How difficult is it to change a reputation? Not just how you’re perceived but the very fiber of your being? Navy enters year two under head coach Brian Newberry staring at four straight losing seasons and is attempting to do just that.
After years of being seen as a run on first, second, third and even sometimes fourth down team, the 2024 Midshipmen are attempting to pump-prime the offense with more passing after the offense ranked last in the American Athletic Conference in passing yards per game last fall.
Enter offensive coordinator Drew Cronic, who in four years at Georgia’s Mercer University, built the Bears into a Football Bowl Subdivision school to be reckoned with going 28-17 and making a trip to the second round of the prestigious Football Championship Subdivision in 2023.
Mercer ran the ball on 59% of its offensive plays last season, finishing with nine wins, and it’s not just the ratio or the success that has his new boss intrigued.
“He’s done some pretty sophisticated things in the pass game, whether it be run-pass-option, in that world, which we’ll do as well,” Newberry said during Navy’s media day. “But just the boot and the play-action game off of the run game concepts is really hard to defend.”
The Midshipmen return seven starters from 2023, but quarterback is not one of those positions with the graduation of Tai Lavatai and Xavier Arline, who shared the role last year. Junior Blake Horvath has emerged as the starter and likes the possibilities of the new-look Navy offense.
“Coach Cronic calls it the ‘Gen-Z Wing-T’ because it’s not the classic Wing-T option that you saw in the ’90s or in high school. It’s innovative,” Horvath said. “We’re expanding the passing game; we’re expanding the running game to show different things. We’re adding different concepts that may not have been present in what people originally think of the Navy offense or a Wing-T offense.”
Mercer threw 308 passes over 13 games last year. That’s roughly 24 attempts per game and a marked increase from Navy’s 188 attempts, or just 16 passes per game.
What’s comforting for a first-year starter directing a new offense is that the offensive line returns four starters from 2023, along with the top two rushers from last year, running backs Alex Tecza and Daba Fofana are back.
While a lot is on the shoulders of the new QB, he has his eyes on the key to success.
“I think the biggest thing is taking care of the football. If we can sustain those long drives — those eight- to 12-play drives — and take of the ball and not turn it over and put our defense in a bad position, that’s the biggest thing,” Horvath said. “I think decision making, getting the ball where it needs to go and letting our playmakers make plays in space.”
And the starter has the has the confidence of his teammates.
“If there’s a mistake with the formation or something like that, he’ll fix it presnap,” Fofana said. “And even in his postsnap reads he’s been calm under pressure, being able to improvise is something that has given us confidence.”
Behind Horvath is sophomore Braxton Woodson, who also saw token action in 2023.
“If your quarterback’s not a really good player, it’s hard to win football games. I think we’ve got two guys that we can win with right now,” Newberry said. “I certainly feel good not only about Blake, but Braxton as well.”
Turnovers and penalties always loom large, and even more so with a Navy team that, by design, tries to limit the number of possessions during a 60-minute game. Last fall the Midshipmen committed 27 more penalties for 254 more yards than their opponents.
“We can’t have some of the self-inflicted wounds that we did last year. Can’t have pre-snap penalties,” Newberry said. “There’s playing penalties — there’s holding calls that get made, if you’re playing hard on defense, there’s a late hit that gets called. Things like that, I can live with those, but what we can’t live with is the pre-snap penalties.”
In a world where so much attention is focused on the option and its success or failure, the Navy defense often flies under the radar. Seven starters return from a unit that allowed the third-fewest points per game in the AAC while ranking second on third down and fourth against the run.
College Football Season Preview
- More College Football News
- Maryland Football Preview: Terps enter season with optimism … and question marks
Senior captain Colin Ramos tried to translate what makes that side of the ball so special.
“It’s just that culture of the defense, that we trust each other and we’re going to fly around 100% on every single play,” Ramos said. “You trust the guy next to you to get the job done.”
Ramos led the Midshipmen with 110 tackles last fall while junior Luke Pirris and senior Justin Reed each posted 4.5 sacks. Seniors Rayuan Lane III and Dashaun Peele each had four interceptions last year as they head up an experienced secondary.
The kicking game is in good hands. Junior kicker Nathan Kirkwood made six of nine field goals plus he was 94% in extra points, hitting 16 out of 17 in 2023. Kicker Lance Gossett is slated to handle the kickoffs.
Senior punter Riley Riethman was the most overworked player at his position last fall. His 80 punts were second-most in FBS, only behind Iowa’s Tory Taylor, who played in two more games. If Navy is successful this year, the number of punts could resemble his first two seasons when he punted 44 and 45 times, respectively.
The season opener against FCS foe and fellow Patriot League member Bucknell is the first of three straight games at home. AAC preseason favorite Memphis comes to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Sept. 21. The Notre Dame game will be held at MetLife Stadium (someday they’ll play in Annapolis, right?) and the game against Air Force is in Colorado Springs this year.
The much-anticipated Army-Navy game moves closer to home, with this year’s edition taking place at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
The opportunity for a special season and a return to postseason play is there for the taking.
“I love what we’re doing in all three phases of the game. I love the buy-in from our players, the possibilities and the potential is very, very exciting,” Newberry said. “With that being said, we’ve still got a lot of work to put in, but I like where we’re at and I like where we’re heading.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
