Blue and Gold Illustrated

GAME PREVIEW: NAVY "Decision making is what sets him apart," Wang said. "That's the most important aspect of a quarterback in a triple option. "The arm strength, speed, all that stuff is great to have — you want to have the measurable. But when he makes up his mind whether to pitch the ball, or run it him- self, it sounds easy but in the heat of the moment you have to make a split second call that can de- termine the outcome of the play, and Reynolds is tremendous at that. "Everything is really on him." The Midshipmen do not return former star fullback Noah Cope- land — who rushed for 138 yards on 16 car- ries in last year 's game against Notre Dame — but they replaced him with a capable senior in Chris Swain. The 6-1, 245-pound ball carrier was named preseason second-team All-AAC by Phil Steele. "Swain's had a huge year so far, a couple games with over 100 yards," Wang said. "They love him. He's so big, around 245-250 pounds, and that's much different than Noah Copeland last year, who was in his 220s. Cope- land's size was more typical for them the last few years, but this year they're much bigger. "That's the game plan. If people want to try to take away Keenan Reyn- olds, they'll pound the fullback up the middle." Navy obviously doesn't pass often in the triple option, but it has carved out a go-to target in junior wide re- ceiver Jamir Tillman. His six catches (for 97 yards and a score) on the season entering the game against Air Force were more than the rest of the team combined. "Navy has not had a big-play wide receiver like him very often," Wang said. "This guy is long, he's 6-4 and he can win jump balls in the red zone and the middle of the field. That gives him a different dimension; you have to respect him in the pass game. " N o w o b v i o u s l y they're not going to change their offense and throw it around a bunch of times. But they defi- nitely want to get him the ball a few times a game and let him try to make plays. When they get in the red zone and your focus is on the triple option, they can throw a fade to him and he can go get the ball. They really like his physical ability." Defensively, the Midshipmen are led up front by senior defensive end Will Anthony. Named preseason fourth- team All-AAC by Phil Steele, Anthony accumulated 15 tackles (two for a loss), two passes broken up and a fumble re- covery through the first three games of the season. Junior linebacker Daniel Gonzales made 18 tackles (1.5 for loss) while helping the Midshipmen limit the opposition to 16.3 points per contest during their 3‑0 start. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY

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