Eric Kettani
is on my fantasy team.
Sadly, not Shun White.

For those who do not already know, I graduated from our fair academy in 1999. ’99 was the incredible shrinking class, dwindling to less than 900 by the time we graduated. In fact, an unusually high number of ’99ers were separated in the few weeks preceding graduation. The joke around the class back then was that graduation better get there soon, because at the rate things were going there wouldn’t be anyone left to graduate. I find myself feeling the same way now, as the beginning of another Navy football season is finally upon us after a slew of injuries in practice. Most offseasons tend to be pretty dull, but not this year. With coaching upheaval, ASO drama, and injuries galore in fall camp, the last 8 months have been a confusing and occasionally frustrating time. Usually people get fired up with the start of a new season, but this year it’s almost calming to finally be able put aside everything else and simply focus on one game and one opponent. And in week one, that opponent is Towson.

Any time Paul Johnson wanted to knock his Navy teams down a peg or two, he’d gather them up after practice and ask “how many of you were recruited by Maryland” or “how many of you were recruited by Duke” or whoever the opponent happened to be that week. Nobody would raise his hand. PJ’s point was to show the players that the teams Navy plays each week are usually more talented; and if you aren’t going to out-talent a team, you had better outwork them. Unfortunately for Coach Niumatalolo, it’s a motivational tool that isn’t available to him this week; Towson probably recruited several of Navy’s players, at least the ones from the Mid-Atlantic states. So perhaps motivation is the reason why Navy can beat Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, but lose to Delaware. Or why Navy can go 10-2 and finish at #24 in both polls, but struggle to put away Northeastern. Or why a one-point squeaker over UMass is sandwiched between victories over a Pac-10 team and a bowl-bound Conference USA team. Or maybe it’s because the talent level isn’t as different as we want to think. Either way, except for a 37-10 win over VMI in the 2003 opener, Navy hasn’t exactly played its best football against I-AA opponents.

That said, I don’t want to start going overboard Lou Holtz-style here. Towson is a work in progress, both as a football program and as a university. The school is growing, having been tasked by the state system in 2003 with expanding its enrollment to 25,000 students over 10 years. The plan to make that happen is called “TU 2010.” Part of the plan is to “develop a Towson ‘Brand’ to bring the Towson story to the external community,” and to “make the arts and athletics key components of campus life and use both as links to the external community.” Translation: fire up the football program! And they have. Towson (or Towson State back then) was once a Division III team that saw occasional success at that level, even advancing to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 1976. From 1979-1986, the team played in Division II, and was a playoff regular towards the end of their run at that level. In 1987 the team made the jump to I-AA. Towson was a member of the non-scholarship Patriot League from 1997-2003. They joined the cream of the I-AA crop, the A-10 (now CAA), in 2004. This will be their second season with the full compliment of 63 scholarships. The Tigers have had some modest success, too, with winning seasons in both 2005 and 2006. A lot of that success, though, came from a less-than-stellar non-conference schedule. And last year, when there wasn’t enough scholarship depth to make up for a rash of injuries, the team struggled to a 3-8 record.

Nevertheless, the theme for Towson football is growth, and their game at Navy is a big part of the plan. Those non-conference schedules are getting a jolt. This weekend’s contest at Navy will be the first game against a I-A opponent in Towson history. It’ll be the first of several, with games against Maryland, Northwestern, and Indiana on tap for the future. Towson will get some cash from these games, of course, but they’ll also help to raise the profile of the school. It’s a big deal, and Towson fans know it; they’re apparently coming by the busload. Good for them if they can pull it off. Good for us if they buy tickets and spend money! But enough of that namby-pamby, feel-good nonsense. There’s a football game to be played!

Towson is a good opening opponent for the Mids. Navy should win, but not before Towson puts them to the test on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Towson does exactly what Navy couldn’t handle last year: throw, throw, run a draw play, then throw some more. Towson’s entire offense ran for fewer yards (754) than either Kaipo or Eric Kettani last season; on the flip side, the Tigers threw 38 passes per game, including a Hawaii-like 60 attempts in the season finale against James Madison. This presents a tremendous opportunity for the Navy defense to show how far it has come since the nightmare of 2007. Navy couldn’t stop much of anything last year, but what it really, REALLY couldn’t stop was a controlled, short-yardage passing attack. Delaware, North Texas, Ball State… All of them utilize the same kind of spread-em-out-and-throw-it-around style that Towson does, and all of them moved the ball at will against Navy and their 119th-ranked pass efficiency defense. Towson doesn’t have the same talent as these schools (although they certainly played better defense than Navy did against Delaware), but schematically they are more or less identical. So it won’t take long to be able to tell if the defense has made the kind of improvement we think it has.

