Mids Insider

Tuesday Morning Links (11.24.09)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:50:17 -0500

A look at Navy's video system, which helps the coaches prepare for upcoming opponents. Ken Niumatalolo wants the Midshipmen to have a "Hawaii experience," but also wants them to focus on the game. Niumatalolo says, "I'm sure there's going to be some tears," as he returns home. Hawaii has won three straight games after dropping six in a row. The Warriors are preparing themselves for Navy's cut blocks. Georgia Southern is looking for a new head coach, and if it decides it wants an option coach, Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper could be a candidate.

Navy seniors' service selections

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:29:04 -0500

Navy's 32 seniors recently learned their service assignments. Once they graduate, they will serve a minimum of five years in the Navy or Marine Corps. Sixteen players selected Marine Corps (11 ground, five pilot), and 16 selected the Navy. (List courtesy of Navy sports information.) Here's the list, grouped according to selection: MARINE CORPS GROUND OT Andrew Burger FB Jordan Eddington LB Tony Haberer OG Andy Lark OG Jeff Lenar DE Cameron Marshall WR Mike Mathews DE Matt Nechak DE Bayard Roberts LB Clint Sovie DE Michael Walsh MARINE CORPS PILOT DE Kyle Bookhout SB Bobby Doyle LB Ross Pospisil LB Brian Smith QB Greg Zingler (Severna Park High)

Monday Morning Links (11.23.09)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:03:03 -0500

ESPN.com is predicting Navy vs. Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. The week off cost Navy 17 points in the AP poll and 26 points in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. RE: Navy's upcoming opponent, Hawaii (5-6) Hawaii's 17-10 overtime victory over San Jose State keeps its bowl hopes alive. Shane Austin won his first start at quarterback, and his favorite target was fellow fill-in Jon Medeiros. RE: Air Force (7-5) and Army (5-6) Air Force was blown out by 19th-ranked BYU, 38-21. The Falcons finished fourth in the Mountain West for the second straight season, and are a long way from joining the elite teams. Army's 17-13 win at North Texas sets up the "ultimate Army-Navy game;" the Black Knights need one win to book their spot in the EagleBank Bowl.

The long-awaited bye week is finally here

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:53:09 -0500

The Midshipmen gathered on the practice field for a brief stretching and running session on Monday afternoon. After that, Coach Ken Niumatalolo wants the players to stay as far away from football as possible for a few days. "They are banished," Niumatalolo said. "The only reason you got to be here is treatment, and Doc [Jeff Fair] tells you when to come. There's no extra lifting, [so] go in the hall, go with your companies. Re-introduce yourself to people. You've been away for a while. It's a great opportunity. We complained all year that we had a tough schedule without a break. This is our break now." Several assistant coaches headed out on Monday on recruiting trips. Niumatalolo will stay in the area; he is scheduled to appear on "Washington Post Live" (Comcast SportsNet) on Tuesday. Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs plans on using his time off to get a head

Where Ricky ranks

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:33:22 -0500

Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs's five touchdowns against Delaware gave him 22 for the season and put him into some pretty elite company in the country. His numbers are even more remarkable considering that he missed all of the Wake Forest game and nearly all of the Temple game with an injured right knee. Dobbs has three more games to add to these totals. 2009 NCAA leaders in touchdowns scored 22 – Ricky Dobbs, Navy (QB) 19 – Toby Gerhart, Stanford (RB) 18 – Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State (RB) 17 – Chad Spann, Northern Illinois (RB); Donald Buckram, UTEP (RB); Lance Dunbar, North Texas (RB)

Monday Morning Links (11.16.09)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:05:17 -0500

Navy received 41 votes in the Associated Press poll and 76 votes in the USA Today/Coaches poll. Air Force beat writer Jake Schaller of the Colorado Springs Gazette has Navy 25th on his AP ballot. A "knowledgeable source" told SI.com's Stewart Mandel that Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson "may be the best coaching hire in the last 30 years." RE: Air Force (7-4) and Army (4-6) Air Force dominated UNLV from start to finish in a 45-17 victory. Army beat VMI, 22-17, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. Alejandro Villanueva, Army's 6-foot-10 receiver, had seven catches for 119 yards against VMI.

Post-game Notes: Navy 35, Delaware 18

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:27:27 -0500

--After playing 11 straight games, the Midshipmen finally get their first bye next week. Practices will resume on Thursday. "Words can't explain what it feels like," senior guard Osei Asante said of finally getting some time off. "My body is tore up." --With less than a minute to play, Navy was faced with a first-and-goal from the three-yard line. The Midshipmen held a 10-point lead, but instead of kneeling down to run out the clock, Coach Ken Niumatalolo called for a running play and quarterback Ricky Dobbs scored his fifth and final touchdown of the game. "All the coaches except me" wanted a kneel-down, Niumatalolo said. "I just wanted to be done with it. I wanted to give us some breathing room… They scare me, that offense is a scary offense. They move the ball pretty quickly."

