When Navy senior starting fullback Eric Kettani saw his best friend Jarod Bryant line up in front of him in the backfield earlier this month due to an injury to starter Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, he had no doubt his classmate would succeed at quarterback.
“Jarod’s a leader, I know his morals and where he comes from,” Kettani said. “I have been friends with him since freshman year and we go on spring break every year together.”
But it will be no vacation for Bryant on Saturday afternoon, as he will make just his third career start in the team’s season opener against Towson at Navy-Marine Corps. Memorial Stadium at 3:30.
“Confidence in Jarod has given us the luxury to be cautious [with Kaheaku-Enhada],” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “[Tuesday] was probably our best day of practice on offense.”
The chemistry between the quarterback and fullback is imperative to running the triple-option offense. Nearly every play involves the ball being in both players’ hands before the quarterback makes a decision based on the defense’s reaction.
Kettani and graduated senior Adam Ballard developed that chemistry last season with Kaheaku-Enhada, as Navy’s offense averaged more than 39 points and 444 yards per game en route to leading the country in rushing for an NCAA-record third consecutive season.
Kettani is the team’s leading returning rusher after amassing 880 yards and 10 touchdowns on 152 carries last year. But the fullback is only as good as his quarterback, who is counted on to make the correct reads.
And the learning curve this fall has been steep for Bryant.
The 5-foot-10, 189-pounder ran for 464 yards and five touchdowns on 94 carries last season and threw for 252 yards with an interception. But in the spring, Bryant was moved to slotback where he was expected to start this fall since he was one of the Midshipmen’s best runners. Kaheaku-Enhada, however, pulled his left hamstring in the team’s first scrimmage on Aug. 2 and the team has taken a cautious approach to his recovery.
The spotlight is now on Bryant.
“Since I got back at quarterback I have been preparing the whole time that I was going to start,” Bryant said. “We are finally starting to gel a little bit. As long as we keep getting better, that’s our goal.”
THREE KEYS FOR NAVY
- Find a replacement for Reggie. The Midshipmen must find a way to replace slotback Reggie Campbell, one of the best players in school history. Campbell scored nine touchdowns last season and was just as big a threat in the return game, returning a pair of kickoffs for a touchdown. Campbell is second all-time in Academy history with 4,737 career all-purpose yards.
- Keep the opposing offense off the field — and scoreboard. Navy’s defense was by far its biggest liability last season, yielding 30 or more points nine times. The unit averaged allowing more than 36 points and 439 yards per game and forced just 16 turnovers. The return of starting linebacker Clint Sovie and safety Jeff Deliz from injury should bolster the group.
- Rush to victory. The Midshipmen’s success once again relies on their ability to run the football. Navy has led the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing an NCAA-record three straight seasons, including averaging 348.8 yards per game last season. No other team averaged more than 300 yards per game on the ground last fall.
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
- Coach: Ken Niumatalolo
- Last year: 8-5, lost to Utah, 35-32 in Poinsettia Bowl
- Returning offensive/defensive starters: 4/8
- We’d pay to watch: QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, Sr. The three-year starter is hampered by a pulled left hamstring, but still is one of the greatest signal callers in school history. Last year, he amassed more than 1,750 yards of total offense and 20 touchdowns as he orchestrated an offense that averaged more than 39 points and 444 yards per game.
- A bowl game if: The offensive line can replace three starters, including standout center Antron Harper, who helped lead the country’s best rushing attack for an NCAA-record third straight season.
- Home for the holidays if: The defense doesn’t improve. The unit was one of the worst in the 119-team Football Bowl Subdivision last season, yielding more than 36 points per game.
- By The Numbers
- 65 Percent of total receptions, or 48 of 74 catches, that the Midshipmen loses from last season due to graduation.
- 25.28 Yards per kickoff return last season, fifth-best nationally, but may drop this season with the graduation of returner Reggie Campbell.
- -15. The team’s turnover margin from last season, 70th best in the country, a stat that must improve with an offense that likely won’t average 39 points per game again this fall.
SCHEDULE
Saturday: vs. Towson, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 5: at Ball State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 13: at Duke, noon (ESPNU)
Sept. 20: vs. Rutgers, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 27: at Wake Forest, TBA
Oct. 4: at Air Force, TBA (Versus)
Oct. 18: vs. Pitt, 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 25: vs. SMU, 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 1: vs. Temple, 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 15: vs. Notre Dame at M&T Bank Stadium, noon (CBS)
Nov. 25: at Northern Illinois, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Dec. 6: vs. Army at Lincoln Financial Field, noon (CBS)
Season hinges on: Sept. 20 vs. Rutgers. If Navy enters the game 1-2, the Midshipmen can’t afford to lose to the Scarlet Knights with Wake Forest, Air Force and Notre Dame still on the schedule. Rutgers pulled away late to beat the visiting Midshipmen, 41-24, last season, but two years ago the Scarlet Knights humiliated Navy in Annapolis, 34-0.
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