Spring football practice is an exercise in time utilization. Teams have 29 days to fit in 15 practices, with NCAA-mandated restrictions every step of the way.
At Navy, a school better suited to handle the structure of spring football than most, coach Paul Johnson knew well ahead of time that Monday wouldn’t be a practice day. The Midshipmen had an appointment to keep — at the White House.
For the first time since President Ronald Reagan’s early years in office, Navy met with the president as winner of the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy. Before capturing the trophy last year with wins over Air Force and Army, the Mids hadn’t won the service academy competition since 1981.
But the team didn’t view the meeting with President Bush as simply a reward for last year’s turnaround season. It was motivation the Mids could carry through the final week of spring practice, through today’s Blue-Gold game and into the fall.
“We want to go back next year to see who’s in office, to see if we’re meeting a new president or the same one again.” safety Josh Smith said. “But for the seniors this was a great way to go out, a great reward to end their careers. For the rest of us, it just makes us want to go back.”
Johnson will get an idea today how the Mids have adapted to the loss of seven graduated starters. The most notable new face will be that of quarterback Aaron Polanco, who replaces two-year starter Craig Candeto. Polanco has one year to leave his mark on the Navy football program after serving as Candeto’s backup and watching him emerge as one of the program’s all-time great quarterbacks.
Polanco has played in 16 games, most notably as a sophomore when he replaced the injured Candeto against Notre Dame. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw two interceptions in the Mids’ 30-23 loss.
Polanco’s athleticism is on par if not better than Candeto’s, according to Johnson. But Candeto’s intangibles and toughness kept him ahead of Polanco the past two years.
“I think Aaron might be as good an athlete as anyone we’ve had here at quarterback as far as being able to run and throw,” Johnson said. “If he’s able to make good decisions, I think he will be awfully good.”
Polanco beat out rising junior Lamar Owens for the top spot, and the closest quarterback competition may be between Owens and rising sophomores Eddie Martin and Brian Hampton for the primary backup role.
Hampton was moved to slotback early last year and made an impact in his freshman season returning kickoffs. After Johnson promised him a chance at the quarterback competition this spring, he displayed an impressive arm but has been slightly behind running Johnson’s triple-option offense.
The Mids lost a pair of key offensive linemen, but a number of potential successors emerged late last season. Injuries forced rising senior Casey Hughes and rising junior Marshall Green into starting roles and rising senior August Roitsch returns after suffering a season-ending foot injury in the fourth game of the year.
Navy’s secondary lost two starters but also saw rising sophomores Keenan Little and DuJuan Price play key reserve roles. The talented pair of youngsters are slated to start with the first team defense today. Another rising sophomore, David Mahoney, was among the most productive freshmen last season and will be called upon to help replace graduated co-captain Eddie Carthan.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good idea where the depth sits,” Johnson said. “But guys can always turn your head on Saturday.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.