8/27/2004 - Football
Jeff Vanak: Naval Intelligence

Growing up in Collegeville, Pa., Jeff Vanak always wanted to go to a Service Academy. The Air Force Academy. His dad, Tom, was a 1976 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy and was a helicopter pilot. Vanak wanted to fly, as well, but found out in his medical entrance exam that he was color blind.

"My dad was in the military so I was always interested in following his footsteps," said Vanak. "I wanted to go to Air Force. I never was that interested in Navy until they started recruiting me in football. Once I visited the Naval Academy I fell in love with the place and knew it was the right place for me. I went out to Air Force for a visit and I liked it, but it wasn't like Annapolis."

After playing on the junior varsity as a freshman, Vanak played in 10 games his sophomore year and recorded 11 tackles. He was a solid contributor to a team than won just two games.

"The first two years were tough, both from a school and football standpoint," said Vanak. "I kind of knew what to expect, but until you actually do it you don't realize how tough it is. If given the opportunity I would choose the same path again, but I couldn't tell you why."

Vanak was still a relative unknown to Navy fans heading into the 2003 campaign when he was named the starter for the season-opening game against VMI the week of the game.

"I knew I was good enough to have a chance to play a lot, but going into the season we had seniors in front of me so I wasn't sure how much I would get to play. When they moved me to starter the week of the VMI game, I think I was looking over my shoulder almost every week."

Vanak took advantage of the starting opportunity by playing the best game of his career against the Keydets, recording seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble in Navy's 37-10 victory over VMI. The win broke a 15-game losing streak at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

"I was glad I played well, because I had never been so nervous before a football game in my life," said Vanak.

Vanak went on to record 40 tackles and six tackles for a loss in 2003 as he helped lead the Midshipmen to an 8-5 record, a berth in the Houston Bowl and brought the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy back to Annapolis for the first time since 1981.

"Last year was a fun year. To play like we did the first two years I was here was not real enjoyable. Beating Air Force was huge, the bowl game, it was more than I ever expected. My main goal coming in was to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy and get a chance to go to the White House and we did that. Getting to play in a bowl game and playing at Notre Dame was amazing."

Vanak credits much of the turnaround to the Navy coaching staff, which came on board after his freshman year.

"I think more than anything else, more than the schemes, was the work ethic they brought with them. They make us work for everything we get. They've brought the team closer together and made us a little tougher. You definitely know where you stand with this coaching staff, which is good."

Though football has had its ups and downs for Vanak, he has been steady in the classroom, posting a 3.13 GPA while majoring in economics. Vanak's intelligence is well known on the football team and in his company as he helps tutor other football players and company mates in a variety of subjects.

"I've helped a lot of people with Spanish since I have a little bit of a Spanish background and that seems to give a lot of people trouble," said Vanak. "There's a lot of football guys that major in Economics and they come to me for help sometimes. It's actually been a great way to help me learn the material, as well."

Vanak says doing well in the classroom hasn't been easy for him, but it's doing the little things, just like on the football field, that's made him successful.

"I don't spend hours and hours in the library, but I always pay attention, take notes, get my work done; I don't think I've missed a homework assignment in my three years here. I never fall asleep in class, which is expected, but people do. It's just the little things that you can do that will help you. It's my number one priority here."

Vanak is hopeful his hard work will pay off, as he is the Naval Academy's nominee for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Postgraduate Scholarship Award. The Naval Academy has had seven athletes win the award previously, the last being Terrence Anderson in 1999.

"I'm going to service select Naval Intelligence, but I would love to go to grad school and possibly study law," said Vanak, who's older sister Jill graduated from Georgetown last year and is currently in grad school at Columbia.

Naval Intelligence and grad school is in Vanak's future. The present is the 2004 football season and trying to build on last year's success.

"The senior class as a whole is pretty confident in our abilities. We were a huge aspect of last year's team. We know we're capable of doing it again, but there is some added pressure because we definitely don't want to be the class that gave the CIC trophy back. There's definitely pressure, but it's good pressure."