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Get Scouted Scouting CareersNoah Smith’s ship finally has come in.
After a long, grueling application process that began more than a year ago, the 2016 National Scouting Report football prospect from Yardley, Pennsylvania, recently received a Letter of Appointment to the United States Naval Academy.
Noah, who received six offers to play college football, likely will pass up the opportunity, so he can serve his country. He is considering trying out for the NCAA Division I football team or participating in the Sprint football program (172 pounds or lighter) to fulfill the Naval Academy’s varsity or club sports requirement.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of him,” said Noah’s dad, Karl. “I can’t think of a greater honor than to be selected to be a leader in your country’s military. [The Naval Academy] saw somebody worth investing in to be a career leader in the greatest fighting force in the world.”
Noah, a senior at Pennsbury High School in suburban Philadelphia, was among 16,500 official applicants to the Naval Academy. Of those applicants, 1,400 were nominated for appointments and 1,150 received them.
Two weeks after his high school graduation, Noah, 18, will report to Annapolis, Md., for 10 weeks of basic training, beginning June 30. Then he must complete four years of studies at the Naval Academy and serve another five years in the Navy.
“The Naval Academy had everything Noah was looking for,” Karl said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a career out of it. Then again, I also see him putting in five years and doing something else.” The road to Annapolis wasn’t anything but smooth for Noah, a talented student (4.32 GPA, 1830 SAT, 30 ACT); football player (All-Conference offensive lineman); musician (award-winning orchestra and jazz stand-up bass player); and all-around person (Eagle Scout).
Noah started the application process in January 2015. He applied to a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) camp at the Naval Academy. Although he wasn’t selected, he became an “official candidate,” the first step in the academy’s recruiting process.
After that, Noah needed congressional or senatorial nomination. Then he had to go through a rigorous interview process. Despite being selected by Sen. Pat Toomey as a Principal Nominee and impressing Naval Academy officials during his interview, Noah received a “conditional appointment” in April.
Because his application revealed he had issues eating nuts as a child, he needed to go through a medical waiver process. More specifically, he needed to be tested and cleared by an allergist to receive an “official appointment.” After passing the test, Noah received his Letter of Appointment last week.
Knowing a Naval Academy appointment was no guarantee, Karl and his wife, Ruth, enrolled Noah with NSR at the start of his senior year. After receiving offers to play football at Willamette, Pacific, Milliken, Sterling, Misericordia and Muhlenberg, Noah recently committed to Willamette as a backup to the Naval Academy.
“You have to factor in attrition,” Karl said. “If, for some reason, Noah doesn’t make it through basic training, we needed a school to fall back on. We put down a deposit at Willamette and we’re signing him up for classes.”
An avid outdoorsman, Noah was seeking a top academic school in the West that would enable him to major in Engineering or Computer Science, play football and participate in the string/jazz program. Willamette, a small, private liberal arts university in Salem, Oregon, proved the best fit.
“Without National Scouting Report, Willamette never gets on our radar,” Karl said. “I think we would have tripped across a couple schools, but the majority of the schools we came in contact with came from NSR. We never would have known about them without your help.”
Not only did NSR save the Smith family lots of money, Karl said, but it also saved them a lot of time.
“The Naval Academy process was so complicated,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing that and working the football recruiting process at the same time. We just couldn’t have done it without National Scouting Report.”
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National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.