Towson is led by the QB-WR tandem of Sean Schaefer and Marcus Lee. Schaefer is a four-year starter who leads all active I-AA quarterbacks in career passing yards and will become the most prolific passer in Towson history barring injury. Schaefer completed 61% of his passes last year, but 19 were to the wrong team. Bad decisions come when pressure is applied, so it’s no surprise that where there are a lot of interceptions, there are a lot of sacks. Towson’s injury problems were particularly bad on the offensive line last year, and Schaefer went down 39 times. While they’re healthy now, Towson is still starting three sophomores up front. With the pass rush being the #1 problem on Navy’s defense last year, this could be a good chance for the defensive line to gain some confidence to start the season. Getting pressure on Schaefer might not mean that all of Navy’s problems are solved, but not getting pressure on the Towson signal caller could mean big trouble with Nate Davis waiting next Friday night.

Lee is a preseason all-conference selection after catching 66 passes for 680 yards in 2007. A prototypical posession receiver, the 6-2, 202 lb. Lee is remarkably consistent; he caught at least 5 passes in 8 of Towson’s 11 games last year, including three 9-catch games. He’s joined in Towson’s 3-receiver lineup by what has to be the biggest physical contrast of any receiving corps in college football. Tommy Breaux is a 6-8 forward on the Towson basketball team that gives Schaefer a huge physical mismatch with pretty much anyone, especially in red zone jump-ball situations. Healthy again after missing most of last season with a foot injury, Breaux is a fade pattern waiting to happen. At a lower altitude is the 5-9 Dave Newsom, a transfer from regular NAPS rival Nassau CC. Newsom turned heads at Towson’s spring game, catching 7 passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. The three of them combine to form a receiving corps that gives opponents a little bit of everything to deal with.

The stereotypical college football team that likes to chuck the ball around as much as Towson does usually has a pretty lackluster defense. But that wasn’t the case here; Towson had a top 50 I-AA defense in 2007, and was top 30 in scoring defense. That performance earned defensive coordinator Bob Benson an associate head coaching job at the D-II Colorado School of Mines. Replacing Benson is former Yale assistant Jeff McDonald. McDonald is keeping Benson’s 3-4 scheme, which probably means Ivin Jasper will see a lot of odd-man fronts. This puts Ken Niumatalolo’s decision to move Ricky Moore to center in the spotlight right away. Moore, at 6-4, 295, is a lot bigger than Antron Harper or any other Navy center of the last few years. Niumat moved him from tackle to center specifically to handle odd-man fronts, where the nose guard is usually lined up directly over the center. He felt that Moore’s size would help neutralize the big interior linemen that Navy will face. That theory gets its first test on Saturday as Moore will line up opposite Yaky Ibia, Towson’s 6-2, 295-pound nose guard. Moore has reportedly struggled against Nate Frazier in practice and has been a focal point of the offense’s problems in fall camp. How he handles Ibia will be a good indicator of whether Moore is struggling, or if Nate is just that damn good.

The biggest question on offense, though, is at quarterback. Kaipo is reported to be making progress with his hamstring, but hasn’t practiced in pads in quite some time. Jarod Bryant has been getting all the snaps at QB with the 1st team offense and will probably start. Bad news? No. It isn’t good news, of course– I’m sure everyone here is well aware of my Kaipo-worship, and he is without a doubt the best quarterback on the roster. And everyone is also well aware of my criticism of Jarod in the past as not being as sharp in handling the offense. But that was then, and this is now. One of the patterns that we’ve seen over the last 6 years is the maturation of Navy quarterbacks between their junior and senior years. In 2002, Navy was a fumble factory. Fans were calling for Craig Candeto to be benched in favor of Aaron Polanco. Then Polanco got the start against UConn, and the offense laid an egg in a 38-0 loss. After Candeto graduated, fans wondered how Navy would replace him. But Polanco stepped up to deliver one of the most clutch seasons in Navy history in 2004. Then we had Brian Hampton, who received the exact same criticism as Bryant his sophomore and junior years– he just didn’t have a handle on the offense. But once it was his turn to start in 2006, he ran the offense just fine. It isn’t magic. It’s just the result of getting one more season of reps in practice. I’m confident that we’ll see the same thing in Jarod Bryant. He won’t be as good as Kaipo, but there’s no reason why he won’t be every bit as good as Candeto, Polanco, Owens, and Hampton. And that’s good enough. That said, we clearly want Kaipo back so both of them can get onto the field. But with the offense likely safe in Jarod’s hands, it isn’t worth risking Kaipo for the season by rushing him back for the first game.

