11/12/2002 - Football
Josh Brindel: Small Town Hopes - Big Time Dreams

It's funny how things work out sometimes.

Never in his wildest dreams, did senior Josh Brindel envision himself standing at midfield for the coin toss as a captain of the Navy football team.

Out of the small town of Ward, S.C., tucked down in the center of the state near Columbia, comes Brindel. Most often for kids in a one-stoplight town, crossing county and state lines comes about as often as a foot of snow in the Carolinas. Growing up on Lake Saluda, he took a little advice from his father, James, and traveled the road from South to North, from the land of palmettos in Southern Dixie to the Chesapeake Bay and the land of crabs.

"Out of high school, I kind of wanted to go out and do my own thing for a while," the 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle said. "Growing up in a small town, you either get bogged down there or move out and that's what my Dad instilled in me at an early age. He was in the Army and went all over Europe and loved it. He said 'you can't get bogged down here. You need to get out and see the world.' If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would be here today."

As most fathers do, James was just looking out for Josh and thinking of his future.

"There are just more opportunities out there than right here," James, who is a Post Master at the local post office in Saluda, said. "He can see the world, meet different people and see different cultures. It gives him more of a horizon for job opportunities, opportunities that are worldwide. Take Saluda here for instance. Most kids don't leave this town anymore."

Brindel packed his bags with the destination Annapolis and opportunities aplenty at the Academy.

After not playing in any varsity games as a freshman, Brindel burst onto the scene in the fall of 2000, seeing action in every game at nose guard, while making 34 tackles. He followed that up with a strong junior campaign in which he started all 10 games at defensive tackle, finishing fifth on the team and first among defensive linemen in tackles with 44 stops. This season, he recorded 10 tackles before a neck injury sidelined him for the last-four games.

However, some thought it would be a different sport that would lead him to an education of higher learning.

As a three-sport star at Dutch Fork High School, Brindel excelled in football, wrestling and baseball, earning All-America and all-state honors in wrestling and all-region accolades in baseball and football.

On the football team, Brindel actually was a standout offensive performer. He primarily played wide receiver, slot back, fullback and tight end, but also doubling as a defensive end.

But Brindel seemed to have found his niche on the wrestling mat.

"I won three state championships in wrestling and everybody thought that was going to be my meal ticket," he said.

Former Navy head wrestling coach Reg Wicks brought Brindel to the Academy on a recruiting trip in the fall of 1997 to watch the annual Navy Classic. Football would later get into the mix when former Navy assistant coach Tommy Raye, now an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, began recruiting Brindel as well.

Football in the Deep South is the norm on any given fall Saturday, especially growing up in Gamecock country and with Clemson just up the road. It is unavoidable in the South and Brindel seemed to have been bitten by the gridiron bug at an early age.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do because I played three sports in high school," Brindel said. "I didn't know anything about Navy and they didn't know anything about me. Every Saturday growing up, it is either South Carolina or Clemson and you're watching one on television. Big-time college football is what everyone here dreams of and that's what got me hooked from a young age."

The opportunity to play football and wrestle in college was appealing to Brindel, but he knew where his heart was.

"I had the chance to wrestle Division I and play football in Division I," he said. "But that's what I wanted to do, play Division I football. I didn't know too much about the Academy and had a little hesitation at first. My dad did all this research for me. He's such a great guy, for him to sit down and actually take the time to do research on the Academy and see what it is all about, means he really cared about it. Growing up, my dad was a big influence on my life so I had to respect that.

"After looking at the facts and details that go into this place, you start thinking, even though I was just 17 years old, how could anyone not come here. It's a big responsibility and a big challenge, but I don't think I'd change a thing."

While wrestling opened the door to the Academy, it was football that sealed the deal. James, who privately hoped Josh would decide on football, recalled his son's visit to the Academy.

"For wrestling, you had to condition for it year-round, but I was hoping it would lead to football also," James said. "Wrestling was his official visit and what opened his eyes up to the Academy. We went up there for his physical and when we got ready to leave he said, 'let's ride around one more time.' When he said that, I knew he was hooked."

At the Naval Academy Prep School, Brindel was groomed as a linebacker, the position he was recruited to play by Raye. With a veteran group of linebackers returning his freshman year, Brindel, along with teammate Andy Zetts, made the switch to defensive line the summer before their sophomore year.

"We had Dave Ryno who was 300 pounds and was everything a good nose guard should be when Josh got here," Navy defensive line coach Dale Pehrson said. "He graduated the next year and we didn't have that sort of body for nose guard. Josh and Andy were the next biggest guys, so they made the switch because of the depth at linebacker. It was more of a team move because we didn't have anybody else. Josh accepted it without a question and said 'if you need me to do it, I'll do it.'"

The position change also presented Brindel with a new challenge, one he gladly accepted.

"When you're a linebacker, you have different reads and have to know what kind of personnel is in the game," Brindel said. "When you move to the defensive line, it is all about playing the guy in front of you.

"That's the way I have always liked it. In wrestling, when you are out on the mat, it is one-on-one and everybody is watching you. It is kind of like a pride check because you don't want that guy to beat you in front of all of those people. It is kind of the same way on the defensive line."

Despite not wrestling anymore, Brindel's background on the mat has come in handy on the football field.

"It definitely helps" Brindel said. "There are a lot of different ways to shift your weight or balance yourself. You don't always have to be big to do well on the defensive line. It is just a matter of how quick you are, how well you can shift your body weight and move your feet."

