Navy fullback Nelson Smith stole show against Temple
Two is better than one: Mids’ Smith steals show vs. Temple, might push Carothers for top spot on depth chart
Nelson Smith opened last season as the starting fullback forNavy football and performed capably, rushing for 349 yards throughsixgames. He ranfor96 yards in the opener versusHoly Cross and churned out a workmanlike 82 yards in a huge victory over Air Force.
Navy’s coaching staff discovered Jamale Carothers during practice midway through the season and, like Smith, he burst onto the scene by making several key plays againstTulsa. One week later, Carothers broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run versus South Florida.
Smith started the next game against Tulane, but it was Carothers who stole the show — exploding for 158 yards rushing on the strength of three long touchdown runs — and the starting job. He started the last six games of the season.
One year later, it appears Smith could turn the tables and return the favor.
Navy finally got the fullback dive going last week against Temple and it was Smith who did most of the damage, scampering for 120 yards and two
touchdowns on 20 attempts.
Smith showed off his vision and explosiveness in bursting through holes, scoring on runs of 26 and 22 yards. Carothers contributed 53 yards on 15 carries, but Smith was the more impressive of the two fullbacks.
Is it possible Smith could reclaim the top spot on the depth chart when Navy visits East Carolina on Saturday?
“Hey, I feel likewehave twoguyswhoare very capable of being the starter,” Navy fullbacks coach Jason MacDonald said. “I feel great going into any game with those two guys back there. This week, we’ll take the same approach as always: We’ll get into the game and go with whatever isworking.”
Coach Ken Niumatalolo seconded that assessment, saying the plan eachweek is to give Carothers and Smith relatively equal game repetitions and assess which of the two has the “hot hand.”
“Whoever is running hardandphysical is going to play,” Niumatalolo said. “I thought thewayNelson ran set the tone on Saturday night. It gave the offensive line more confidence to come off the ball.”
Carothers showed last season he was more of a home-run threat than Smith. Whenever he broke into the clear, Carothers usually took it to the house, as evidenced by 14 rushing touchdowns in 2019.
So far this season, Smithhadbeen used in short-yardage and goal-line situations — bulling into the end zone from a yard out twice at Tulane. However, he suddenly transformed into the finisher this past weekend. Meanwhile, Carothers was given a shot on the goal line, powering across from the 1-yard line to cap Navy’s gameopening drive.
“It was like a role reversal,” MacDonald said. “It was Jamale with the powerful run on the goal line andNelson with the burst.”
Niumatalolo and MacDonald raved during preseason about the solid one-two punch Navy has at the fullback position. Due largely to poor blocking, that supposed strength had not been showcased much until Saturday night.
Whatever happens going forward, there is no animosity between the two. Carothers and Smith are close friends who cheer for each other to do well. While there is some natural competitive rivalry, both are all about the fullback gaining yardage and Navy winning.
“These guys are very supportive of each other. They’re always building each other up on the sideline,” MacDonald said.
While Carothers has earned praise for his breakaway ability, Smith has impressed the coaching staff with his initial burst. In 23 years at Navy, Niumatalolo has never seen a fullback that exploded out of a three-point stance faster than Smith.
“Nelson has to be one of the quickest fullbacks as far as hitting the hole,” MacDonald said.
Speaking to reportersWednesday, Smith was not worried about which fullback started or played more snaps.
“Only thing you can do is give 100%,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, the coaches decidewho is going to get a certain amount of reps. Yes, we’re competitive and we want to be on the field, [but] all we can do is control whatwe control. As long aswe win, I’m fine with whateverworks.”
Smith (5-9, 213) and Carothers (5-9, 203) are part of a new breed of fullback at Navy, which has been using smaller, quicker and faster players at the position. In the early years of the triple-option, the coaching staff sought fullbacks in the 240-pound range and found some gems in the likes of Kyle Eckel (5-11, 237), Adam Ballard (6-1, 236), Eric Kettani (6-0, 245) and Chris Swain (6-0, 249).
Niumatalolo noted that Eckel, Kettani and Swain all played in the National Football League because they combined size and speed.
“Of course, you’d like a fullback that is 240 and runs 4.6 (in the 40-yard dash), but those guys are hard to come by,” he said.
Back to the bench?
Terrell Adams was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading Navy with nine tackles against Temple.
Adams made his first career start at inside linebacker in place of the injured Tama Tuitele and was one of the heroes of the 31-29 victory. The 6-foot, 215-pound sophomore broke up a two-point conversion pass attempt with 1 minute, 2 seconds remaining to preserve the narrowwin.
However, ifTuitele is able to practice this week and showhe is fully recovered, Adams will go back to being a backup. Defensive coordinator Brian Newbery said Tuitele is still the starter at weak-side linebacker when healthy.
“Asmany good things asTerrell did for us Saturday, he should still be a backup atWill linebacker,” Newberry said. “If Tama is ready to go and has a goodweek of practice, we’ll roll him out there.”
Adams, who was also named Naval Academy Athletic Association Athlete of theWeek, said he’s not resting on his laurels and knows he needs to keepworking hard.
“I still want to give my best effort to aim for the starting spot,” he said. “I go out every day in practice and just try to elevate my craft even more.”
Navy opened the Temple game without five starters on the defensive side of the ball, as nose guard Alefosia Sapaia, inside linebacker Diego Fagot and safety Evan Fochtman missed the game with injuries. SafetyKevin Brennan had to sit out the first half after being disqualified for targeting against Air Force.
Newberry said the availability of the four injured defenders for this Saturday at East Carolina would probably come down to another game-time decision.
However, the entire unit will benefit fromyounger players such asAdams, fellow inside linebackerNicholas Strawand safety Derek Atwaters getting significant game action. All three of those players are sophomores.
“The good thing is that a guy like Terrell got a lot of really good game experience and now you feel better about relieving a guy like Tama to keep him fresh,” Newberry said. “Terrell is new to the position and still learning. He made a lot of mistakes on Saturday, which I knew hewould.”
Adams said the defensive understudies received the first team repetitions in practice during Temple week and that helped develop the proper mindset. He appreciated Tuitele providing guidance, while inside linebackers coach P.J. Volker taught a crash course in playing the position.
“Tama did a great job of encouraging me throughout the week, just making sure I stayed on my Ps and Qs as far as my responsibilities,” Adams said. “Coach Volker just made the game plan simple for his young guys. We knew it was a big opportunity and we had to pick it up another notch. Wewere just trying to prove thatwe could carry the load for [Fagot] and [Tuitele].”