Army's McNary and SMU's Fleming to meet in Armed Forces Bowl

Army and SMU are hooking up in the Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas on Friday, Dec. 30, at 11 a.m.

The Armed Forces Bowl features two programs that have been down and out for several years. It is Army's first since 1996 and SMU's second consecutive after a 25-year drought. Army has won both previous meetings with SMU, but this is the first matchup since 1967.

Both teams feature many Houston athletes. Most notably for Army is senior defensive end Josh McNary from Clear Lake and senior wide receiver Patrick Fleming from SMU out of Cy-Creek.

At Cy-Creek, Fleming had the third-best shuttle time among 36 tight ends at Rivals camp. He caught 43 passes for 630 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. Fleming averaged 14.7 yards per catch, ranking in the top 10 among Houston-area receivers. He was a two-star rivals.com and scout.com prospect. Patrick also had offers from Boise State, TCU, Tulsa, Tulane and Air Force, and is a business and economics pre-major.

Other Houston area athletes competing for SMU are: Arthur Londy, Spring wide receiver; Beau Barnes, Friendswood defensive lineman; Ben Hughes, Austin defensive lineman; Chris Banjo, Kempnar defensive back; Chris Parks, Conroe defensive back; Darius Johnson, Hightower wide receiver; J.J McDermott, Katy quarterback; Jay Scott, Strake Jesuit defensive back; Robert Parker, Humble linebacker; Ryan Smith, Lamar defensive back; Steve McCormack, Seven Lakes wide receiver; Szymon Czerniak, Stratford offensive lineman; and Uchenna Nwabuike, Hightower linebacker.

McNary was an all-district selection at Clear Lake High School. He was a standout defensive lineman who moved from strong safety to defensive tackle at the beginning of his senior year. He led his team in quarterback sacks and registered 11 sacks during a one-year stint at USMA Prep School.

Born April 10, 1988, Joshua Aaron McNary is the son of George and Cecilia McNary. He is majoring in Engineering Management.

Other Houston area athletes playing in the bowl game for Army are: John Neill, The Woodlands offensive lineman; Josh Jones, Baytown Lee linebacker; Lyle Beloney, Seven Lakes defensive back; Matt Villanti, The Woodlands offensive lineman; Max Jenkins, Langham Creek quarterback; Richard King, Klein Forest defensive back; and Stephen Erzinger, Lamar linebacker.

See Patrick Fleming's Athlete Tracker page