9/22/2004 - Football
Eckel Selected To Play In The Villages Gridiron Classic

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Navy senior fullback Kyle Eckel (Haverford, Pa.) has been selected to play in the Villages Gridiron Classic All-Star game, which will take place Saturday, Jan. 31 in The Villages, Fla. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Eckel will join teammate Josh Smith in the game.
Eckel, ranked as the second-best fullback in the country by The Sporting News, became just the sixth running back in school history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career when he rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns in Navy's 29-0 rout of Tulsa.
Eckel will be the fifth Navy player to participate in the Gridiron Classic all-star game in its six year existence and it will mark the first time since 1999 that two Navy players have played in the same all-star game. In 1999 Terrence Anderson and Travis Williams played in both the Blue-Gray Game and the Hula Bowl All-Star game.