The Navy football team finished the 2021 season 4-8, but head coach Ken Niumatalolo believes the Midshipmen were a little better than their record indicated.
Navy lost to Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston and Southern Methodist by one score. Cincinnati ended up earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. Houston finished the season at No. 17 in the Associated Press top-25 poll. SMU won eight games and ECU won seven.
Still, Navy entered its season finale against Army at 3-8 and needing a win to salvage a season of close calls. The Mids did just that, beating the Black Knights, 17-13, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The victory not only marked Navy’s second in three years in the rivalry but also gave the Mids a lift heading into the offseason.
“Beating Army like we did, it just reaffirmed what I thought — you know what, we’re not far off,” Niumatalolo said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 26. “It’s not horseshoes or anything. If it’s close, you’re still trying to win. It just reaffirmed we’re not far off. We have a lot of young guys that played a lot last year. This time last year, we didn’t even know who our quarterback was. … It’s totally different now.”
Navy definitely knows who its quarterback is now. It’s Tai Lavatai, the 6-foot-2, 221-pound junior out of St. John’s, Fla. He started 10 games last year, rushing for 371 yards and seven touchdowns while directing the triple-option attack. He threw for 449 yards and five touchdowns on 55.7 percent passing as well.
Niumatalolo was especially impressed by how Lavatai handled himself in the Army game. Lavatai ran for 62 yards and two scores on 20 carries and completed four passes for 82 yards. Lavatai has gotten the majority of the reps in practice this summer, according to Niumatalolo.
“The confidence is definitely there. If you can operate in the Army-Navy game, to me that’s always been the litmus test,” Niumatalolo said. “I’ve seen some of our great quarterbacks play tight in that game and play a little nervous. He was clear-minded, knew exactly what was going on, had low blood pressure during that game. I was just like, ‘Wow.’ If you can play in that game with a clear mind, with your wits about you, there’s no game with more pressure than that game. I think it gave him great confidence into the offseason.”
Though Navy returns its quarterback, it did lose its defensive leader in linebacker Diego Fagot, who made 282 tackles (35.5 for loss) during a four-year career in Annapolis. Senior striker John Marshall, a native of Highland, Md., and graduate of Gonzaga, was voted a captain by his teammates ahead of the season and will take the leadership mantle from Fagot on the defensive side of the ball.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Marshall made 54 tackles (3.5 for loss) in 2021.
“I’ve been really impressed with him,” Niumatalolo said. “I feel like he had a really good spring practice, a really good offseason where he led by example, was a vocal leader. Come back to camp, has done a great job at camp, so I’ve been pleased with him there. Just been really excited with the way he’s played.”
Ultimately, Niumatalolo is excited to see if the Mids can build off that Army victory and put together their first winning season in three years. Niumatalolo is entering Year 15 as the head man at Navy, where he has posted a 105-75 record and 10 winning seasons.
The Mids kick off the season against Delaware Sept. 3, then get into AAC play a week later against Memphis.
“Do we come back to the Navy football team that doesn’t beat themselves and possesses the ball and rushes the ball and doesn’t give up big plays and doesn’t have penalties? I still [feel] like we’re going to be there,” Niumatalolo said. “Everything that I’ve seen to this point leads me to believe that it’s going to be like years past when we’ve had our successful teams.”
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To hear more from Niumatalolo, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Navy Athletics