Navy football in midst of historic turnaround season
Midshipmen have gone from 3-10 in 2018 to 8-2 in 2019
Navy is the most improved college football team in the country.
The Midshipmen have posted an 8-2 record after finishing 3-10 in 2018. That turnaround is tops among Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
Navy has a chance to become one of the most improved teams in FBS history. Hawaii holds that title with an 8.5 game improvement in 1999, while five other schools are tied for second with eight game improvements.
Navy is favored to beat Houston Saturday night in the American Athletic Conference finale for both schools. The Midshipmen, who are bowl eligible for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons, have a chance to finish with an eight-game improvement.
Navy would need to beat archrival Army on Dec. 14 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia then win a bowl game to accomplish that feat with an 11-2 record.
Veteran coach Ken Niumatalolo is not surprised by the resounding nature of this bounce-back season. Niumatalolo thought the Midshipmen would rebound from 3-10 after meeting with the seniors in early January.
“We met when we came back from Christmas break and I could just look in their eyes and see. They said ‘Coach, that’s not going to happen again.’ We’re going to be the class that turns the ship around and gets everything right,” Niumatalolo said. “Everything we talked about, everything they planned to do, has come to pass. They have held everybody accountable from January until now.”
Ford Higgins said the seniors started discussing the situation shortly after Navy concluded the 2018 campaign with a disappointing 17-10 defeat at the hands of Army.
When the members of the Class of 2020 were seniors in high school or attending the Naval Academy Prep School, they watched quarterback Keenan Reynolds lead the Midshipmen to an 11-2 record that included
a 44-28 victory over Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl.
As plebes in 2016, the current seniors were part of a Navy team that won the West Division of the American Athletic Conference with a 7-1 record and played in the championship game. It goes without saying that being part of 3-10 was shocking and embarrassing.
“Coming into the offseason, there was a lot of talk about what needed to be done. That’s not the type of program we represent. This class got recruited into a Top 25 program,” Higgins said. “There was a lot of talk, but words only mean so much. How do you put that into action?”
Niumatalolo watched the seniors implement the plan beginning with winter workouts. Their resolve and determination were evident during the offseason conditioning sessions known as “fourth quarters” and continued into spring camp.
“As I met with our seniors, they laid out their goals and expectations for the team. I could tell then they meant business and they were willing to pay the price and do whatever it took to be successful,” Niumatalolo said.
“I saw some of the same things continue to prosper during spring ball and summer workouts. At every step along the way as we prepared for this season, you saw all the signs that led to a team that is tough, resilient and disciplined. Right now, we’re seeing the fruits of that.”
Niumatalolo set the tone himself with the moves he made during January and February. The 12th-year head coach overhauled the defensive coaching staff, pushing coordinator Dale Pehrson into retirement and replacing him with Brian Newberry.
Newberry brought two assistants (Kevin Downing and P.J. Volker) along with him from Kennesaw State and Navy later hired another one of his associates (Jerrick Hall). Niumatalolo also brought in his best friend Brian Norwood to serve as co-defensive coordinator.
Norwood, who has been defensive coordinator at Baylor, Tulsa and Kansas State, is a 29-year veteran of college football coaching. Niumatalolo has described Norwood as “almost like a second head coach” and noted he has been addressing the team the night before games.
Niumatalolo called Malcolm Perry into his office and apologized for not completely committing to him as the team’s quarterback. Following a dismal 35-7 loss to service academy rival Air Force that was the low point of a seven-game losing streak, Perry was switched to slotback.
During the meeting, Perry was told he would be the starting quarterback throughout 2019 regardless of how things went. That endorsement instilled confidence in Perry, who has become the unquestioned leader of the Navy offense.
Perry is having a monstrous senior season, having accounted for 2,274 yards from scrimmage (1,354 rushing, 920 passing) and 24 touchdowns (18 rushing, six passing).
Niumatalolo believes those two decisions, hiring Newberry and handing Perry the keys to the offense, are at the root of the turnaround.
“Malcolm Perry and Brian Newberry are the reasons we’re where we are this season,” he said. “Those two guys have changed our football program. They’ve both been awesome this season.”
While that statement is true, it overlooks the contribution of Niumatalolo himself. He set the tone from the outset and everyone involved with the program knew he would not tolerate another repeat of last season.
“Kenny is a phenomenal coach and a phenomenal leader. He looked at what happened and decided what he wanted to do about it. He put a plan in place to get better on both sides of the football and that’s exactly what’s happened,” Newberry said.
“Kenny is a winner. He’s proven that year-in and year-out. People that thought Navy might have another down year don’t know Coach Niumatalolo very well, don’t understand his resolve and the players’ resolve.”
For the first time in program history, Navy has four captains — Higgins, Perry, outside linebacker Nizaire Cromartie and inside linebacker Paul Carothers. Niumatalolo felt he allowed some internal issues to fester last season and was disappointed with the overall leadership.
“Football at a service academy has to truly be a team sport. If we have only slight deviation from that, if people start getting a little selfish or thinking about themselves, we can’t survive,” Niumatalolo said. “We have to think and play as one. We’re family. This season has been a great indication of when you play as a family you can do great things.”
Niumatalolo felt it was important to reestablish that mindset.
“We were really proactive in some of our offseason activities to create a bond of brotherhood, a oneness, a team-first mentality,” he said. “There was some stuff we had to fix within our locker room.”
Navy’s four senior captains were given a mandate to make sure there were no malcontents and to police the team in terms of upholding the standards of work ethic and discipline that have made the program so successful for so long.
“We all know Coach Niumat is the ultimate competitor and an emotional leader. He makes it clear what’s not acceptable and is not afraid to call it out,” Higgins said. “Coming into this season, Coach Niumat let us know the deal: ‘I’m not going to let anything slide. I’m going to make sure everybody touches the line every time.’ As seniors, we had to instill that attitude throughout the entire team.”
Navy’s 35-28 upset of then No. 25 SMU sent the seniors out as winners in their final home game. Niumatalolo was alternatively emotional and philosophical during the post-game press conference.
“Just really happy for our seniors because they sacrificed a lot. It started in January when they talked about the things they wanted to do and the legacy they wanted to leave,” Niumatalolo said. “The 8-2 record is a byproduct of the leadership of our seniors and the commitment they’ve shown from January through November.”