Dec. 23, 2010

Navy senior offensive tackle Jeff Battipaglia was named the team's most inspirational player by his teammates at the Poinsettia Bowl luncheon on Wednesday.

Battipaglia has missed just one practice in four years and has started 39 conecutive games. His coaches describe has as an abolute joy to cacoh and they feel like they are better people for having been around him. Coach Niumatalolo calls him a model student-athletes, a great student and a heck of a football player.

Battipaglia's story starts before the Academy. On September 11, 2001, he was in the seventh grade when the twin towers were struck by terrorists. His father was across the street on the 17th floor and unknown to his family at the time evacuated his building and helped herd employees down the stairs and eventually to safety. It was a pivotal point in Battipaglia's life and it motivated him to go to a Service Academy. Luckily for Navy, he chose to attend the Naval Academy.