Forney’s size, power key to ground attack
Mids no longer at a loss with guard’s bulk on line
Navy football coaches dating back decades have talked about the size disparity that exists between the service academy and Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish have been bigger and stronger than the Midshipmen across the board ever since the late 1960s.
However, it is getting harder for coach Ken Niumatalolo to bring up that longtime disadvantage — not when Navy has a left guard like David Forney, who must carefully watch his diet to remain at the optimum playing weight of around 300 pounds.
Forney’s sheer size and power showed through as a sophomore when he steadily improved and ultimately seized the starting position away from Robert Lindsey. An impressive performance helping quarterback Malcolm Perry rushed for 282 yards in a victory over SMU was rewarded with starts against archrival Army and versus Virginia in the Military Bowl.
The Midshipmen rushed for 452 yards against the Cavaliers as Forney was credited with 13 knockdowns, making the All-Bowl teams selected by the Associated Press, ESPN and USA Today.
However, a nagging foot injury impacted Forney’s conditioning last season and he probably pushed 330 pounds at times. He shared time at left guard with Laurent Njiki and only made one start.
“I think going into his junior year, David thought he had arrived. He didn’t work as hard as was necessary, got a little too heavy and it showed on the field. David was very inconsistent,” Navy running game coordinator Ashley Ingram said.
“To be honest, that’s where I’ve struggled with David. He’s a very talented football player — a big, powerful guy with great athleticism for his size,” Ingram added. “We’ve had to stay on David about working hard. In the past, David didn’t always give his best effort.”
What happened in 2018 may have humbled Forney a bit and he rededicated himself this past offseason. The 6-foot-3 senior has stayed in the 295 to 300 range since August training camp and has been operating at a high level all season.
“David Forney is playing the best football of his career. In fact, he’s probably playing as good as any guard we’ve had here in a while,” Ingram said. “David has become the player we always thought he would be. He’s 25-30 pounds lighter than last year and is moving really well.
“Where David has grown the most is with maturity and consistency. That is the biggest difference between the way he’s playing now as opposed to the past.”
Navy leads the nation in rushing with an average of 357.9 yards per game, which is a point of pride for the offensive line. Forney, who has a well-earned reputation as a real mauler, is one of several members of the unit deserving of All-American Athletic Conference honors.
“I think this is the best offensive line we’ve had since I’ve been here. As a unit, I think we’re super physical, super athletic and have a real edge,” Forney said. “We want that rushing title, so we have to come out every week and continue to set the tone up front.”
Forney had plenty of scholarship after being named first team All-State by the Associated Press and first team AllWashington Capital Athletic Conference as a junior and senior. Forney, who took recruiting visits to Maryland and North Carolina among others, rattled off the reasons why he chose the Naval Academy.
“Location, close to home, my dad is from Annapolis, first offer, big-time football and big-time academics, lot of benefits afterwards that you can’t really beat,” he said. “It was kind of the perfect storm of factors that came together.”
Forney dressed and traveled with the Navy varsity throughout his freshman season, an indication the coaching staff liked his potential. He saw significant action as a sophomore and wound up as the starter at left guard due largely to Lindsey suffering from an ailing back.
Ingram has been tough on Forney because he knew what the beefy, bruising lineman was capable of becoming.
“I think Coach Ingram is a genius as far as developing offensive lineman. You can tell that from watching film and going over plays with him,” Forney said. “Coach Ingram is very detailed and exact about everything he does.”
Ingram said Forney’s talent goes well beyond the obvious physical attributes.
“David is very smart and understands the game better than most. I think the game comes easy to him,” Ingram said. “David probably knows our offense as well as anyone I’ve coached here. He’s just a very savvy football player. He’s always in the right spot, understands how to move in space and sets up his blocks quite well.”