Who’s the best Navy quarterback to run the spread option? Among the old tales being retold when two or three of us meet, that’s a fairly common one. Some point to Kaipo’s grasp of the finer points of the offense. Some point to Craig Candeto’s leadership or Ricky Dobbs’ passing and toughness. Others remind us that the team went 10-2 behind Aaron Polanco. My moment of clarity came as I was scanning through the postgame media notes handed out following the Mids’ 38-37  win over Central Michigan in 2010. Kriss Proctor started that game in place of an injured Dobbs, and did so in grand fashion, running for 201 yards on only 20 carries. One of the notes was on the ten best rushing performances by a quarterback in Navy history. Kriss was on the list, as was Alton Grizzard, Ricky Dobbs, Brian Broadwater, and Brian Madden. There was one player, though, who claimed half of the list all for himself.  Five of the ten best QB rushing performances in Navy history (including #1 and #2) were turned in by Chris McCoy.

McCoy started his first game as a sophomore against SMU in 1995. I was a plebe that year, and as such I was forced to make a bet on the game. My second class wanted me to lay a “motivational” 99 points for Navy, since I was in the class of 1999. That didn’t seem very sporting to me, so I offered a compromise of taking Navy -28 instead, since we were in the 28th company. He graciously accepted, figuring it was almost as safe a bet given Navy’s recent football fortunes. The Mids won that game 33-2, led by McCoy and his 273 rushing yards. I won my bet and had my floor waxed. Chris McCoy earned himself the undying gratitude of a mediocre plebe.

As a runner, McCoy was a special talent. Nowadays, the only time we see a quarterback sweep is when the backup is in the game and the coaches are trying to run out the clock. With Chris McCoy, that play was a staple of the offense; anything to get him out into space with the ball. He was the master of turning sideways and scooting through a hole in the line, and nobody was better at the fake pitch. As a passer, McCoy wasn’t great, but he was better than a lot of people remember and made some huge plays with his arm.

He ran for 273 yards in his first game, and capped his career by running for 201 yards against Army. In between, he was a big part of making Navy football a lot of fun for one lifelong fan in the Brigade. For that, he is granted entry into the Birddog Hall of Awesome.

Jarod Bryant’s was a long and strange college football career. Having been named Alabama’s Mr. Football in high school, fans saddled him with ridiculous expectations as a plebe, hailed him as the solution to all the team’s problems when he was on the bench, then blamed him for all the team’s problems when he was on the field. All the while, Jarod just kept trying to find ways to help the team win, whether as a quarterback, slotback, placekick holder, or whatever. It’s a quality that led to him being named team captain senior year, and hopefully it’s how he’ll be remembered in the long run.

With the occasional turmoil the offense saw in 2008, it would be easy to forget the fantastic job that Jarod did in relief of Kaipo on more than one occasion in 2007. He ran for 139 yards against Northern Illinois, sparked a comeback to force overtime against Ball State, went 8-11 passing against Delaware, and led touchdown drives on four of six possessions against North Texas. At the top of the heap, though, was Jarod’s performance against Duke on a hot September afternoon in Annapolis. Stepping in with the team trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, Navy’s closer led a 17-play field goal drive, caught a touchdown pass from slotback Bobby Doyle, then scored on the ensuing two-point conversion to tie the game. Duke took over with 3:49 remaining, but their drive ended when Ketric Buffin made an interception inside the Navy 20. Buffin was pushed out of bounds at the 26, where the offense took over with only 38 seconds left. What followed was a 35-yard scamper to glory that can really only be appreciated in slow motion, with appropriate musical accompaniment.

Jarod ran out of bounds at the Duke 39. The big gain allowed Coach Johnson to run the ball to run down the clock and set up the game-winning field goal, a given when your kicker is a cruel, heartless cyborg like Joey Bullen.

There’s lots of greatness to be had on this play. There’s the expert setup of the draw, the 360 move to escape one tackle, the ankle-melting jukes to escape two others, the splendid use of downfield blocking, and the situational awareness to get out of bounds. But it all pales in comparison to the singular awesomeness of finding the time to adjust your helmet in the middle of that bedlam. Now that’s multi-tasking, and it earns Jarod a spot in the Hall of Awesome.