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Navy doesn't grant QB Tago Smith extra season of eligibility

Tago Smith was injured in the Midshipmen's first game of the season. (Getty)
Tago Smith was injured in the Midshipmen’s first game of the season. (Getty)

Navy quarterback Tago Smith’s college football career is over.

Smith suffered a torn right ACL in the team’s season-opener vs. Fordham. Since the injury occurred so early in the season, he could have applied for a medical redshirt with the NCAA and played in 2017 if it was approved.

He didn’t even get to the medical redshirt process. According to the Annapolis Capital-Gazette, he was denied a fifth year by the superintendent of the school.

“This is a four-year academic institution and midshipmen are expected to graduate in that period of time unless the superintendent determines there is a significant reason why they cannot do so,” McKinney said. “Vice Admiral Carter looked at this particular situation and decided that is not the case with Midshipmen Smith.”

Smith, who backed up record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds in 2015, is set to graduate in May and athletic director Chet Gladchuk said the school doesn’t have any rules allowing athletes extra time for their sports. Had Smith been approved by the school, he then could have appealed to the NCAA.

“The Naval Academy does not have a provision to extend midshipmen specifically for athletic reasons,” Gladchuk told the Capital Gazette. “That is always the case unless there are extenuating circumstances that prevent a midshipman from performing their academic and military responsibilities and making normal progress toward graduation.”

Smith’s injury in the first game of the season set up a movie-like moment for quarterback Malcolm Perry, who played in the second half of the game vs. Fordham. Perry, a freshman was in the grandstands for the first half because he had played in the team’s junior varsity game the day before. He ended up getting some garbage time snaps.

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Smith had 10 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns before his injury. He’s been replaced by Will Worth, who has 133 carries for 489 yards and nine scores. Worth is 37-62 passing for five scores and two interceptions.

Following Smith’s ACL tear, two Navy captains made the decision to wear his No. 2 for the rest of the season. Smith backed up

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!