Fochtman Announces Retirement From Football
Navy safety Evan Fochtman has announced he is retiring from football due to concussions. He suffered his fifth concussion when he collided with a teammate while making a tackle against Air Force earlier this season. Fochtman told the Capital Gazette “it’s definitely the hardest decision I’ve had to make. This is about my long term health.” He also said that after talking with his family he realized how dangerous is would be to come back.
Fochtman is a local product. He lives in Crownsville and attended Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn. He played in 26 games with 16 starts over three seasons. He finished with 91 career tackles. Navy recruited him as a quarterback but he was buried on the depth chart, He caught the coaching staff’s eye when he was a scout team receiver before the 2017 Military Bowl. He ended up dressing for the first time at that bowl game. Coach Niumatalolo asked him he wanted to play defense. Fochtman agreed. He picked up the system quickly and became the backup at a linebacker position Navy calls striker. He recorded 23 tackles as sophomore. That number includes being a member of several special teams groups.
He will spend the rest of the season as a student coach helping Defensive Coordinator Brian Newberry. After graduation Fochtman will become a Navy pilot. That is another reason he wants to make sure he stays clear headed. Navy travels to 22nd ranked SMU on Saturday night at 7:30 eastern.
