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on the depth chart. Felder was projected to be a backup at corner and it's a position lacking depth. "It's uncertain when any of those guys will make a difference, if and when they get back," Stevens added. "They'll have about a week and a half to figure things out before they head out to Ireland to play Notre Dame [Sept. 1]." Navy has to replace last year's starters at quarterback and fullback. Junior signal- caller Trey Miller (6-0, 199 pounds) has filled Kriss Proctor's void and is expected to be more of a passing threat leading a run-dominated triple-option attack. Soph- omore Noah Copeland (5-10, 215) takes over for Alexander Teich, who rushed for 2,122 yards and nine scores over three seasons. Miller appeared in seven contests last fall, and his only start was in a 56-14 loss at Notre Dame on Oct. 29. He completed 5 of 13 passes for 33 yards, including a nine-yard TD pass, and he carried the ball 19 times for a career-high 55 yards against the Irish. "I think Miller is settling in okay," Ste- vens said. "I wouldn't sit here and say he's a guy that's been outstanding. He has struggled at times in scrimmage. At the same time, you look behind him and you've got a sophomore No. 2 guy [Greg Bryant] and a freshman as the No. 3 guy [Keenan Reynolds]. It's certainly Miller's job. He has some experience; he knows what it's like to go against Notre Dame. They also know he needs to get better to have a realistic chance to pull off a victory out in Ireland. "I think they're going to throw more than they did last year with Kriss Proc- tor [787 yards and seven touchdowns in 2011], but I don't think they'll throw as much as they did with [Ricky] Dobbs [1,527 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010]. I don't think he's quite that good. Niuma- talolo has made it a point to say that he's Senior inside linebacker Matt Warrick racked up a team-high 103 tackles for the Midshipmen last season. "They're pretty happy with the three kind of in the middle of those two skill sets." Copeland mostly saw action on special teams as a freshman, and his success this year will be predicated on how the offensive line, which returns only two starters in se- nior left guard Josh Cabral and senior right tackle Andrew Barker, comes together. The defensive line is a complete re- build, which might be a positive thing for assistant Shaun Nua, whose unit ranked 92nd nationally in rushing defense (187 yards per game) and 113th in sacks (12) in 2011. The Mids surrendered 182 yards and didn't register a sack against Notre Dame last season. guys they have [at nose guard]," Stevens explained. "[Junior] Barry Dabney and [junior] Travis Bridges are the two main guys. Over at end, it's kind of a mixed bag. They're clearly going to try and patch together and create a rotation. They cer- tainly don't have a guy like [graduated] Jabaree Tuani [52 tackles, 13 for loss in 2011] at that spot anymore. I don't think anybody technically has won a job at this point." Senior linebacker Matt Warrick paced Navy with 103 tackles last year. He will play next to classmate Brye French, who — along with senior slot back Bo Snelson ✦ PAGE 2 PHOTO COURTESY NAVY — was stripped of his captaincy before the start of fall camp due to a violation of team rules over the summer. Senior David Sperry started 12 games at cornerback in 2011 and was to be the most experienced player in the second- ary, but he was dismissed from the Acad- emy following the spring semester. Ju- nior Jonathan Wev was pushing Sperry in spring practices and is now the starting field corner. Free safety Chris Ferguson and corner- back Parrish Gaines, a pair of sophomores that climbed to the top of the depth chart at the end of 2011, and senior Tra'ves Bush round out the group. ✦