STRENGTHS
Even though the Midshipmen will throw more this season, with the shift to the flexbone offense, they must allow enough carries for junior tailback Gene Reese and senior FB Raheem Lambert, both of whom have a great deal of ability. You'll see plenty of quick passes out of four- and five-WR sets, but Navy won't forget about the option.
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Midshipmen at a glance
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2001 schedule
Aug. 30 at Temple
Sept. 8 vs. Georgia Tech
Sept. 15 at Northwestern
Sept. 22 vs. Boston College
Oct. 6 vs. Air Force
Oct. 13 vs. Rice
Oct. 20 at Rutgers
Oct. 27 at Toledo
Nov. 10 vs. Tulane
Nov. 17 at Notre Dame
Dec. 1 vs. Army
2000 results (1-10)
Temple L 17-6
at Georgia Tech L 40-13
at Boston College L 48-7
TCU L 24-0
at Air Force L 27-13
Notre Dame L 45-14
Rutgers L 28-21
Toledo L 35-14
at Tulane L 50-38
Wake Forest L 49-26
Army W 30-28
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The key with Lambert is remaining at full strength. Last year he was bothered by a shoulder injury. Reese, besides his running skills, also has the ability to factor in heavily as a pass-receiving option. Wideouts Chandler Sims, Dominic Bailey and Jeff Gaddy have yet to be featured but show some promise.
Chandler has good size (6-4, 210 pounds), while Bailey (5-9, 161) provides speed and big-play potential. By the way, Mark Hudspeth -- who was brought in this year by Charlie Weatherbie to run Navy's offense -- was the coordinator last season at Division II champion Delta State.
Defensively, the Middies are shifting to a 4-3 under new coordinator Rick Lantz, who comes to Annapolis after spending the past 10 years in the same position under George Welsh at Virginia. The strength of the defense figures to be the linebacking corps, led by talented 6-2, 233-pound senior OLB Ryan Hamilton.
QUESTIONABLE AREAS
The Midshipmen not only will be adjusting to a new offensive system but also enter fall practice with a QB situation that's up in the air. The outlook would improve significantly if Brian Madden were able to work his way back into the lineup early in the season. Right now, though, his status is uncertain; he missed all of last season plus spring practice with a knee injury.
With Madden still out, Ed Malinowski and Craig Candeto are battling for the starting job. Up front, the Middies must restructure the entire offensive line. Only senior center Brian Schultz (6-0, 287) has seen a decent amount of playing time. Defensively, the front four needs a consistent difference-maker to emerge; and the secondary, which returns three starters, has to upgrade its performance level.
Overview: Charlie Weatherbie led the Midshipmen to winning seasons in '96 and '97, but over the past three years, they have gone 3-8, 5-7 and 1-10. To reverse the trend, the Middies must adapt quickly to new systems on both sides of the ball. The September schedule doesn't allow any margin for error, and the season opener at Temple on Aug. 30 is against a significantly improved Owl squad that has a legitimate chance at a winning campaign.
The last thing the Middies need is uncertainty at the QB position, but due to Madden's injury status, this is unavoidable. They also hope that FB Lambert remains at full strength the entire season. In addition, it will be interesting to see how quickly the wideouts adjust to the new offense and whether the QB is able to get the football to Sims, Gaddy and Bailey. Gaining cohesion along the completely restructured offensive line will be critical as well.
