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    • The Notre Dame-Navy game at MetLife Stadium brings players home from New Jersey
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    The Notre Dame-Navy game at MetLife Stadium brings players home from New Jersey

    Kathleen William Posted on

    Colin Ramos and Kyle Jacob have brought North Jersey toughness to the Navy football team's linebacker corps.

    The Midshipmen's schedule takes them back to North Jersey on Saturday, where they will face 6-1 Notre Dame at noon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Both colleges employ multiple starters from the Garden State.

    Ramos, a senior from Wayne and 2020 Don Bosco Prep graduate, made a team-high 68 tackles (5½ for loss) in Navy's 6-0 start.

    The No. 2 tackler on the team? That would be fellow inside backer Jacob (45, plus one interception), who played at Paramus four years ago before graduating.

    “I personally think the guys that come from New Jersey are tough guys that play hard and are athletic,” Jacob said during a Zoom press conference Tuesday. “A lot of good people come from New Jersey, and it’s a really underrated state for football.”

    Maybe not from what Irish eyes see. Their defense counters with preseason All-American Howard Cross III (St. Joseph Regional) and Duke transfer RJ Oben (St. Peter's Prep) on the defensive line, as well as Irvington's Adon Shuler at safety as a sophomore.

    “A few guys I know, friends around me in high school, they were Notre Dame fans,” Jacob said. “There are a lot of Notre Dame fans from New Jersey. And I played with Howard Cross in middle school…he’s a good player.”

    Cross, a Paramus resident, finished his varsity career at MetLife Stadium in 2018. That year, his St. Joseph Green Knights defeated Bergen Catholic – and current Irish backup QB Steve Angeli – for the Non-Public Group 4- Championship. The 13-0 final score is still the subject of friendly disputes.

    Ramos was playing for a non-public Group 4 title in his high school final at the Meadowlands, although things didn't go quite as well for the Ironmen.

    “It was a close game, but we lost to St. Peter's,” Ramos recalled in a one-on-one interview with NavySports.com on Tuesday.

    He emerged from the 2021 Army-Navy game — sorry, Navy-Army — with happier memories. The Midshipmen posted a 17-13 win at East Rutherford.

    “I love MetLife Stadium,” Ramos said. “It feels like everyone is on one, which is fitting for (almost) 85,000 fans. … I’ve been there for a lot of Giants games and stuff, so I always enjoy that stadium.”

    Jacob and Ramos were both selected as All-North Jersey high school seniors in 2019. The former was a second-team running back (having set Paramus' career rushing record with 2,934 yards), and the latter was a first-team linebacker (108 tackles). , eight bags).

    But as close as the lineup was on the field, they couldn't have been further apart, figuratively speaking, until they met at the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) in 2020.

    “NAPS has been a strange time because of COVID,” Ramos said. “We didn’t have a football season, we didn’t have a lot of the traditional things. Me and Kyle actually didn’t really become friends until our first year here (at USNA).”

    Now they have a lot more in common than just being Giants fans. Their tenacious defense has helped Navy hold its first six opponents to 19.7 points per game while the offense has scored 44.8 points.

    Although Notre Dame plays the Midshipmen annually (and leads the all-time series at 49-8-1), they have only played each other twice in East Rutherford since 2000. The Irish won 27-9 at the old Giants Stadium 20 years ago. while Navy won the first game at MetLife 35-17 when it was called New Meadowlands Stadium in 2010.

    For a handful of players on both sides, this meeting will be remembered as a homecoming day.

    “It's a great opportunity for me and Colin,” Jacob said, “but especially for our team to just go out in this environment and play Notre Dame. “I'm excited.”

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    Kathleen William
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