Bill Wagner, Navy football beat writer for Capital Gazette and The Sun, engaged in a question-and-answer exchange with Tim O’Malley of Irish Illustrated ahead of this week’s Navy-Notre Dame football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Below are the Irish Illustrated questions and Wagner’s responses.
Irish Illustrated: Navy’s defense will be on the spot Saturday against an Irish offense that isn’t in the sport’s top tier, but has clearly found its footing. What do the Mids do well defensively and why have they struggled in a few contests?
Bill Wagner: Navy’s defense has been solid ever since Brian Newberry took over as coordinator in 2019. When Newberry was promoted to head coach, he appointed top lieutenant P.J. Volker as coordinator and the schemes and philosophy have remained the same. The Mids ranked highly in most key statistical categories from 2019 through 2023. Navy plays an aggressive, unpredictable style of defense with lots of run and pass blitzing. In run defense, the Mids often disguise which players will be filling gaps. While the numbers are not as good as past seasons, the Navy defense has not really been that bad. Most of the season statistics are skewed by one disastrous performance against Memphis.
The Mids are coming off an impressive defensive performance in which the unit forced five turnovers. Newberry installed a “Get Six” mantra that awards points for three-and-outs, fourth down stops and takeaways. Navy has a 23-5 record whenever it reaches the “Get Six” goal. So far this season, the Mids have equaled or surpassed the “Get Six” in four of six games.
Who are a few players to watch defensively? Is there a Ram Vela or Alohi Gilman in the mix?
Navy’s best and most consistent defender is inside linebacker Colin Ramos. The New Jersey native led the team in tackles last season and is well on the way to doing so again this season. Ramos is a very instinctual player with great fundamentals and technique. He’s always where he is supposed to be and rarely misses tackles. Navy’s most talented defender is safety Ray Lane, who two years ago had the opportunity to transfer to Notre Dame or UCLA among other offers. Lane, who is considered an NFL prospect, is a real playmaker on the back end and a ball hawk. He had an interception and forced fumble against Charlotte, which is typical. His career statistics are 19 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles and seven interceptions.
In addition to the quarterback, who helps this Mids offense hum, and additionally what has made Blake Horvath an AAC MVP candidate?
Navy’s top playmakers are fullback Alex Tecza and slotback (now called snipe) Eli Heidenreich, who are both from Pittsburgh, have known each other since the first grade and were teammates at Mount Lebanon High. Both are very versatile weapons who can and will line up all over the field. Tecza is second on the squad in rushing with 306 yards and seven touchdowns. He had a 46-yard catch-and-run for a score against Charlotte, showing how he is utilized in the passing game. Heidenreich is the primary weapon in the passing game and leads Navy with 23 catches for 485 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging 21.1 yards per reception and 8.1 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Horvath has been a real revelation as no one expected him to perform at such a high level. He is making great decisions in terms of running the offense and distributing the ball to the various playmakers and he is not making mistakes. As the numbers clearly show, Horvath is making plays with both his arm and his feet. His improvement as a passer since last season is simply remarkable. He’s a very smart kid who understands the Wing-T system and how to operate it. Horvath has been outstanding and is having an amazing statistical season so far.
Brian Kelly once noted of Navy (albeit under Ken Niumatalolo) that “they have better adjustments for their offense than a defense can have for their offense.” Current defensive coordinator Al Golden might be the nation’s best at in-game adjustments. Has Navy been pressed enough to adjust when the initial, proven game-plan isn’t enough?
Yes, first-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic is a master at making adjustments. Cronic has spent more than 20 years developing his “millennial, hybrid” version of Wing-T offense, which features triple-option, run-pass option and even pro-style elements. Cronic has answers for whatever schemes a defensive coordinator might use. He has seen pretty much every tactic there is against the Wing-T and knows exactly how to counter. Cronic has proven a masterful play-caller who does certain things in the first quarter to set up different things in the fourth quarter. I doubt Al Golden is going to do anything defensively that Cronic has not seen before.
Does Navy have an offensive line that can keep the Irish front seven at bay?
Navy’s offensive line is playing at a high level and is a major reason why the Wing-T is putting up such impressive numbers. Cronic is employing more zone blocking schemes in the running game than the Mids have in the past and the linemen have adjusted well to that style. Navy’s offensive line was criticized as being the primary culprit the previous four seasons when the offense underperformed. It deserves credit for being the engine for this offense that ranks fourth nationally in points scored per game. Unlike past seasons, the offensive line is not committing pre-snap penalties or missing assignments. Navy ranks among the national leaders in fewest sacks and fewest tackles for loss allowed. It’s a veteran group with three seniors in left tackle Connor McMahon, center Brent Self and right tackle Javan Bouton. Four of the five linemen are returning starters.
Navy’s best path to victory is…
Everyone knows Navy must play an almost perfect game to beat Notre Dame. I think the Navy offense needs to do what it has been doing all season by putting up a bunch of points. That would put some pressure on the Fighting Irish to keep pace and one or two defensive stops might do the trick. It would be helpful if the Navy offense could possess the ball and take time off the clock. If the Navy defense could force a few turnovers that would be helpful as well. Navy absolutely cannot afford to commit turnovers of its own or costly mistakes.
Notre Dame wins without much fourth quarter angst if…
When Notre Dame punishes Navy by running the ball it usually wins this game. Navy takes pride in stopping the run and if the Notre Dame offensive line dominates at the point of attack and the ball carriers rip off big gains it will be demoralizing. Running the ball would also help the Irish in the time of possession battle and keeping this explosive offense of the Midshipmen off the field is certainly a wise strategy.
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.