6/9/2004 - Football
Eckel Selected To Play In East-West Shrine Game

SAN MATEO, Calif.-Navy senior fullback Kyle Eckel (Haverford, Pa.) has been invited to the prestigious East-West Shrine All-Star Game, which will take place Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. (EST) at SBC Park in San Francisco. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.

Eckel is the 18th Navy player, and the fourth in a row, to be invited to the game in the 80-year history of the event.

Eckel is coming off a stellar junior campaign that saw him rush for 1,249 yards and eight touchdowns as he helped lead Navy to an 8-5 record and a berth in the EV1.net Houston Bowl. Eckel was an integral part of bringing the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy back to Annapolis for the first time since 1981 as he steamrolled Air Force for 176 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries and was named the Philadelphia Sportswriters Most Valuable Player for his 29 carry, 152-yard, two touchdown performance against Army.

Eckel's 1,249 yards rushing ranks sixth in school history for a single-season and his 1,759 career yards rushing stands ninth. Eckel has a shot at becoming just the third player in school history to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a career joining Napoleon McCallum (4,179 yards) and Chris McCoy (3,401 yards).