Pine-Richland’s James Cardinali to play football at Navy

By: Jerin Steele
Saturday, January 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM

As a junior, James Cardinali was a 210-pound lineman on the Pine-Richland junior varsity football team who seemed like a longshot to play in college.

That was before he went to work to make a massive transformation to his body and that has led to an equally big development for his future.

Through dietary changes, which included consuming nearly two pounds of pasta a night, and extra workouts, Cardinali put on 60 pounds and earned a starting spot with the Rams this past fall at left tackle.

The extra meals and trips to the grocery store were worth it.

He impressed enough this fall to draw interest from colleges and recently committed to play at Navy.

The offer came about a week after Navy assistant Mick Yokitis came to Pine-Richland to meet with him in December.

On Jan. 14, he announced his decision on social media.

“It was more about thinking about the future and not just the next four years,” Cardinali said. “That honestly helped lead me to my decision. I could go to a great university, get a great education, but then after that what I could do for my future and my future family. The Naval Academy gave me those opportunities.”

Cardinali is the second NCAA Division I lineman to come out of Pine-Richland this fall, joining Ryan Cory, who’s going to Wisconsin.

Getting there started with eating oatmeal in the morning, followed by school lunch. Then came the two pounds of pasta for dinner, a quick nap and then a workout. He also would consume a 70-ounce protein shake before doing homework in the evening.

That routine helped him gain the necessary weight to earn a starting job with the Rams.

“I’m not someone that wants to brag, but it really was self-made,” Cardinali said. “I made the trips to Costco to get pasta for late night dinners. Honestly it was the idea of, in my junior year, seeing our left tackle graduate that got me going. We really didn’t have anyone in that position to be next, so knowing I’d have to step up was a big motivation as well as going to college for free and setting up my future.”

Cardinali also credited Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne and line coaches Mike Mackowick and Mark Wilk with helping him improve as a player. He also said that LeDonne played a role in getting him connected with Navy.

In his one season of varsity football, Cardinali earned second-team all-conference honors.

Now he’s got an opportunity to continue playing the sport and is already looking forward to getting to experience his first Army/Navy game next fall.

“It’s an honor to have a chance to play in that game or just be there in general,” Cardinali said. “There’s nothing like it in college football. There are huge games like Michigan and Ohio State, but when it comes down to how amazing a game is…it’s Army vs. Navy. That’s where it’s at.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland