Navy offense operating at high level right out of the gate
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2013 9:30 am | Updated: 1:33 pm, Mon Sep 16, 2013.
Navy’s triple-option offense requires communication, timing and precision. The quarterback must made the correct reads, the offensive line must work in concert and the ballhandling must be flawless.
Because there are so many moving parts, the offensive operation usually improves as the season goes along. In years past, it has been customary to see the Mids struggle early before hitting their stride after three or four games.
That Navy’s attack has come out of the gate clicking on all cylinders is downright scary. Quarterback Keenan Reynolds and company have exploded for 92 points and 1,104 total yards in two games, torching two pretty decent teams in Indiana and Delaware.
Reynolds has been the catalyst, a dual-threat trigger man who plays with poise and confidence. In just two games, Reynolds has amassed 236 yards rushing and 304 yards passing while accounting for five touchdowns.
The sophomore sensation showed off his strong, accurate arm in Saturday’s 51-7 rout of Delaware, completing 10 of 13 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. That was the most passing yards by a Navy quarterback since Brian Broadwater threw for 302 against Tulane in November 2000.
Navy has a strong receiving corps this year as Shawn Lynch, Casey Bolena, Matt Aiken and Brendan Dudeck all can get open and catch the ball. There are signs the Mids could be more productive passing the ball than ever before during the current triple-option era.
Reynolds rushed for 127 yards against Indiana and added another 109 versus Delaware, showing he is a dangerous threat when keeping the ball. He also has done a splendid job of reading defenses and distributing the ball, handling all aspects of what it takes to be a topnotch triple-option quarterback.
Play-calling is another critical element of being successful with an option attack. Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper has been at the top of his game so far this season. Jasper is becoming more and more like his mentor, Paul Johnson, in terms of staying two steps ahead of the opposition — making the Indiana and Delaware defensive coordinators look silly by countering everything they tried to do scheme-wise.
“We just try to take advantage of what we see,” Reynolds said. “We try to find an answer to every situation, and it just goes back to our great offensive staff. They set us up and put us in perfect position to make plays. We just try to execute.”
Navy’s slotbacks have been nothing short of sensational, with the top three of Geoffrey Whiteside, Darius Staten and DeBrandon Sanders posting superb statistics so far. That trio has teamed up to total 544 yards between rushing and receiving. With just 30 runs and seven catches, those three slots have averaged an eye-popping 14.7 yards per touch.
Both Indiana and Delaware seemed intent on stopping the fullback, so starter Chris Swain and backup Noah Copeland have just 89 rushing yards between them. Swain has shown he’s capable of breaking long runs while Copeland is effective between the tackles so the Mids can have success inside if opponents start committing more defenders to the perimeter.
Of course, the foundation for all this offensive success has been the offensive line, which has done an outstanding job so far. You don’t average 552 yards per game without controlling the line of scrimmage and the unit comprised of left tackle Bradyn Heap, left guard Thomas Stone, center Tanner Fleming, right guard Jake Zuzek and right tackle Graham Vickers has come together and shown superb chemistry early.
For Navy fans and supporters, it’s hard not to be excited about what has happened and there’s the potential that things will get even better as the season goes along.
“If we keep playing like this, then big things are going to happen,” Sanders said.
bwagner@capgaznews.com
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