When Tyler Sayles initially joined the Navy football team, he was not prepared to play at the Division I level — either in terms of performance or effort.
Sayles realized that relatively quickly and asked defensive line coach Shaun Nua if he could take a redshirt season in order to develop. Nua had to explain to the naïve plebe that it was not possible to redshirt at the Naval Academy.
Four years later, Sayles has evolved into a shining example for how a Navy football player should conduct themselves on and off the field. He has moved into the starting lineup as a senior and performed well while setting a high standard with regard to military and academic responsibilities.