TCY: Navy Midshipmen Football

[alexr5111]

This is going to be a fairly challenging schedule. McAllen, Temple, Rutgers, Army and Arkansas State are the easiest matchups on the slate. BC, Auburn, Washington State and Notre Dame are all top programs that finished at .500 or above last season.

You'll notice there's no Air Force on the schedule this season. We just couldn't make it happen but it's something we'll try hard to do again next year.

It's good to see we almost doubled our season tickets sold from last year, with 12,300.

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[DavidCorperial]

Really enjoying this, but just to let you know, the UConn logo you have is too modern, they still had had the blue outlined fluffy dog with a red tongue sticking out at this point.

[alexr5111]

Originally Posted by DavidCorperial

Really enjoying this, but just to let you know, the UConn logo you have is too modern, they still had had the blue outlined fluffy dog with a red tongue sticking out at this point.

Yeah, admittedly if there's one thing I've been lazy with it's been sticking with either 2004 images or just doing modern ones. For the logos I've been exclusively using the ones from wikipedia because they automatically have no background which is convenient.

[alexr5111]

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[alexr5111]

This was a frustrating first game and we ended up losing it in overtime.

We fought back from a 10 point deficit in the 4th quarter to tie this one up and send it to overtime. However, Quinn Blackwell missed a 40 yard FG short in OT and we lost by three.

Special teams in general hurt us in this one. In addition to the Blackwell missed FG, Harvey Davison averaged just 33 yards per punt on 5 kicks with none inside the 20. We'll look to get Mickey Hoffman some kicks next week. Brandon Valadez had 4 punt returns for -4 yards total. We'll look to get others involved there this week, as well.

We shut down their starting running back Donovan Berry. He was held to 74 yards on 31 carries and was stuffed 10 times. You can't ask for much better than that. His backup, Will McInytre had 66 yards on 13 carries so we couldn't do it across the board. Still, an encouraging sign from a run defense that was incredibly porous last season.

Our running game was solid and a highlight. Mike Hicks ran for 111 yards and freshman Dixon Horner added 61 yards and a TD. Quentin Bush did not find much success however, carrying 6 times for -1 yard.

The offensive line was better in the run game than in pass protection. They allowed 3 sacks on the day but Kerry Bradley and Sean Villars were both major factors in the running game. FB Nolan Ramsey also had a really nice debut with 4 key run blocks.

The defensive freshmen were a major bright spot in this one. They accounted for the Top 4 tacklers on defense. Ian Tate finished with 14 tackles and an interception in a great performance. His linebacking partner, Rondell Reese also had an Int and added 7 tackles. Ends, Rufus Ingersoll and Troy Manning combined for 11 tackles and a sack as well. The future of our front 7 looks very bright.

The schedule kicks up a notch this week as we host #24 Washington St on CBS Sports Network.

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Week 3 thoughts...


This one was a total debacle in more than one way. We managed 152 total yards, allowed 433 and lost two players to injury.

Both Rondell Reese and Quentin Bush are more than likely done for the year. Reese tore his ACL and will not be back. Bush broke his fibula and there's a chance he may be back near the end of the season.

Gilbert Cassell was the first man up in replace of Bush and it was ugly. 4 of 19 and 2 Int. Oliver Robertson will get the start next week.

Washington St also lost their starting QB in this one, but their replacement, Phil Hebert fared much better and won player of the game.

Once again we did a nice job of shutting down the run game. Ian Tate finished with 4 TFL's and Troy Manning had 3 of his own.

The pass defense struggled again. Just our defensive backs allowed 14 completed passes against. Alonzo Barnes countered that with 3 pass breakups but the rest of the group managed just one.

The offense struggled in every department. Dixon Horner carried 10 times and was stuffed on 5 of those carries. Ben Cash was targeted 13 times but finished with just 2 catches. Sean Villars, Nolan Ramsey, Kerry Bradley and Lawrence Cooper combined to go 0 for 14 in run blocking opportunities.

On to McAllen with a couple of new starters...

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Week 4 thoughts...

A really nice win despite being over a poor team. It was important after the big injuries and loss in Week 3.

The run game had their finest hour in this one. Mike Hicks and Dixon Horner both go over 100 yards and Hicks comes within 3 of 200. This was largely in part to a dominating O-Line performance in which Kerry Bradley, Randy Bartee, Howard Scott, Nolan Ramsey and Sean Villars combined for 28 key run blocks.

Oliver Robertson filled in well for Quentin Bush. He wasn't spectacular but he was about what we've come to expect from Bush.

Freshman Nolan Ramsey has already established himself as a force as a blocker in the run game, but this week he led the team in receiving as well. He's been a great signing.

Not to be outdone by the other freshman phenom, Ian Tate, Irving Nelson reminded us who the leader of the defense still is. He made a team leading 5 tackles and added a sack and an interception in the win.

We have a bye in Week 5 which we'll use to try and lock up a few of our first commitments of the year. In Week 6 we start a tough back-to-back by going on the road at Boston College.

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[QuikSand]

Here's to you, Mr. Robinson...

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[alexr5111]

Austin Clancy is the big back we were looking for in this class. I expect he will be playing at 220 or 230 for us at some point. His game is power running, but he has shown some ability to catch the ball out of the backfield as well with 31 catches for 480 yards. He also checks the box in regards to recruiting from a more successful athletic high school as Mamaroneck is a solid program on Long Island.

