Several scouts with National Football League teams have visited the Naval Academy to work out three potential professional prospects - fullback Eric Kettani, slot back Shun White and wide receiver Tyree Barnes.

      Those three seniors all participated in a combine-type tryout with the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots a couple weeks ago. Last Thursday, a scout with the Baltimore Ravens ran the three players through an extensive series of drills.

      I spoke with Chad Wiestling, agent for Eric Kettani, last week. Wiestling indicated that the tryouts went well and that Kettani merely confirmed his status as a definite prospect. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound fullback ran the 40-yard dash in around 4.6 seconds, a terrific time for a player of that position and size. The Ohio native also performed well in all the other strength and agility tests along with various skills drills.

     Barnes raised some eyebrows and his stock by running the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds. That folks is big-time speed and I must admit to being surprised that Tyree ran that well considering all the leg and knee problems he had throughout college. Barnes is a sleek athlete who has always run good routes and caught every pass thrown his way.

     Obviously, the future of Navy football players in the NFL is clouded at the moment as current policy does not allow any deviation from the five-year post-graduate commitment. However, there is a new Secretary of the Navy in place and it will be interesting to see whether former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus brings Navy in line with service academy rivals Army and Air Force in allowing graduates with professional sports potential to serve two years on active duty and a subsequent six years in the reserves.

     Rumors abound that officials with Army, Air Force and Navy met recently in an attempt to create a uniform policy that is followed by all branches of the military.