5 QUESTIONS HEADING INTO NAVY PRESEASON FOOTBALL CAMP
Navy heads into camp optimistic about a bounce-back season
Navy football began preseason practice Friday afternoon on the academy campus. The Midshipmen will conduct four practices in shells (helmets and shoulder pads) per NCAA rules. The first padded practice will be held Thursday.
Coach Ken Niumatalolo and Navy’s four team captains met with the media Saturday morning at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Niumatalolo, entering his 14th season at the helm, expressed optimism the Midshipmen would rebound following a rare losing season.
Navy finished with a 3-7 record in 2020 after having three games postponed and a fourth canceled due to coronavirus problems.
The Midshipmen had to cancel 2020 spring practice because of COVID and Niumatalolo made the ill-fated decision to limit August training camp practices to noncontact drills. That backfired as BYU drubbed Navy, 55-0, in the season opener.
Niumatalolo acknowledged that it was a mistake and began hitting in practice the following week, but the damage was done, and the Midshipmen never really got in gear.
Fueling Niumatalolo’s optimism is the fact Navy football has been able to implement its normal preparation routine ever since the calendar changed to 2021. The Midshipmen
engaged in winter workouts and the grueling conditioning sessions known as “fourth quarters.”
Navy held 15 practices during the spring, and many were extremely physical — prompting Niumatalolo and other members of the coaching staff to term the camp “extremely productive.”
After returning from their summer cruises, Navy football players spent most of the past two months on the academy grounds doing summer workouts.
“This is going to be a good football team. I feel really, really good about this team,” Niumatalolo said Saturday morning during Navy Media Day. “All the signs point to great things. What I’ve seen from January to August, I love. But it’s not over. What are we going to do during August to separate ourselves from 130 other teams?
Here are five questions heading into Navy preseason camp.
Who will be the starting quarterback?
Sophomore Xavier Ar line started the last two games of the 2020 season and entered spring practice atop the depth chart. However, classmate Tai Lavatai was impressive during the spring and closed the gap.
Arline and Lavatai are listed as co-starters with junior Maasai Maynor not far behind. Niumatalolo said the competition is wide-open and is eager to see how it plays out.
“We have three quarterbacks we feel good about. I’m really excited about our quarterback situation. We feel much better than we did last year,” Niumatalolo said Wednesday during the American Athletic Conference Football Media Day. “Whoever separates themselves during camp will be the starter.”
Niumatalolo said Saturday that he has no timeline for settling on a starter. He and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper will wait until it “becomes clear-cut.”
“We’ ll go through camp and let them compete. Competition will separate things. When you have pure competition, the cream always rises to the top ,” Ni um at a lo los aid .“When we go against our defense during scrimmages, that’s when I see who can operate under pressure.”
Who will be the starting fullback?
Navy absorbed a brutal blow when projected starting fullback Jamale Carothers was dismissed from the academy following the spring semester.
Carothers would have been a focal point of the triple-option offense and had proved in the past he possessed game-breaking ability. The 5-foot-9, 203-pound player appeared in 20 games with 12 starts as a sophomore and junior and rushed for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Now the Mids must identify a new starter at this critical position, and the top two candidates have very limited experience.
Senior Isaac Ruoss, who is listed No. 1 going into August drills, rushed for 109 yards on 29 carries in 2019. The 6-foot1, 220-pound Pennsylvania native did not touch the ball in 2020. James Harris II, who enters preseason camp as the backup, rushed for 25 yards on nine attempts in 2019. The 6-foot, 230-pound Alabama resident also did not touch the ball last season.
A wild card in the fullback competition could be a sophomore with a name similar to that of a recent Navy great. Odenton resident Malcolm Terry is third on the depth chart after being switched from slotback. The Gonzaga College High alumnus has the type of speed and explosiveness displayed by Carothers.
“I was really pleased with the way our fullbacks played in the spring,” said Niumatalolo, who described Ruoss as a “slasher” and Harris as “more of a bruiser.”
Will the offense amass yards and score points at the levels of years past?
Much of the answer to that question comes down to the performance of the quarterback and fullback, who have almost always ranked as the team’s leading rushers.
Navy’s offense is coming off easily the worst statistical season of the current triple-option era (2002 to present). The Midshipmen ranked 124th nationally (out of 130 FBS teams) in total offense and 121st in scoring offense with averages of 275 yards and 16.6 points per game.
Subpar production from the quarterback position was a major reason for last season’s struggles. Arline, Dalen Morris, Tyger Goslin, Perry Olsen and Maynor managed only 316 rushing yards among them. It was the first time since 2002 the Navy quarterback position did not produce at least 1,000 rushing yards.
Navy must get back to executing its triple-option offense to the level fans have come to expect, and Niumatalolo is confident that will happen. He pointed to the fact the Midshipmen have led the nation in rushing six times since 2002 and ranked second or third on five other occasions. He noted the Mids have consistently averaged 30 points or more over the course of a season.
“We’ve been a top offense for decades, so I’m not worried about that,” Niumatalolo said.
Will Navy have games postponed or canceled because of COVID during the 2021 campaign?
The short answer is no. The American Athletic Conference recently announced that any member school that is unable to play due to COVID problems will have to forfeit the game.
Navy plays two nonconference opponents right out of the gate, meeting Marshall in the season opener Sept. 4 then hosting service academy rival Air Force the following Saturday. It is highly unlikely either of the other nonconference contests — a road game against Notre Dame on Nov. 6 and the showdown with archrival Army on Dec. 11 — can be postponed due to national television commitments.
Niumatalolo announced Wednesday that Navy’s football program is 100 percent vaccinated. Every player, coach and support staff member has been fully vaccinated.
Nonetheless, Navy football is still taking safety precautions such as wearing masks indoors and being extremely careful with public exposure.
Will fans be allowed to attend Navy home games?
Athletic director Chet Gladchuk addressed the media Saturday morning and expressed confidence that Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium will be at full capacity for all six home games on the schedule.
Gladchuk noted that most Major League Baseball games are allowing fans without restrictions and is hopeful that that climate will continue into college football season. While acknowledging that he cannot predict the future in terms of the impact of the delta variant, Gladchuk was hopeful the “worst-case” scenario would be requiring fans to wear masks.