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[alexr5111]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about what we're building at the linebacker position for the next few years. We know what we have in Irving Nelson, Ian Tate and Rondell Reese and now we've added another solid one in Leslie Dodge. He's not the thumper that some of the other guys are but he's going to be a huge asset in the pass game. He's a ++ character kid and has 96 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 7 Int in his senior season. Doesn't hurt to start making some connections in Texas, either.

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Week 6 thoughts...


Well that was a disaster.

As you may have noticed, Oliver Robertson is not the leading passer for the game. As you also may have noticed, we don't bring in Gilbert Cassell for his high skill level. Robertson broke ribs on the first drive of the game and attempted one pass on the day. Cassell is terrible and we're still deciding what we'll do for next week. It'll most likely be Reggie Pollard for the first time.

Our run game actually performed fairly well in limited action. We were just down so much and so early that we really couldn't use it. Hicks and Horner combined for over 100 yards on 20 carries.

We allowed 5 sacks, all to DT Dexter Lowe. If Deron Parliman of Stanford hadn't set the NCAA record with 6 in another game this week, Lowe's performance would be the new record... Every offensive lineman was victimized except Kerry Bradley.

It's a bad day at the office when you allow two QB's to go over 200 yards passing each in one game. CB Wade Lake was particularly bad, allowing 4 catches on 12 passing snaps. We just have no depth at this position to make any moves.

The blowout allowed some young players to get their first significant action of the year. T Lawrence Cooper, DE Paul Gillespie and DT Andrew White all logged their highest snap totals of the season. Gillespie really impressed in his time.

Best to move on from this one as quickly as possible....but down another QB. It's on the road to Auburn this week.

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[alexr5111]

In the words of the great Mark Pantoni.....BOOOOOOOM!

I know there's only so many times I can say that a commitment is the biggest one yet...but I'll say it again here. Adam Gerhardt is our first Four Star signing and our first signed QB as well. He was really our only QB target in this class from day 1. A phenomenal athlete who has over 1000 yards rushing this season, he also has a 21-2 TD to INT ratio and rarely turns the ball over. He'll certainly have an opportunity to start next year, particularly if Quentin Bush struggles in his recovery.

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[alexr5111]

Jumbo Tubbs spent the last couple of years making holes for Dixon Horner at Bowie HS and he'll continue that now after signing on with us. He doesn't really live up his name at 6'4" 250 but we're thinking there' s a good chance he may kick inside in college (and give Sean Villars the opportunity to move back to tackle).

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[alexr5111]

Mercury Blackshear is not necessarily the big-name, high profile signing that we're starting to get used to, but he's similar to the underrated defensive ballers that we filled last year's class with. He comes from a terrible program but is a 3 time captain and just puts up stats. He's got 94 tackles, 13 sacks and 6 interceptions. He brings the same kind of athleticism to the position that Leslie Dodge does.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Nice snag out of New Jersey here with Trent Graham. Pairing him with Bennie Contreras will be a nice duo in the future. Graham's specialty is as a centerfielder...just without hands. Another high character, hard worker that we look forward to adding to the team.

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Week 7 thoughts....

Not much to say here. We've been outscored 93-0 in our last two games but we knew it wouldn't be pretty.

We rode with Reggie Pollard in this one and he played okay, all things considered. He'll be the guy for the near future.

The run game was pitiful. Mike Hicks was almost stuffed twice as many times (11) as he had yards rushing (6). Our big two on the offensive line, Kerry Bradley and Randy Bartee combined to go 1 for 19 on key run block opportunities.

One bright spot the last few weeks has been the emergence of Ben Cash as a true #1 wideout. Granted, the statistics increase has something to do with the fact that we've been trailing the whole time...but still good to see from a young player.

Defensively, Irving Nelson continued to put up big numbers.

The schedule gets a little more forgiving next week as we host 0-5 Rutgers.

[alexr5111]

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[alexr5111]

I think we would've considered Sedrick Hanaki a reach early on in the recruiting process. He's a really highly rated kid from all the way across the country but he's got the kind of fire and edge that him and Troy Stephens really hit it off and we were able to convince him to come out to Annapolis. He's a tough kid who can play the run and excels in man-to-man...fast enough to run with wide receivers and tough enough to matchup with TE's. We officially have a competition for the starting safety jobs in 2006.

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Week 8 thoughts...

Good win against a bottom-feeder. It's good to take care of games you're supposed to and that's what this was.

The run game bounced back nicely from its worst game of the year, with its best. Horner and Hicks go over 100 yards each. Bartee and Bradley combined to go 9 for 21 in KRBO's. Nice performance.

Reggie Pollard's game was disappointing. I was hoping against a weak opponent he'd be able to put together a nice game but he wasn't. We're working on some things for next game to hopefully improve his play.

The pass rush was on in this one. 6 sacks total made it so that Rutgers could never get in a rhythm. Vinny Houck led the team with 2 from the inside.

Walk-on CB's Jermaine Walters and Eugene Nixon (now on scholarship) have been solid contributors lately. Both are getting play at CB to help a struggling Wade Lake and Nixon has performed admirably since taking over the starting punt return duties.

We have this upcoming week off and then it's a home matchup with Arkansas State.

[alexr5111]