There was once a time when Navy's only football recruiting rivals were Army and Air Force. Those three service academies annually found themselves battling for the same prospects with the competition primarily coming from Division I-AA and Ivy League schools.
But times have changed for Navy, which has significantly raised its national profile over the past decade-plus. During this current recruiting cycle, the Midshipmen found themselves doing battle with a bunch of fellow American Athletic Conference members along with several Power Five schools.
Head coach Ken Niumatalolo was somewhat surprised when Baylor of the Big 12 suddenly poached three recruits that had been committed to Navy.