Navy Sports Central

New Football Season, New Look: The Hybrid Wing-T Era Begins at Navy

• Episode 67

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Can Navy football overcome last season's scoring struggles with their new Hybrid Wing-T offense? Join me, Karl Darden, as we break down Navy's home opener against Bucknell in their first meeting in nearly a century.

We’ll take an in depth look at some of the key players on both sides of the ball and check out how the Navy offense executed Coach Cronic's new scheme.

 The defense turned in another strong performance, looking to build on last year.  You’ll get a glimpse into the key moments and player performances that defined the game and we'll also hear some of your comments.  

We've got all of that plus our Question of the Day and Mid Watch segments, so please, join us!

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We want your answer to our Question of the Day. Here is the one for this episode:
Since 2002, what is the most number of years in a row that Navy has won their first game of the season, either at home or on the road?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6

You can answer by sending us a text message using the link at the top of the show notes. I'll also post the question on our group Facebook Page.

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Music is provided courtesy of Audio Jungle. Artists featured in order:

  • Seven In Music (Intro)
  • Alexiaction (Deep Dive)
  • Cinematic Alex (Closeout Music)

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Karl:

Hi everybody, my name is Karl Darden and I'd like to welcome and thank all of you for joining us today on Navy Sports Central. I'm your host and this is the official podcast of the Navy Sports Nation, where we take a deeper dive into Navy sports. It has been over eight and a half months since the Navy football team's final podcast of the Navy Sports Nation, where we take a deeper dive into Navy sports. It has been over eight and a half months since the Navy football team's final game of the 2023 season. We all know what that result was and I'm not kidding you when I tell you it still stings a little. But next year has finally arrived and in this edition of Navy Sports Central, we'll take an in-depth look at the Mids home opener against Bucknell. In fact, we're going to try a little experiment in this episode's deep dive segment. I talked a little bit about it on the Navy Sports Nation group Facebook page, so we're going to see how all that works out. We've got all that, plus our question of the day and the athletes we'll be tracking in our Midwatch segment, so please stick around. All right, it is great to have you with us today as we get ready for another season of Navy football. So, whether you follow the show or this is your first visit, thanks for taking the time. Let's go ahead and get right into it.

Karl:

I don't know how much you all knew about the team Navy faced in their first game, and that would be Bucknell, and it is a program that Navy is very familiar with in just about every other sport except football. As fellow competitors in the Patriot League, the Mids and the Bisons square off against each other in at least 16 different sports. But because Navy competes at the Division I level in football, the two teams have not crossed paths that often. In fact, the last time they faced each other, calvin Coolidge was president, charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous actors in the country and there are only 48 states the year was 1925, and the Mids won that contest 13-7. Saturday was the 15th meeting between the two programs, so let's see how they matched up head-to-head.

Karl:

We can start with the point spread Now. Navy was favored, which we should all have expected, but the line was 32.5 points 32.5. Now, granted, bucknell is not as strong an FCS program as, say, like Delaware, or even North Dakota State, who almost beat Colorado, but I'd be very curious to know how the oddsmakers landed on that number. Don't get me wrong. It's great that the betting gurus thought so highly of the mids, even though they entered the game with so many questions on offense. But we hadn't seen this new hybrid wing tee offense in real time. And if you factor into that, you know first game jitters and an opponent who wasn't making the trip to Annapolis just to get embarrassed, 32 and a half points seemed like a lot. And then, going back to last year, the mids averaged just over 17 and a half points a game. So with an offense that was sight unseen, the folks in Vegas were saying that this new system could at least double the team's point production against this FCS opponent. I just don't know if I could have gone out on that limb, but I will say that I'm 100% okay with being wrong on this one.

Karl:

All right, now let's take a look at who we saw on both sides of the ball. Obviously, blake Horvath got the start at quarterback. I don't think that came as much of a surprise. Horvath has done a solid job learning Coach Kronick's system going back to the spring, and that continued into the preseason practices. His passing has gotten a lot more accurate. He's making good decisions with the football and he's got good running instincts. We'll get into how he did a little bit later.

Karl:

Moving on to the all-important offensive line, that group, you all saw, was led by senior Connor McMahon at left tackle. He is extremely durable, having started in each of the team's last 22 games. Mcmahon is joined by his classmates Brent Self at center and Javon Boughton at right tackle. Junior Ben Purvis will be at the left guard, while sophomore Cam Nichols earned the starting job at right guard. Just like any other offensive scheme, the hybrid wing tee's success will depend on how well the offensive line can execute consistently on each play.

