Slow going at start for Mids’ fullbacks
Key ball carriers gaining little ground as defenses force Navy to attack outside
Nelson Smith burst up the middle and rumbled 40 yards during the second quarter of the season opener at Hawaii. Two plays later, he broke another run for15 yards to put Navy into the red zone.
Those two gains account for the bulk of yardage gained off the fullback dive through three games as that staple of the Navy triple-option offense has mostly been taken away by opponents.
Smith has only managed 40 yards on 14 other carries while starting fullback Anthony Gargiulo has been held to 71 yards on 23 totes. Gargiulo is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. Take away the two long runs in the Hawaii game and Smith is averaging 2.8 yards per attempt.
Third-string fullback Mike Martin has picked up 59 yards on seven runs, but most of that has come off a fullback pitch play the Midshipmen employ.
Offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper attributed the lack of production from the fullback position to the fact Memphis and Lehigh were both committed to stopping the dive.
“That’s one thing people don’t understand about option offense. A team can take away a lot of things if they want to,” Jasper said. “Memphis came in and canceled all the gaps, made it a perimeter game. Last week was kind of the same deal, it became a perimeter game. Luckily, we were able to get the outside and make some big plays.”
Jasper said the Mids must “be creative and find ways to get the ball to the fullback.” Running the quick pitch to the perimeter that Martin has taken for nice gains is one way to do so. Navy also uses the mid-line option to find running room inside for the fullback whenever the straight-ahead dive is being stuffed.
“We always try to get the fullback going. If they shut him down, we have to find other things to go with so we can move the football,” Jasper said.
Jasper recalled a few years ago when a defensive coordinator decided the best strategy was to take the fullback dive and slotback pitch away and force quarterback Keenan Reynolds to run. A big part of that philosophy was to pound Reynolds on every run to wear him down.
“A few years ago a certain team’s philosophy was to make Keenan carry the ball and he scored seven touchdowns. We’ll take that,” Jasper said.
Memphis managed to plug the middle so the fullback could not get going, limiting Gargiulo and Smith to 31 yards on 13 carries. Navy fullback Nelson Smith, pushing for yardage against Lehigh on Saturday, has gained 105 yards on 16 carries this season. However, the Tigers also succeeded in corralling the slotbacks, who did not make much of an impact.
Lehigh focused on the fullback and it was another tough day at the office for Gargiulo and Smith, who combined for 19 yards on six dive plays. However, the Mountain Hawks were not able to contain the perimeter elements of the option with quarterback Malcolm Perry rushing for 223 yards and the slotbacks adding 157 yards off 17 pitches.
Fullbacks coach Mike Judge agreed with Jasper’s assessment of the situation to date and repeated the oft-spoken refrain that Navy will “take what the defense gives us.”
“I think some of that has to do with the way teams have been playing us,” Judge said. “Memphis did a good job of taking away the inside run and forcing the ball outside. It was the same thing with Lehigh. They made some adjustments that forced the ball to go outside and as a result we didn’t have the production we’d like to have.” Guessing Game: It is a weekly exercise for the Navy offensive coaching staff to guess at what the upcoming opponent might do defensively against the triple-option.
That task becomes more difficult when- ever the Midshipmen are going against a defensive coordinator for the first time. That will be the case on Saturday since SMUhas a completely new coaching staff.
Coach Sonny Dykes hired Kevin Kane away from Northern Illinois to serve as defensive coordinator. The 33-year-old is one of the youngest coordinators in the Football Championship Subdivision and does not have a large body of work.
Kane spent two seasons as defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois in his second stint with the program. He was a defensive assistant in Dekalb from 2011 to 2014, a period that found NIU met Army.
“Northern Illinois played Army when (Kane) was there so you look at that game,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We do this all the time. You look at the coordinator’s history as far as where they’ve been and whether they faced any option teams. You just try to guess.” Patience in the pocket: Perry has displayed a tendency to get antsy in the pocket on pass plays, often tucking the ball and scrambling instead of waiting for things to develop.
Perry was definitely guilty of that during the Memphis game, repeatedly pulling the ball down and running well before receivers had time to complete their routes. Jasper has preached having patience in the pocket and it appeared Perry made progress in that area against Lehigh.
Perry hung in there longer in order to make the play with his arm instead of his legs. He only completed 2 of 9 attempts, but at least he threw the ball.
Jasper pointed out that Perry has minimal experience as a passer and is still a work in progress.
“You’re trying to take a painting by a 3-year-old and turn it into a Picasso,” Jasper said. “Malcolm is a great athlete, but in high school he was a runner. You watch his high school tape, he did not throw one pass. We’re trying to make a quarterback out of him.” Injury update: Starting safety Sean Williams practiced fully on Tuesday and Wednesday, leading Niumatalolo to declare the defensive captain will play against SMU. Williams sat out the Lehigh game after suffering a concussion against Memphis.