Navy senior cornerback Cameron Kinley has been nominated for the Wuerffel Trophy it was announced today.
 
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented each February in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida, Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy exists to honor college football players who serve others, celebrate their positive impact on society, and inspire greater service in the world.
 
Kinley carries a 3.32 grade point average in Political Science, is the Naval Academy Class of 2021 President and is one of three captains on the football team. Kinley volunteers his time with We Feed Our People, Maryland Special Olympics, Stanton Community Center, the Anne Arundel Food Bank and volunteering with the youth at Newtowne Outreach.
 
Kinley is a returning starter at corner after starting 13 games there last year.  He finished the year with 38 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, a sack and five pass breakups.
 
Kinley was part of a massive turnaround by the Navy defense in 2019 as the Mids finished 20th in third down defense (121st in 2018), 10th in rushing defense (90th in 2018), 39th in passing defense (75th in 2018), 16th in total defense (86th in 2018), 34th in scoring defense (103rd in 2018), 68th in pass efficiency defense (117th in 2018), 55th in sacks (129th in 2018) and 53rd in tackles for a loss (129th in 2018).
 
The Mids finished 10th in the nation against the run, giving up just 105.8 yards per game, despite facing the #2, #3 and #11 rushing offense's in the country. The Mids got the opposing offense off the field in three plays or less in 36% of its drives, which was the 10th-best average in the country.  The Navy defense gave up just 15.2 first downs per game, which was tied for third best in the country.
 
Navy opens up the 2020 season against BYU at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Monday night at 8 PM.  Fans will not be allowed to attend, but ESPN will televise the game nationally with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Allison Williams on the call and you can also listen to the game on the Navy Radio Network with Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills and Scott Wykoff.