The historic football matchup between Army and Navy returns this weekend, but the athletes who will go on to serve our country are as competitive in the classroom as they are on the field. In advance of the 122nd matchup between these two teams, Army offensive lineman Connor Bishop and Navy fullback Isaac Ruoss are being honored as Scholar-Athletes, presented by USAA.
Bishop, a junior from Holland, Pennsylvania, won the honor at Army for the second year in a row. He has started seven games after emerging as a consistent starter a year ago at center. Despite dealing with injuries, Bishop has remained a mainstay on the interior line and ranks second in PFF grade among all Army players that have played at least 300 snaps. Army is 6-1 when Bishop is in the lineup with the only loss coming in a 70-56 shootout against Wake Forest. Bishop holds a 4.01 GPA as a business management major.
On the Navy side, Ruoss, a senior from Mohnton, Pennsylvania, has emerged as a key contributor at fullback in Navy’s option offense. After primarily playing special teams one year ago, Ruoss leads the Midshipmen with 608 yards rushing and five touchdowns, including at least 50 yards rushing in seven games. In a big 38-14 win over Temple last week, Ruoss rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Ruoss’ accolades in the classroom include holding a 3.86 GPA in quantitative economics.
Army and Navy play their historic rivalry game at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game will be broadcast on CBS. With a victory, Army can capture its fourth Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy in the past five seasons.
