Bill Belichick will be the guest picker for this week's edition of College GameDay ahead of one of the most iconic rivalries in college football.
The New England Patriots head coach will join ESPN's show in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before the Army-Navy game, which will be played at Gillette Stadium.
College GameDay @CollegeGameDay.<a href="">@Patriots</a> legendary head coach Bill Belichick will be our guest picker this Saturday 👏 <a href="">#CollegeGameDay</a> <a href="">
Belichick's appearance as a guest picker isn't coincidental.
The legendary head coach was raised around the Naval Academy, with his father serving as the head coach of the team during his childhood. Belichick said in a Boston.com interview in 2017 that being raised around the Naval Academy taught him plenty of lessons that molded him into the coach he is today.
"When I look back on it, one of the things I learned at Annapolis, when I grew up around the Navy football teams in the early sixties — Joe Bellino, Roger Staubach, Coach Wayne Hardin and some of the great teams they had — I didn't know any differently," Belichick said. "I just assumed that's what football was. Guys were very disciplined. They worked very hard. They did extra things. They were always on time, alert, ready to go, team-oriented, unselfish. I thought that's the way it all was. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but I can see how that molded me."
On Saturday, Belichick will have the chance to pay homage to his roots by serving as the guest picker.
This year's Army-Navy game will be played at Gillette Stadium for the first game in the game's 133-year history. While it is typically played in Philadelphia, it is played in different locations occasionally.
Navy leads the series all-time, but Army won last year's thrilling matchup 20-17 in double overtime. Both teams come into the game at 5-6 on the season, looking to get a win over their rival to close out the year.