A healthy Towson team is clearly better than last year’s 3-8 record. They aren’t the most talented team Navy will face this season, obviously, but they have a capable offense and a proven defense. They will put Navy’s 2007 weaknesses to the test right away. Close your books, sharpen those #2 pencils, and add whatever other test-taking cliche you can think of. It’s time to get started!

You know, when our offense was OMG TEH AWSUM and our defense made little children cry? Yeah, about that…

“We stink on offense right now,” said Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. “That is two weeks in a row the defense has come out and whipped the offense’s butt. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a scrimmage here where the offense hasn’t scored at least one touchdown. I’ve been here 11 years and this is the first time that has happened. The defense played great and the offense has a long ways to go.”

So, was your first reaction the same as my first reaction?

I mean, that’s two scrimmages in a row now. Our offensive line can’t block anyone, our quarterbacks are dropping like flies, we don’t have a clear backup fullback, and we’re turning to freshmen to give us slotback depth. And this is against a defense that was atrocious last year. But haven’t we heard this all before? Hmmm…

Q. Why don’t you just kind of tell us what you thought about today?

A. I don’t think we’re very good.

Q. Why do you say that?

A. Well, did you watch the scrimmage?

Q. Yes.

A. That’s why I said it.

Q. Too many mistakes and not executing?

A. It’s pretty hard to play when the offensive line is just turning people loose. They’re not even getting in the way of the defense. I hope we’re good on defense.

That is, of course, an exchange between Bill Wagner and Paul Johnson following the second fall scrimmage… of 2004. As you’ll recall, that season Navy ended up 10-2 and ranked in the top 25 of both polls. So I haven’t gone base jumping without a parachute just yet. Things aren’t looking so good, but a wise man once said that things are never as good or as bad as they seem. This definitely does NOT mean that past performance is indicative of future performance. But it might mean that the world isn’t ending. If anything, it’s nice to see the defense getting fired up. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my concerns…

Kaipo’s injury is a bad thing. Not necessarily because we’ll suffer at quarterback, but because we’ll suffer at slotback. Jarod Bryant was turning heads with AND without the ball. With injuries to Andre Byrd and Greg Shinego, that put him on top of the depth chart opposite Shun White. But with Kaipo hurt, Jarod is playing quarterback… and all those injuries are creating a vacuum that might have to be filled by freshmen. Fast & talented freshmen, mind you– but still freshmen. Freshmen filling prominent roles is rarely a situation you want to face.

I say “rarely” instead of “never” because another freshman, Alex Teich, has risen to #2 on the fullback depth chart. If a freshman is going to play, you rather it be because he performed too well to be denied rather than filling a role by default. And the former is certainly what we see here. Both Teich and #3 fullback Wes Holland have reportedly impressed coaches with their quickness, not surprising considering they are both former slotbacks. They’re a definite change of pace from the typical bruising Navy fullback, not that there’s anything wrong with those. Coach Niumatalolo hinted on media day that Kettani might not split very much time this year, but it might be interesting to see how the fullbacks are used if he does.

Bill Wagner broke the news that Kaipo is sitting out practice with a bothersome hamstring. Those of you looking to jump off the Bay Bridge are going to be stuck in traffic for a while, since an 18-wheeler got a head start on you. (It isn’t known if the driver of the truck was motivated by the news). Too early to panic? Yeah, probably, although it’s bad enough that Kaipo went in for an MRI and might miss the opener. Hamstrings are the kind of thing that tend to linger, so who knows how long this will last.  Jarod Bryant has moved backfrom practicing full-time at A-back to quarterback.

The coaches have a lot of confidence in Jarod Bryant. And given the recent trend of Navy seniors rising to the starting quarterback role, it’s hard not to. Still, even the most hard-core of the Hoover High School Fan Club (Annapolis Chapter) would admit that the offense is best served when Kaipo and Jarod are BOTH on the field. Especially now, since Jarod had risen to the top of the slotback depth chart with injuries to Greg Shinego and Andre Byrd. While the coaches are apparently pleased with the performance of Cory Finnerty, it’s hard to believe that the slotbacks aren’t going to suffer when three of the top four players going into the season are either out or moved.

