short says he is advising his teammates, especially the underclassmen, to come to terms with what to expect on Saturday afternoon.
“Every day at practice I tell my teammates to practice as if it was game day,” Short said. “Envision the many dignitaries will be in attendance, including the president and Secretary of Defense, and that we are playing for the Corps of Cadets so they get a feel for the game during the week. We all are going to have butterflies in our stomachs on gameday. It is natural, but we all have to focus on the job in front of us.”
West Point was not part of Short’s original college plans. As a high school sophomore at The King’s Academy in San Jose, Calif., he committed to playing for Washington State. But head coach Mike Leach and some of his staff left for Mississippi State in 2020 and Short “fired up my Twitter account and let coaches know I was available.”
Army’s Saga Tuitele, then in charge of recruiting for the West Coast, reached out
“I just fell in love with West Point, the entire atmosphere here and how much the coaches cared,” Short said. “They were very transparent from the get-go, explained the potential of West Point and the leadership development that comes with graduating from the academy. Everything they said checked the box.”
Of course, Army has one more game this season, playing UConn in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston on Dec. 27. After that, Short said that he will participate in Army Pro Day in the spring and hopes to somehow find a way on to an NFL team next fall and continue his football career. If not, Short is just as excited to start his career in the army after graduation as a second lieutenant in field artillery.
“West Point is a grind and it is a very challenging place,” Short said. “But I really cannot think of a better place for me to attend and play football. There is a special camaraderie between the players on our team. It is going to be great to be a part of this experience one last time.”
