THEN (2017 ARMY COMMIT)
Nolan Cockrill entered West Point direct from his home in Centreville, VA in 2018. As is often the case with players who come to the fore at Army West Point, Cockrill came to Army football relatively unnoticed with no rating from Rivals at the time. He had offers from Elon and Kent State as well as West Point.
Cockrill was recruited as a 6-3, 230-pound defensive end, and is still quite capable of playing DE or DT, but he bulked up to 290 pounds in the S&C program at West Point, and Nate Woody prefers to play him at Nose Tackle, where he often dominates the middle of the line of scrimmage.
Like most direct report plebes, Cockrill saw no action in 2018 and had his varsity debut as a sophomore, appearing in 8 games with 6 total tackles, including 1.5 TFLs. He cracked the starting lineup in his junior year finishing the 2020 season with 28 total tackles, including 7.0 TFLs.
NOW (ACCEPTED INVITE TO EAST-WEST SHRINE GAME)
He was elected one of the 4 team captains this year and has started all 12 games. posting 39 total tackles, including 7.5 TFLs and 2.5 Sacks.
He recently accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game, which is one of the major stepping stones to a possible selection in the 2022 draft. The last Black Knight to appear in the East-West game was Elijah Riley, who is now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles.
TV: NFL Network
DATE: Feb. 3rd, 2022
KICKOFF: 8pm EST
LOCATION: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, NV)
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