Midshipmen offense still a work in progress
Midshipmen offense still a work in progress; OC Jasper wants the fullbacks to get things going
Navy’s offense has been ineffective for five of six halves of football so far this season.
The Midshipmen got things going during the second half against Tulane thanks to some big plays in the passing game. Other than that, Navy’s patented triple-option offense has looked out of sync through three games.
Offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper is not prepared to hit the panic button. However, Jasper did acknowledge a sense of urgency is needed as Navy prepares to take on Temple, which has consistently been one of the top defensive teams in the American Athletic Conference.
“We just have to go back to work. It starts today in practice. There’s no magicwand. The bestway to make all this better is to go out and win the next game,” Jasper said during an virtual news conferenceWednesday. “Temple is another good football team, sowe better get right fast.”
Navy’s offense scored just seven points on 241 total yards against Air Force, and a good amount of that yardage came late in the fourth quarter after the Falcons had taken an insurmountable lead. Navy managed just 90 yards rushing.
“Wewent out thereanddidn’t playwell. You come back, lick yourwounds and put it behind us,” Jasper said. “No excuses, they got after us, plain and simple.”
Service academy games often tend to be grind-it-out affairs since both defenses understand the concepts and nuances of tripleoption football. Air Force defenders were able to diagnose plays and tackle ball-carriers for little or no gain as a result.
In service academy contests, it’s imperative to establish the fullback dive to set up other elements of the triple-option. Air Force did so in fine fashion with starting fullback Timothy Jackson rushing for 118 yards and backup BradRoberts adding103.
Meanwhile, Navy starting fullback Jamale Carothers was limited to 21 yards on eight carries. Backup Nelson Smith led the Mids with 25 rushing yards on seven attempts with almost all of that coming down the stretch.
“We didn’t get much inside when we did hand it to the fullback. They got yardage when they handed it to their fullback, and that’s always the key in these games,” Niumatalolo said during the postgame news conference.
There was a second-and-1 play that was indicative of the problems facing the fullback. There was a big hole on the right side and Smith would have easily picked up the first down, but he ran into the back of center Pierce Banbury, who had been pushed into the backfield by nose guard JoeyWoodring.
Air Force took away the perimeter element of the option as well, evidenced by the fact Navy slotbacks contributed just 27 yards on five pitchouts. Almost every time Navy quarterback Tyger Goslin took the ball outside, both the pitch man and the quarterbackwerewell defended.
So far this season, Navy slotbacks have amassed a mere 91 yards on 16 pitches. Chance Warren, who was switched from wide receiver to slotback and was supposed to be a major weapon in the offense this season, has just six yards on five carries.
“We have to find a way to get the ball on the edge,” Niumatalolo conceded. “[Warren] is a guy who, when the ball’s in his hands, always finds away tomake plays. We have to continue to findways to get him involved.”
Jasper, now in his 19th year as Navy quarterbacks coach and 13th year as offensive coordinator, said the success of the fullback dive and slotback pitch are related.
Carothers and Smith have combined for 241 rushing yards on 60 carries, not nearly the production Navy needs out of the fullback position.
“Tome, the perimeter game comes off the inside game. We have to get the fullback going. We have to get our power run game inside going. Once you get that going, it will open up everything else,” said Jasper, who described the offense to date as “very inconsistent” and pointed the finger at himself. “If you can’t run the fullback inside, it’s really hard to run the ball on the perimeter. Our fullbacks have to be physical and run hard between the tackles. You have to pound the middle and soften up the defense.”
AgainstTemple, Jasper said, “just to come out and play Navy football. Take care of the football, come off the football, knock people back and establish the line of scrimmage. We need to have a good Navy football day. That means playing fast and physical and executing. We have put some points on the board and eat up the clock likewe always have.”
Good hands award
Ryan Mitchell made his first start of the season at wide receiver against Air Force. Mitchell had been limited to playing on special teams during the BYU and Tulane games after sustaining a broken hand in practice about aweek before the opener.
Mitchell made his presence felt early against AirForce, catching a short pass inthe flat and turning it into a 33-yard gain on Navy’s opening possession. Watching the game on television fromhis sponsor’s house, Navy starting quarterback Dalen Morris marveled at the move Mitchell made to juke several defenders to pick up the yards after the catch.
“After he made that cut, I was like ‘OK Mitch, trying to get loose.’ Iwas really proud of him for that,” Morris said.
Mitchellwas unable to play wide receiver because he had a bulky cast on his left hand thatwaswrapped in padding using plenty of tape. The Roanoke, Virginia, native had the cast removed late in the week after the Tulane loss.
“It felt good to be back and have two hands again and able to spark something on offense,” Mitchell said. “Iwas able to get the cast off in three weeks, which was amazing. I’m thankful for that. It felt really good to be out there on offense contributing.”
Quarterback situation
Goslin made his first career start and only his second collegiate appearance against Air Force. Jasper gave the 5-foot-11, 181-pound junior mixed reviews for his performance.
Goslin rushed for 23 yards on seven quarterback keepers. However, that was offset by minus-30 yards absorbed as a result of three sacks. He completed a 73-yard touchdownpass to slotbackMylesFells, who got wide-open on a seam route. However, Goslin did not spot several open receivers and missed on throws to several others in finishing 6 of 15 passing for 137 yards.
“First career start in a huge game. Tyger did some good things and there were some things he did miss. He’s a competitive kid who is hard on himself and not happy about it,” Jasper said. “Overall, kind of what you expect in a kid’s first start in a game of that magnitude.”
Morris, however, will start againstTemple andsaid earlier in theweekhehopesto bring some stability to the position.
“Fortunately, Dalen is back and ready to play — excited to play, eager to play. We’re going to settle on him. I think Dalen has earned the right to be the leader of this team,” Jasper said.
Navy’s depth chart at quarterback is unclear at this point as Goslin, freshman Xavier Arline, who started against Tulane, and Maasai Maynor are all in the mix. Maynor replaced Goslin in the fourth quarter at Air Force and completed two passes for 14 yards, while gaining eight yards on a keeper.
“I’m not too worried about the backup right now. All those guys have played and are capable. Having the experience of playing in games definitely helps those guys,” Jasper said. “Our starter is in place and I need to focus on making sure the offense starts playing better.”