Navy offensive coordinator Drew Cronic will argue that quarterback may be the most important position in all of sports. He believes it’s difficult for football teams at any level to win with someone who’s a leader and a playmaker.
“It’s almost unfair how much pressure is put on that position to perform,” Cronic said recently.
There is no doubt Saturday’s 125th Army-Navy Game could come down to which of the two quarterbacks plays better. The Black Knights boast an accomplished veteran in senior Bryson Daily, who has put together a dream season. The Midshipmen counter with junior Blake Horvath, a first-year starter who was posting impressive numbers before suffering an injury.
Daily was named American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,480 yards and 29 touchdowns, latter of which is tied with Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty for the national lead. Army employs primarily power option schemes featuring the quarterback and fullback running between the tackles. Daily defined that mentality with his hard-nosed running style, routinely bowling over would-be tacklers and rarely being knocked backward.
“Bryson’s had such a big hand in our success. He epitomizes the toughness and intensity with which we want our team to play,” Army coach Jeff Monken. “He’s never looking for the sideline, he’s always looking to gain extra yards.”
Daily is clearly the focal point of the Army offense and is averaging 24 carries per game and 6 yards per carry, a key reason why the Black Knights are routinely in third-and-short situations.
Horvath has taken a beating this season while leading Navy with 133 rushing attempts, just under half the number amassed by Daily (264).
“[Daily] is a tough, hard-nosed kid. I know how difficult it is to run the ball 260 times a season and the toll it takes on your body, so a lot of respect,” Horvath said earlier this week.
Horvath leads Navy in rushing with 895 yards and 13 touchdowns and has done a good job passing as well, completing almost 59% of attempts for 1,154 yards and 11 scores. He was well on the way to posting impressive season statistics before sustaining a rib injury.
Horvath had subpar performances in losses to Notre Dame and Rice, then was in the game for just 11 plays before aggravating the injury against Tulane. He sat out the East Carolina contest to rest and recover.
Monken campaigned for Daily to be invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony and was disappointed when he was not named a finalist. Coach Brian Newberry pointed out that Horvath was being mentioned as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate after leading Navy to a 6-0 start fueled by an explosive offense.
While Daily is a Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Year finalist, Horvath did not even earn honorable mention All-AAC.
“Had Blake been healthy the entire season, some of the same things could have been said about him. In fact, the numbers may have been even better,” Newberry said in reference to all the accolades Dailey has received. “They’re both phenomenal players and are well suited for what each team does offensively. Blake is a perfect fit for what we do offensively and Bryson Daily is a perfect fit for what they do. They’re both very talented quarterbacks and tremendous competitors.”
If college football analysts did a position-by-position breakdown of this year’s Army-Navy Game matchup, they would likely give the Black Knights an edge at quarterback. That would be based as much on what Daily’s accomplished as the uncertainty of Horvath’s health.
Bye weeks on each side of the East Carolina game mean Horvath’s had almost a full month to heal up. He’s been a full participant in practice this week and appears fully recovered.
“I feel really good right now. The time off definitely helped,” Horvath said after Monday’s practice. “Maybe the first practice there might have been some rust, but I’ve had a lot of time to get ready for this game. I’m beyond excited to get out there and play on Saturday.”
Horvath has not been as accurate throwing the ball since suffering the rib injury, which also causes periodic back spams. Newberry acknowledged as much a couple weeks ago when asked if the injury has impacted the quarterback’s passing.
“Sure, without a doubt. You think about the mechanics of throwing the football and factor in some rib issues … that makes it tough, especially on longer throws,” Newberry said.
Offensive coordinator Cronic has closely monitored Horvath’s movements in practice as both a runner and passer the past two weeks. He believes Horvath is fully healthy and operating at a high level.
“Honestly, I think Blake is perfectly fine health-wise. He’s making all the throws and looks comfortable doing so,” Cronic said Monday night. “Blake looks good and I’m excited to have him leading our offense in this game.”
While acknowledging the play of both quarterbacks will be critical to the outcome, Cronic said it would be silly to paint this year’s Army-Navy Game matchup as a battle between Bryson Daily and Blake Horvath because they are not on the field at the same time.
Cronic said it’s imperative the Navy skill position players such as fullback Alex Tecza and Eli Heidenreich make plays with the ball and for the offensive line to create openings for the ground game.
Meanwhile, it’s up to the Navy defense to find a way to stop Daily and the Army offense.
“Blake just has to be Blake, and that’s pretty good. When Blake plays well, he’s pretty darn sporty,” Cronic said.
Daily said Army watched tape of the Navy offense almost every week to see how it was defended by conference opponents. He came way impressed with Horvath, calling him “a really good player” who has enjoyed “an incredible season.”
Monken described Horvath as a difference-maker for Navy, praising his decision-making and ability to spread the ball around to the various playmakers.
Daily made his Army-Navy Game debut last season, rushing for 84 yards on 27 carries and completing 7 of 14 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He came away impressed by the Midshipmen on defense, praising the way they “swarmed the ball and were really physical.”
Horvath will get his first taste of the rivalry, having not seen any varsity action as a freshman and sustaining a season-ending injury midway through his sophomore season. He knows Navy quarterbacks are judged largely by their ability to beat Army and cited such standouts as Keenan Reynolds and Malcolm Perry for performing well on that big stage.
“It is a completely different atmosphere, but we’ve played in a lot of big games this season and I feel ready for this moment,” Horvath said. “I’ve just got to take care of the ball, make the right reads and run the offense the way I know how. I don’t need to press or try to do anything out of the ordinary. I just have to make plays and not make mistakes.”
Horvath is counting on the Navy defense to stuff Army and get the ball back to the offense. He has spent the last two weeks studying the Black Knights’ defense and cannot control what Daily does on the other side of the ball.
“It’s not me against Bryson Daily. It’s Navy versus Army. They’ve got a great offense led by Bryson. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by a great offense as well,” he said. “There are 10 other guys out there and if the linemen aren’t blocking and the skill position guys aren’t making plays, we can’t do our jobs as quarterbacks.”
Have a news tip? Contact Bill Wagner at bwagner@capgaznews.com, 443-534-0102 and x.com/@BWagner_CapGaz.
125th Army-Navy Game
Saturday, 3 p.m.
at Northwest Stadium, Landover
TV: CBS
Radio: 1430 AM
Line: Army by 6 1/2