Karl:

Last season, pre-snap penalties resulted in the mids getting behind the sticks early and they had a tough time digging themselves out of that hole. That lack of discipline drove both the coaching staff and the fans crazy. In their best seasons the offense had several games where they might have gotten flagged for maybe five or ten yards a game. Last year we saw them get hit with at least three or four pre-snap penalties each contest. As a whole, navy averaged 46 yards in penalties per game, which was nearly twice as much as their opponents. That just can't happen anymore if they want to have a winning season. So we'll break down how things went in this game and see if there's any adjustments that need to be made.

Karl:

Now let's talk about the one position that underwent a name change. The Navy slotbacks, or the A-backs, are now called snipes. So you've got a snipe A and a snipe Z, and even though they have the same name, their responsibilities aren't necessarily the same. Eli Heidenreich is currently the starter at the snipe Z position. He goes at six feet 201 pounds. Cronic mentioned mentioned in his last interview that he likes to have someone a little longer and heavier at the snipe Z position because he'll be asked to do some things that the other snipe doesn't have to do. But no matter what, they both have to be playmakers and Heidenreich definitely has that going for him. Last year, he averaged nearly 8 yards per carry, including a 46-yard TD early in the season. He also did a lot of damage catching the ball, co-leading the team in receptions with 19. He also led the team in total yards with 382, and the average yards per catch coming in just at about 21. His counterpart at the snipe A position is Brandon Chatman, who is also a legitimate threat In 2023, he averaged over 13 yards per catch and matched Heidenreich's 19 receptions on the season, while gaining nearly four yards per carry running the ball. So in our deep dive segment we'll check out how Coach Cronic used these guys against Bucknell. And keep in mind, in this hybrid wing tee, this game is designed to be played on the perimeter, so you've got to figure that the snipes are going to have a pretty big role in this scheme.

Karl:

Now let's see who we've got at the wide receiver and tight end positions. Those of you who follow the show should be very familiar with Nathan Kent. His mom, Maura, has been a guest on a couple of occasions. According to Coach Cronic, Nathan did a nice job in preseason practices and I'm really looking forward to seeing if he gets targeted more this year, because when that guy gets the ball in his hands, good things usually happen. We also saw sophomore Luke Hutchinson on the field at wide receiver Last week. Horvath specifically mentioned him in an interview as someone to watch this year. And then, finally, cron Myers and Turner Stepp, who is a converted linebacker, are also listed on the depth chart at wide receiver.

Karl:

At the tight end position, Cody Howard earned the number one spot during the preseason practices Last year. We kept waiting to see how this position would be folded into the offense under Coach Chestnut. That never really materialized, though, and I'm not exactly sure what Coach Cronic has in mind for these guys, but maybe this first game gave us somewhat of an indicator. Now, at fullback, we've got two known quantities in Alex Tecza and Senior Captain Daba Fofana. Tecza did lead the team in rushing last season, but most of those yards came earlier in the year. Either the defense kept focusing more on the fullback starting in November or the play calling went in a completely different direction. Either way, it was not a good result. The Mids have way too much talent at this position to let it go to waste, and I don't see Coach Cronic letting that happen. All right, that pretty much covers the offense.

Karl:

Certainly, there are a lot of questions surrounding this new system, and in our deep dive segment, we'll see how many of them got answered against Bucknell. Now, even though there might be some questions on offense, as far as the defensive side of the ball goes, there shouldn't be that many. I am very confident in the Navy defense's ability to keep things close, even against some of their tougher opponents. The Mids put up three shutouts last year. They fielded a pretty young team and even though that relative experience did show up against teams like Notre Dame and SMU, I really think they'll be that much better because of that experience that they had. So let's check out who was on the field against the Bison.

Karl:

On the defensive line, you had Justin Reed at left end coming off a pretty solid year. Lendon Robinson took over at nose guard after Donald Brainyard aka Biscuit graduated last spring, and then Kendall Whiteside is on Robinson's right at the defensive tackle position. The linebacker core is anchored by senior captain Colin Ramos at one of the inside linebacker spots, and then Jackson Campbell got the start at striker. Luke Pires, who had a terrific breakout season last fall, played the Raider position, and Kyle Jacob is at the Mike linebacker spot. The defensive secondary took the field with three seniors, and BT Williams plays at the bandit position, deshaun Peel is at boundary corner and Rayuan Lane is at free safety. The field corner position will be played by sophomore Ira Oniha. With the exception of Oniha, the rest of the defense saw significant playing time in Coach Volker's system. As a result, they've come to trust each other, and that is super critical for a defense to function well as a unit.

