ND Opponent Preview | Navy
It’s a new era for Navy football.
Ken Niumatalolo isn’t on staff for the first time in over 20 years. He’s not the head coach for the first time since 2007. Unfortunately, it didn’t end well for him with four wins or less in four of his last five seasons.
It’s hard to walk away from someone who had so much success at a place like Navy. Winning 54% of your games at that kind of program is no small feat, but it was time for a change and they decided to promote defensive coordinator Brian Newberry.
He has been lauded for the work he has done improving their defense. They were 117th in DF+ (combined FEI and SP+ defensive rating) the year before he arrived. Their average finish under Newberry is 52nd, including being ranked in the top-40 last season.
Notre Dame fans know that he is known for being aggressive, which has paid off at times and also burned them when facing the Irish. I’d expect that aggressive mentality to show up on both sides of the ball under his leadership. Navy doesn’t have the talent to go toe to toe with Notre Dame, but they’ll take big swings to try and upset them to open this season.
Post-Spring SP+ Ranking
98th overall. They are 113th on offense and 78th on defense.
Key losses
Hybrid LB John Marshall was a true game-wrecker for them on defense. He not only led the team in tackles, he had 28.5 total Havoc plays (tackles for loss, pass breakups, interception, and forced fumbles). The defender with the second most Havoc plays had 11.5.
I’d describe him as irreplaceable. They just don’t have that many defenders who make plays that consistently and he was a perfect fit for Newberry’s defense.Navy lost some other players, but no one who was close to being as impactful as Marshall was. It’s going to be difficult to find a replacement who can come close to matching that production.
On offense, they lost slotback Maquel Haywood to the transfer portal (Appalachian State). He had four receptions of 20-yards or more and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. He was their most dynamic player on that side of the ball in 2022.
Key additions
Navy can’t dip into the transfer portal to add talent like everyone else. There are no quick fixes in rebuilding the program. All of their improvement will have to come from within with the development of younger players on the roster.
In that sense, the biggest addition to the program is new offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut. He is still going to employ the triple option, but he will tweak some things in that department and is going to throw the ball more frequently.
Notre Dame can expect to see some shotgun, more tight ends, and they will be a little bit more diverse with personnel and formations. Chesnut’s offense threw it 17.4 times a game last season at Kennesaw State. Navy has averaged 10 passing attempts or less in six of the last 10 seasons.
Top returners and returning production
Navy is 17th in returning production with 76% of their offense and 74% of their defense coming back. 10 of their top 13 tacklers are returning.
RG Joshua Pena has started 20 games and is considered their best offensive lineman. FB Daba Fofana led them in rushing last season and had 133 against the Irish.
Their top two quarterbacks from last season, Tai Lavatai and Xavier Arline, are both back as well.
LB Colin Ramos is the top returning player on defense. He’s small at 6’2” 205, but a very effective blitzer.
DE Jacob Busic was their best player up front in 2022 and he and his 10.5 Havoc plays are also back.
The great unknown
They have experience at quarterback, but do they have a good quarterback?
Navy’s offense will only go as far as that position can take them. They were the most dangerous when they had Keegan Reynolds and Malcolm Perry there.
Lavatai missed the spring rehabbing a knee injury and Arline also missed most of the spring. Tedros Gleaton is a sophomore who worked as the starter in the spring. He’s more of a dual-threat than the other two and he worked out of the shotgun in high school so if he’s the choice, they will definitely open things up more than they have in the past.
Kennesaw State’s offense looked pretty similar to what we’ve seen from Navy so I think Lavatai or Arline should still be considered as options, but someone like Gleaton could give them the opportunity to be a bit more multiple if they want to be.
It’s going to be a difficult game to prepare for without knowing who the quarterback is, but Navy has typically taken some time to get into their groove on offense each season. We’ll see if that changes with a new coordinator and possibly a new quarterback.
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