ESPN

Army standout Andre Carter II will be on an NFL roster next season. But a new law passed will make it more difficult for the next service academy star to do ...

"Every Sunday that Andre Carter puts his uniform on, it's going to be noticed and mentioned," he said. "To bring in top level talent to the academy and football program, the pro option is a very important linchpin," said Nathan Pine, the Air Force athletic director. He points out there's "a lot going on in the world." And that door is ultimately going to be up to Congress. Having that door open to them is very important to the academies." The transfer portal and NIL have already put the service academies at a disadvantage, and taking away this opportunity puts all three Academies at even more of a disadvantage in recruiting some of the best student-athletes in the country." But if a young person comes to the academy and shows a proclivity in medicine, we reward them and send them to medical school. "Every Sunday that Andre Carter puts his uniform on, it's going to be noticed and mentioned," McCarthy said. The government isn't focused on the ability to compete on the field, but the coaches say that they could end up limiting the potential officer talent coming through the academies. "Just the way I want to live my life. (He credits both Ryan McCarthy, the former US Secretary of the Army, and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for stressing this point to him.) He's poised to become the first Army player drafted higher than the seventh round in more than a half-century.