The Midshipmen look to continue their dominance of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy against Air Force and Army, having won the cup eight of the last 10 years.
The triple-option remains a staple in Navy’s offensive attack, with sophomore quarterback Keenan Reynolds running the show after a breakout freshman season. He’ll likely hand off to senior Darius Staten—8.9 yards per carry over the past two years in very limited action—and junior Geoffrey Whiteside, who averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season.
Up front, the Midshipmen retain three starters on the offensive line to pave the way for the run-happy scheme, but expect Reynolds to throw more frequently this season as he becomes more familiar with the playbook and reading college defenses.
Defensively, Navy returns seven starters to a unit that gave up more than 400 yards per game a season ago. The Midshipmen generally fared well against teams whose strength was in the run game but ran into difficulty covering pass-oriented offenses.
Senior defensive end Evan Palelei recorded 29 tackles last year and figures to be a significant presence for Navy at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds. The interior of Navy’s pass rush will be its greatest strength, and the linebacker unit will need to quickly acclimate some fresh faces to complement a veteran core as the Midshipmen set sail for their fifth bowl appearance in head coach Ken Niumatalolo’s sixth season in Annapolis.
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