Karl:

I got to tell you I'm really fired up about watching them play this year. Obviously, they'll face bigger challenges than Bucknell, but I think they'll be up for it. We could actually be in store for a pretty special season if they can stay healthy. Let's go ahead and finish up with the special teams. Nathan Kirkwood will start the year handling field goals and extra points. Senior Riley Reithman is the punter and he's also on a couple of preseason watch lists. And then, finally, heidenreich Chapman and Tyler Bradley will take care of returning kickoffs and punts. So that is a look at the Navy 2024 football team.

Karl:

When we come back for our deep dive segment, I'll break down how they did against Bucknell, so don't go anywhere. All right, we are back to take a look at what I would call a solid 49-21 win for the Mids in their home opener. Before I get to it, though, I did want to jump back to that point spread. At game time it had jumped back to 33 points from 32.5. And I'll be honest with you when I saw it the other day, I thought whoever set those odds were smoking a crack or something, because I just didn't really think that there was any reason to favor the mids by that much, but I'll be darned if they didn't pretty much get it right. The mids by that much, but I'll be darned if they didn't pretty much get it right. The mids were up by 35 with less than about 30 seconds to go and Bucknell just happened to punch it in for a touchdown on that last drive. So I hope there weren't too many of you who picked the mids to cover, even though they probably should have.

Karl:

I mean, this game is a prime example of why I don't bet on sports. One minute it looks like you're going to win a bunch of big bucks and then in the next second it just all disappears. So no thanks. I did get one text message during the game and that came from my classmate Ginger Rice and Ginger's down in Raleigh, north Carolina, which, coincidentally, I used to live. But anyway, I'll go ahead and read it for you and then I'll make my comments as well. So Ginger says watching the game and really enjoying A few comments Too many penalties, especially on the chop blocks, and obviously we need to work on that.

Karl:

Passing game looks pretty good. Nice block on the field goal attempt. Obviously Bucknell is not a very strong team, but I think we look a lot better than last year, and certainly that's true, especially if you go ahead and compare apples to apples, because I remember last year when the Mids played Wagner yeah, they did win the game 24-0, but it was kind of an uneven performance. The offense didn't look all that smooth, but they did tack on one final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Defense played great, you know, shutting them out, but certainly on offense the team was a lot more productive and a lot more efficient than they were against the FCS opponent last year. So, ginger, thanks so much for the text message and you are spot on when it comes to the penalties. I had a chance to look at that a little bit. The mids were penalized seven times for 55 yards, including those two illegal chop blocks that you mentioned, and then you had another one for holding and one false start. The other three were defensive offside. So clearly there's a lot to clean up there, and that has to happen before we face Temple, otherwise it could be a real long afternoon.

Karl:

Now we can go ahead and work our way through the game, and what I did was I had my phone out and I was basically just kind of making some comments here and there, just so I could remember what I wanted to talk about. And I can tell you, after the first I don't know four or five minutes of game time, I'm just like thinking, oh my God, here we go again Because you know, because kickoff goes out of bounds, right, and then they got the Bison on the third and six and there's the miscommunication on defense that resulted in that first TD. I mean, that guy couldn't have been more wide open. There was not even a defender in the screen. So now they're down, seven, nothing. They get the ball back and then bam three and out, just like that. And the first thing that popped into my mind was here we go. It's Delaware all over again from two years ago.

Karl:

And luckily that didn't turn out to be the case, because once you kind of started getting into the game itself, you could see the defense getting into their rhythm right. And I don't know, maybe with about five or six minutes to go in the first quarter I got the sense that the defense was pretty much in sync and I just didn't think that the Bison would give them many more problems the rest of the way, and that's pretty much what happened they were held to 160 yards, passing the rest of the afternoon, and a good chunk of those came in that very last drive, when the game was already decided. The Navy defense allowed basically 3.4 yards per carry on the ground, and then they also rung up seven tackles for a loss and four sacks. On top of that, they forced two turnovers that led to a couple of touchdowns on offense. So as far as I'm concerned, the mids pretty much did what we all expected on defense, and I'll go ahead and highlight a couple of the individual standouts a little bit later on.

