One of the leading rushers in the history of Army football will be afforded the opportunity to further climb up the service academy’s all-time rushing list.
Sal Interdonato of the Times Herald-Record tweeted Friday that, somewhat unexpectedly, running back Raymond Maples will be returning to the Black Knights for a fifth season this year. Maples suffered a groin injury in the third game of the 2013 season and did not play again last year.
Because he appeared in 20 percent or fewer of Army’s games this past season -- the NCAA rounds up in these instances -- Maples qualified for a medical hardship waiver.
Back in October, when the possibility of a fifth year first surfaced, it was reported that Maples was anxious to start his military career and would likely eschew the opportunity to play another season of college football. In early December, Maples received his post-graduation branch of service: Air Defense Artillery.
Entering the 2013 season, Maples had the opportunity to become just the second player in Army history (Mike Mayweather) to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season three times in his career. He will enter the 2014 season sixth on the service academy’s career rushing list with 2,612 yards.
Following Maples’ injury, Terry Baggett took over as the focal point of the Black Knights’ rushing attack and led the team with 1,113 yards. Included in that total was a single-game academy record of 304 yards in an Oct. 12 win over Eastern Michigan.
(Photo credit: Army athletics)
