Midshipmen look to bounce back in 2018
Turnovers, miscues and offensive struggles led to an underwhelming performance for Navy last season.
After finishing atop the West Division during their first two seasons in the American Athletic Conference, the Midshipmen stumbled to a third-place finish in 2017.
There will be some new faces at key spots on the roster, which is why Navy is No. 77 in Orlando Sentinel col- lege insider Matt Murschel’s preseason 2018 college football rankings. Murschel ranked all 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 129 to our projected No. 1 team.
Navy Ken Niumatalolo (84-48, entering 10th season; 84-48 overall)
7-6, 4-4 in the American Athletic Conference;
The Midshipmen opened the 2017 campaign by winning their first five games, kicking off the program’s best start in more than a decade. But things quickly went south as the team dropped its next three games, falling to eventual division champs Memphis and UCF and later stumbling against Temple. Navy would go on to win just two of its remaining five games to finish with its worst record since 2011.
4 Darryl Bonner, FB Chris High, DE Tyler Sayles, LB Justin Norton, LB Micah Thomas, LB D.J. Palmore, CB Tyris Wooten, CB Elijah Merchant
OL Jake Hawk, OL Andrew Wood, QB Malcolm Perry, DL Jarvis Polu, DL Jackson Pittman, DB Jarid Ryan, DB Sean Williams
Navy consistently features one of the top ground games in the country and 2017 was no exception. The Midshipmen averaged more than 350 yards per game, amassing more than 4,500 yards and 42 touchdowns on the ground. Its top two rushers, Malcolm Perry (1,182 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Zach Abey (1,413 yards, 19 touchdowns), return for the 2018 season. Abey started nine games last year at quarterback, but he will transition into the backup role while spending some time at receiver. Perry, who filled in at quarterback after Abey went down with an injury, moves into the starting role.
Will the offensive line be able to win enough battles up front? The unit returns just two starters from last season, led by Andrew Wood, a two-year starter at tackle, and Jake Hawk, who started 12 games in 2017 at left tackle. David Forney and Ford Higgins were used in spot starts and have just three career starts combined.
Navy must replace a litany of playmakers throughout the improved defensive unit, including a pair of all-conference linebackers in Micah Thomas and D.J. Palmore.
Normally when a team loses half of its production from the previous season, it’s a cause for concern. But most teams aren’t Navy.
The Midshipmen have always embraced the nextman-up mantra to its fullest. Navy is hoping numerous players on the roster can make smooth transitions into key roles.