"There is no doubt wrestling has helped him," Pehrson said. "There is something about those guys. If you are a wrestler, that automatically puts you in my tough guy category."

With a year under his belt, Brindel took over as starter on the defensive line his junior year and thrived as Navy's top down lineman. He led the squad in sacks with two and tackles for a loss with seven and also broke up a pass, recovered a fumble and forced a fumble.

Brindel capped his strong season with three tackles against Army and received All-Independent recognition by College Football News. Before this season began, he was selected to play in the 78th Annual East-West Shrine Game, arguably the best of the four postseason all-star games as NFL scouts pick participants. He was also placed on the Lombardi Award initial watch list, given annually to the top college football lineman.

As Brindel continued his strong play, Navy couldn't seem to right the ship, as the Mids dropped all-10 games last year, bringing their two-year record to 1-20.

That lone win is a day Brindel remembers well - an exciting 30-28 victory over Army in Baltimore his sophomore year.

When times got tough last year, Brindel was going through a stack of pictures and came across a special one.

"I have a picture in my cover from the Army-Navy game my sophomore year," Brindel said. "It's a picture of me in the stands hugging my Dad. I put it there because we were having a tough year and hadn't won in a while. To know every time I take off my cover, it gives you a little extra motivation for the day because I see the picture.

"I remember how it felt because that was the greatest day in all eternity. Not only to beat Army but to win in front of family and friends was a great feeling. It was amazing around here. So I looked at that picture all that winter, all that summer and the rest of the year that we went 0-10 because I wanted to go back to that."

James remembers a special feeling of his own that day.

"We were sitting down close to the field in the end zone," James said. "Josh came up there and as happy as he could be with tears in his eyes, he gave me the biggest bear hug in my life. He said thank you for sending me to the Naval Academy because I love it."

In the off-season, Brindel was elected as a team captain by his teammates, one of the highest honors any Navy athlete can hold.

Shortly after being informed, Brindel shared the news with the person closest to his heart.

"I went and called my dad first," Josh said. "My dad isn't the kind to be real proud on the outside. The most he did when I won the state wrestling championship was to stand up and clap. He's just a real quiet guy and never wanted to be the dad out there screaming and yelling."

Knowing how far Josh has come from his days in Ward, James swelled with pride.

"It was one of my best days, just knowing that what are the chances a smalltown boy would get into the Naval Academy and then on top of that, be chosen by his peers to lead them," James said. "When we go up to visit for games, it is hard to walk in downtown Annapolis without somebody stopping to talk to him. It's like everyone knows him."

With new head coach Paul Johnson at the helm, Navy opened the 2002 season with a dominating 38-7 win over SMU in Dallas, the Mids' lone win of the season - so far. With the win, Brindel added another picture to the inside of his cover from the SMU game.

However, Brindel's senior season took a drastic turn when he suffered a neck injury during practice early in the season. He was hit from the side of his head, causing severe pain that never seemed to subside.

Last year, Brindel lined up after thumb surgery and with an ankle injury. Like in 2001, he played with the pain but kept aggravating the injury. Against N.C. State and Northwestern, he fought through the pain but the Duke game would be his last.

"Something was definitely wrong I could tell," Josh said. "It was something more than a stinger. It would linger around for hours and hours after instead of a shooting pain that would go away."

As a team captain, Brindel would have to go about leading the troops into battle another way. Despite not being able to be on the field, his dad once again provided some much-needed advice to his frustrated son.

"At first, it was tough on him because you could see him getting quiet when he talked about it," James said. "He is the type of person that keeps a lot inside, so you just have to know how to pick it out of him. I more or less told him that he has to learn to lead in a different way. He has to be a different kind of leader and team captain. Before he could learn with his actions but now he as to lead more like a coach."

Although tough, Pehrson said Brindel has taken on his new role of leadership just fine.

"As a team captain, Josh is a team person and you can ask him to do anything and he'll do it," Pehrson said. "He is as involved in the game now, as he was when he was playing. He is doing the next best thing, helping me on the sidelines. The team still looks up to him and respects what he stands for.

"I think Josh is upset about (the injury), but he has never show it. I'm sure he feels like he is letting the team down, but there is nothing he can do about it with this type of injury. If it were possible for him to play, he would be out there."

While the injury has been a testament to Brindel's character, he said game days are the toughest part.

"It is unbelievably tough at practice to watch the guys going at it, trying their hardest," Josh said. "Watching the guys go through the whole game day process is tough. Seeing them pad up and getting ready hit the field for pregame warmups, that's the toughest thing.

"When the guys are out there playing, it's a different story because you understand what's going on with the game. Before the game, you want to be out there so bad, but that's just the way it goes sometimes."

Brindel acknowledges that his role as team captain has changed due to the injury, but he is focused on helping the team in other ways.

"You have to be more vocal and positive on the sidelines. If something goes wrong, you've got to be there to be positive. If something goes right, you still have to be even more positive and excited for them."

With the season winding down, Brindel is still hopeful he can return to see action late in the season.

Through all the good times and injuries, Brindel doesn't look back with an ounce of regret. The Naval Academy presents every Midshipmen with a grand challenge but he has accepted everything with open arms.

"I can't really think of any bad times that I've had (at the Academy)," Brindel said. "It's kind of weird because you think about all the stipulations you have on the military lifestyle, playing football and on top of that you have academics with no time left.

"I love what I'm doing. It sounds kind of weird but school has been challenging, but is something that will help me in the future. The military aspect is what I'm about to go into, and I love playing football."

Navy fans hope Brindel can return to the field and add another picture or two under his cover.