Previewing Navy-Delaware

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:13:51 -0500

When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis. Records: Midshipmen 7-3; Blue Hens 6-3. Last week: Navy 23, No. 19 Notre Dame 21; Delaware 28, Hofstra 21. Coaches: Ken Niumatalolo (15-9, second year); K.C. Keeler (62-37, eighth year). TV: CBS College Sports. Radio: WZAA (1050 AM), WFED (1500 AM), WBAL (1090 AM), WNAV (1430 AM), WTRI (1520 AM). When Navy has the ball: Sophomore slot back Marcus Curry, who has missed the past three games with a pulled quadriceps, could play on Saturday, giving Navy its top three offensive playmakers for the first time since Oct. 17. Junior fullback Vince Murray has rushed for more than 100 yards in his past four games, the longest such streak by a Navy running back since Napoleon McCallum had six straight 100-yard games in 1983. Junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs leads the nation with 17 rushing touchdowns, and needs only three more

More on Ram Vela

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:20:50 -0500

I wrote about senior outside linebacker Ram Vela in today's paper; you can find the story here. There were a couple of things that I couldn't work into the story but wanted to share here: --He says that "The Fugitive" nickname has started to peter out. "The guys that really remember it have all graduated, so I don't hear that much about it," Vela said. For those that don't remember the origin of the nickname, Fanhouse has a recap of how Vela was briefly detained by the Secret Service at the White House in the spring of 2007 after a case of mistaken identity. --His teammates still enjoy teasing him about his Naval Academy commercial, however. (You can see it here.) "The part where he's running on the beach with his face made up? That's ridiculous!" senior fullback Jordan Eddington said. "I can never picture Ram actually doing something like

Friday Morning Links (11.13.09)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:47 -0500

The Birddog blog has its usual thorough post-game write-up, along with some thoughts on Notre Dame assistant Corwin Brown's rant. ESPN.com's Graham Watson weighs in on the controversy. SI.com's Andy Staples writes that while Brown's complaint about the cut blocking might be legitimate, his gripes with Ken Niumatalolo's post-game comments are not. Here's a video of the block that got Brown so upset. Saturday's game against Delaware will be an emotional day for Navy's 32 seniors. The Blue Hens will try to avoid tripping up against the triple option.

Navy's seniors will be honored on Saturday

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:56:09 -0500

Coach Ken Niumatalolo is pretty sure he'll get a little choked up at some point on Saturday, when Navy's 32 seniors take the field for their final game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. "I'm a crybaby," Niumatalolo said. "I cry all the time. I'm a pretty emotional guy. … Either I'm yelling or crying, there's no in-between with me. It's very emotional to see these guys, to see what they do, to see what they meant to the program." This senior class, which includes 10 players who started against Notre Dame last week, has compiled a 32-17 record over the past four seasons, won three straight Commander-in-Chief's trophies and qualified for four straight bowl games. The seniors are also the first class since the class of 1964 to beat Notre Dame twice in their careers.

Schaefer's big day against the Fighting Irish

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:44:00 -0500

When Navy beat Notre Dame in 2007, Craig Schaefer was just a sophomore and was only playing on special teams. He was credited with one tackle on kickoff coverage in the Midshipmen's historic 46-44 triple-overtime victory. In the return trip to Notre Dame this year, Schaefer was one of Navy's stars in its 23-21 win. The Robinson High graduate earned a starting nod at outside linebacker because of his strong play in practice, and he responded with a career-high nine tackles, including the sack that led to a safety in the final minutes. "We gave him an opportunity to start and he did a heck of a job," defensive coordinator Buddy Green said. "He had a heck of a game."

Thursday Morning Links (11.12.09)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:50:48 -0500

The cornerback tandem of Blake Carter and Kevin Edwards had a huge game against Notre Dame. Coach Ken Niumatalolo's salary is higher than what was reported in USA Today's study earlier this week, according to the Annapolis Capital. Here are video highlights from the Notre Dame game, including some behind the scenes stuff. More fallout from the victory over Notre Dame: Notre Dame assistant Corwin Brown is highly critical of Ken Niumatalolo's post-game comments ("I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year, because we knew that they'd line up the same way," Niumatalolo said after the 23-21 win). Be sure to check the reader comments appended to the story. Brown was also upset with Navy's blocking, particularly on a play against cornerback Robert Blanton. You can watch a video of Brown's comments here.

Niumatalolo, Gladchuk on TV and radio today

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:33:07 -0500

Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo has been making the rounds of various media outlets since the victory over Notre Dame; he appeared on the John Thompson Show on Monday, and on ESPN's Mike and Mike on Tuesday morning. Wednesday, he will be on the Jim Rome Show (radio) at 1:45 p.m., and he will appear on College Football Live with Eric Kuselias (3:30 p.m. on ESPN, 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2). Athletic director Chet Gladchuk will be on the Brian Kenny Show on ESPN Radio at 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday. NBC Universal and MASN will show Saturday's game against Notre Dame at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. (Hat tip to Navy SID Scott Strasemeier.)

Wednesday Morning Links (11.11.09)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:51:00 -0500

My story on how Navy is trying to avoid a letdown following the big win over Notre Dame; an alert reader has already pointed out that I used the wrong date for the 2007 loss to Delaware -- it was actually Oct. 27. (Sorry.) According to USA Today's latest study on coaching salaries, Navy's payroll is a "tidy $603,000" and "given Navy's 7-3 record and last week's upset of Notre Dame, perhaps that should become the spending standard for institutions funded by the public." Here's a story on Chet Moeller, who was named to the Navy-Marine Corps All-Stadium secondary team earlier this season.