Bryant can do the job at quarterback, but he was really impressing people at slotback. That, and Kaipo is probably the best quarterback at Navy since Alton Grizzard. Hopefully it isn’t too long before we get them both on the field.

Consider the following:

— The Naval Academy is a small, undergraduate-only school of about 4000 students that only puts out about 900-1000 graduates every year.

— While the average state school dumps thousands of graduates into its region each year, Naval Academy graduates are immediately sent away from Annapolis and cast to all corners of the country, and even the world.

— Within a 45-minute drive of Annapolis, you have:

• Two NFL Franchises
• Two Major League Baseball franchises
• A large, BCS-conference state school
• an NBA franchise
• an NHL franchise

…all of which have seasons that at least partially overlap with Navy football season.

Considering all that, it’s amazing that Navy has topped 23,000 season ticket sales, breaking its record for the fourth straight year. Winning is good!

Media Day is in the books, and practice is underway. I was waiting to see if the SID staff was going to put out a media day transcript, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to. No biggie, as our own Adam Nettina gave a great recap of all the big points covered at the press conference writing for College Football News. Some good stuff was batted around about the defense, the race for #2 fullback, and what Coach Niumatalolo is like in practice compared to Paul Johnson. Worth the All-Access subscription, as are the player interviews with Pete Medhurst (Shun White in particular).

As I watched the press conference, one thing that I noticed was how much more comfortable Ken Niumatalolo looked in front of the media compared to just a few months ago. Since taking charge last December, Coach Niumat always looked a bit uneasy when answering questions or talking in front of the microphone. I’m sure a lot of that was because the events leading to his promotion all happened so quickly, but regardless, things have changed. Last week, coach was smiling, cracked a few jokes, and gave very frank, straightforward answers. He looked like a man in charge. Maybe this is just me reading way too much into minutiae the way I always do, but it was very noticeable.

Anyway, with practice having started, that means the return of the practice pressers! Presser #1 came on Friday, with Wagner firing off a few questions for the Navy head coach:

Wagner: What are some of the question marks you have in your mind? You talked yesterday about the backup fullback; I know that is one of them. Who is in the mix to back up Kettani?

Niumatalolo: Kevin Campbell, Vince Murray, Wes Holland and a freshman from the prep school, Alex Teich. Those are the guys we are looking at.

Wagner: Teich was listed as a slot back, was that a mistake?

Niumatalolo: No, he was a slot back but we just moved him. He is a pretty physical kid and we liked the way he tested. We want to see what he can do.

Wagner: I don’t have the stats in front of me, but I don’t believe any of those guys you mentioned carried the ball at all last year.

Niumatalolo: Backup fullback was a big question in the spring, but we were very pleased with the way Campbell and Murray played. It is still an open battle and those guys know that the number two spot is still up for grabs. We moved Holland and Teich from slot to fullback to up the competition.

The #2 mythical creature in the Navy offense (#1 being the super-athletic quarterback with the howitzer arm) is the second coming of Adrian Peterson; the fullback that’s not a fullback as much as a traditional tailback. The guy that’s as big a threat on the outside as between the tackles. Navy’s fullback have been more of the bruiser, up the middle variety. Now, I’m not even pretending that Holland and Teich are Adrian Peterson. But maybe bringing switching a couple slots to fullback is an attempt to see if we can get that different element out of the position. Coach Johnson tried it a little when he moved Trey Hines to fullback, but Hines never really had an opportunity to learn the position. Holland and Teich will. I fully expect Campbell and Murray to be on the 3-deep this year, but this will be something to watch as time goes on.

Wagner: What other questions do you have on offense? How about the offensive line?

Niumatalolo: We are looking for a third guard and a third tackle. We are also trying to find a backup center.

Wagner: Lark hasn’t proven himself, has he?

Niumatalolo: I’m starting to like what I see. He’s a pup at center right now so he is running around like a chicken with his head cut off, but he plays with great intensity and he is very strong. I like what I see out of him.

If all we’re looking for is a 3rd guard and 3rd tackle, then we must be doing OK. It’s good that Lark is making some progress at center.

Wagner: On defense, Nate Frazier looks great out here. I heard he made all of the workouts this summer.

Niumatalolo: Defensively, we are looking for some young guys that can step up. We have a ton of guys back from last year that we are excited about. We have an experienced group coming back. We have a pretty good idea who we have on defense, but we want to see if any of the young guys can step into the mix.

I don’t know about you, but I got my fill of young guys stepping into the mix last year. I’m ready for some old, grizzled veterans on defense.

Lots more covered in that transcript, so read up!