Karl:

Now, moving over to the offense, obviously there was a lot of anticipation around Coach Cronic's new scheme, and the one thing that I noticed almost right away was the emphasis on attacking the perimeter, which is the whole idea behind this hybrid wing tee. I actually lost track of how many jet sweeps the mids ran, and most of them were pretty effective, especially when they ran to the right. Horvath also picked up good yards when he followed the fullbacks on a similar play. The bottom line was that phase of the run game worked pretty well and we saw the kind of impact a player like Eli Heidenreich can have. That touchdown he scored in the third quarter was just a really nice piece of running. I knew the guy had speed but I didn't realize that he was so shifty, especially in traffic, and his partner, brandon Chapman, at the other snipe position, had a big play on that screen pass that went for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Karl:

Now, when I went through the depth chart in the previous segment I mentioned that both Heidenreich and Chapman were playmakers and they certainly lived up to their reputations. In this first game the two of them accounted for 170 of the team's 437 yards on offense. The other thing I wanted to mention on the offensive side of the ball was the mids' ability to extend the drives. Other thing I wanted to mention on the offensive side of the ball was the mids' ability to extend the drives. Last year their third down efficiency was just horrible and I don't remember where they ranked in the FBS, but it was not good. But against Bucknell they converted on 10 of 17 third down opportunities and also they were one for one on fourth downs. So certainly a huge improvement there in game one. Obviously that's not a big data set, but hopefully they'll continue to improve on that as the season goes on. So from here let's go ahead and talk about the quarterback play. I mean there's no way we can break down a game without looking at that and overall I thought it was pretty decent.

Karl:

Blake Horvath did a nice job running things. I did wince just a little bit when I saw him miss a wide-open Heidenreich in the end zone in the second quarter, but to his credit he came right back to him on the very next play and he threw a really nice pass. I mean it was much tougher to execute than the previous one. He dropped it in right over the defender and Heidenreich went up there and got it. So that was a nice job. Horvath has shown that he can make the throws and now he just needs to be more consistent.

Karl:

Braxton Woodson also ran the offense pretty well after Horvath had to leave the game in the second half due to leg cramps. You know, the first thing I noticed when he started throwing the ball was comparing how both he and Horvath delivered. I mean, there is definitely less reaction time when Woodson is throwing it to you, and I'm sure that the receivers have to get their minds right when he comes in, because that ball is going to get there very, very quickly. Anyway, it was a very productive day for Horvath. He was 7 of 12 through the air for 108 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He also ran for 33 yards on 7 carries. Woodson completed 3 of 7 for 65 yards and the 1 TD to Heidenreich that I had mentioned earlier.

Karl:

No-transcript. I didn't want to forget about the fullbacks. Both Daba Fofana and Alex Tecza were really tough running the ball and they also made some outstanding blocks in front of Horvath on a couple of those runs around the right side. I did think it was pretty funny that the guys calling the game took so long to realize that it was Fofana that scored that first touchdown instead of Tecza. I know that the numbers 45 and 46 are pretty close and it's easy to mix them up, but they didn't catch that mistake until Tecza scored early in the second quarter and it was actually pretty obvious that somebody had to point it out to him. I mean, they didn't catch it on their own. So anyway, I just had to throw that in.

Karl:

Let's jump back to the defense real quick and I wanted to specifically address how the Mids did on their Get Six goal that Coach Newberry established when he got here five years ago. And just to refresh your memories, get Six means that any combination of three and outs, holding a team on fourth down or turnovers that total six or more, the mids usually have a pretty good chance of winning the game. So, looking at this game against Bucknell, the mids came up with two turnovers and both of those actually led to touchdowns, and they forced four, three and outs, as well as holding the Bison on fourth down twice. So that comes to a total of eight, which serves to validate Coach Newberry's theory. Once again, Colin Ramos and Jaxson Campbell led the team with 10 tackles each, and Luke Pirres had one and a half sacks and recovered a fumble that led to a touchdown.

Karl:

I swear that guy's got a crazy nose for the ball. I mean, every time it's up for grabs he always seems to be around it and he, along with the rest of the defense, made it just a miserable day for Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker. After that first drive, rucker didn't look like he was having a whole lot of fun, and I'm hoping that there are quite a few more opposing quarterbacks who get that same feeling when they go up against this defense. The one area that makes me a little bit nervous is special teams. They got that nice block on the field goal attempt, so that was good, and I actually thought the Mids were pretty good returning kickoffs and punts as well, but on the coverage side, they gave up a 52-yard kickoff return and then another one of 29 yards to go along with a punt return of 24 yards, so I know they can't be too happy about that. It's an easy fix, though, because all they need to do is just wrap up the guy and bring him to the ground, rather than thinking that the hit alone is going to be enough. So, overall, this game went the way I hoped that it would.

Karl:

The offense took a couple of series to find its rhythm, but you can definitely see the difference in Coach Cronic's system compared to the triple option that we'd gotten so familiar with over the past 20 years. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out, but it was nice to see the offense put up 28 points in the first half. I mean, that hasn't happened since the Mids beat Tulsa a couple of years ago 53-21, and they scored 36 by halftime in that game. But we all saw how much of a struggle it was for the team to score last year, and it was just kind of nice to see, once they got on track how the offense started to flow. That said, you can bet that the coaches are going to be honed in on reducing those mental errors in practice this week. They didn't cost the team too much in this game, but there's little doubt that similar mistakes against conference opponents could be the difference between celebrating a win or stewing over a loss. Right now it's all about incremental improvement, and if the mids can do that, they've got a good shot against Temple next week We'll be right back.

Karl:

Thanks for staying with us on Navy Sports Central, Karl Darden, here with you. And now it's time for our question of the day. Let's go ahead and check out the responses from the one on our last episode. You may recall that Coach Keith Puryear from the women's tennis team joined me to talk about their terrific championship season. And here's the question I put out there what is the longest home match winning streak for the Navy women's tennis team in dual meets? Is it A 11, b 17, c 20, or D 23? It looks like the highest vote getter was C 20 matches. 67% of those who responded went with that number. 17% chose A 11, followed by 16% who selected B, and that was 17 matches. There were no takers on D, which was 23 matches, and actually that turned out to be the correct answer. The Mids began that home match winning streak on February 2nd 2013, and they didn't lose another one for the rest of the year. In fact, it stretched into the following season before they finally dropped a close match to James Madison on February 8th 2014. So thanks to all of you who answered that question, and I wanted to give a special shout out to my classmate, tom Callahan, who responded by texting the show directly.

Karl:

The company that hosts my podcast is always coming up with cool ways to increase engagement, and I really like this one, because it's a chance to get your thoughts about the game and include them in the show. So don't be shy. I'd love to hear from you. Now let's look at the question for this episode. Those of you who watched the Navy Bucknell game heard that the win over the Bison was the first time since 2019 that the Mids had won their opening game of the season. So here's the question, going back to 2002, when Coach Johnson took over the program what was the most number of years in a row that Navy's won their first game of the season, either at home or on the road? Is it A of the season, either at home or on the road? Is it A 3, b, 4, c, 5, or D 6? Take some time to think about that one and you can get back to me either by texting the show or going to the Navy Sports Nation group Facebook page. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say on that one.

Karl:

Okay, before we finish up, I did want to pass along the names of the athletes we will be tracking throughout the fall in our mid-watch segment. For the women, it will be Amanda Graziano. She is a senior who plays both forward and midfield position for the women's soccer team. Amanda started 15 games last year and finished tied for fourth on the team in points. This season. She's off to a pretty quick start, picking up two goals and an assist through five games. Her ability to play two positions gives coach Karen Gabarra some really nice options, so I'm looking forward to the impact that Graciano is going to have throughout the year.

Karl:

For the men, we'll focus on the sprint football team and we're going to cover two guys named Luke. One is a sophomore who will take over at quarterback. His name is Luke O'Connell and he's from Darien, Connecticut. He takes over for Brandon Atwood, who graduated last spring after a great career at Navy. The other player we're going to be watching is Luke Wagner. He is a senior running back from Edmond Oklahoma. Last season, Wagner gained 220 yards, while averaging over seven yards per carry. He was part of a consistent rushing attack that helped take the Mids to their third straight college sprint football championship. We'll see how they do this year as they try for a fourth one. That's going to do it for this edition of Navy Sports Central.

Karl:

Thank you all so much for joining us Now. If you like what you've heard, please be sure to hit that follow button wherever you get your podcasts, and remember to get the word to all the other Navy fans out there. Once again, I'd like to thank Ginger Rice and Tom Callahan for texting into the show. I think we can really have a lot of fun with that. Now that the football season has started.

Karl:

Our question of the day continues to be a show favorite. You can get in on that by joining the Navy Sports Nation group Facebook page and giving your answer to this week's question. You can also respond by sending us a text. All you need to do is click on the link in the show notes. And just a quick reminder the views expressed on Navy Sports Central are my own and do not reflect those of the US Naval Academy or Navy Athletics. By the way, the music used in Navy Sports Central comes to you courtesy of Audio Jungle. This is a great site for purchasing the rights to use the music from thousands of artists around the world, and those featured in the podcast will be credited in our show notes. Talk to you soon, everybody. Until next time. This is Karl Darden Go Navy Beat Army.

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