Navy 2024

[youthathletics]

Navy dropped their schedule

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxqRnNELN7_ ... BiNWFlZA==

Definitely not a walk in the park of an OOC schedule. Especially if The Mount, Towson, and Hofstra are improved.

Swapping UMD (haven't had them on sched since 2020), for PSU as another B1G opponent. Added Towson in lieu of Manhattan. Playing one less game from last year. 15 in 23' and 14 in 24', with a few more scrimmages.

[youthathletics]

How'd things go in NY this weekend vs. UPenn. Was traveling elsewhere and could not make it.

[old salt]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... 7-56066497

[youthathletics]

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... 7-56066497

I can appreciate the 'one more' premise, which is why I I'm holding out hope Phipps makes all the (long overdue) needed changes this off-season. Last season they seemed to tinker too much on offense, giving some payers too much grace, while others went missing or put in spots that seemingly hid them.

If I were Phipps and was handed the keys to the O. I would be challenging the offensive to embarrass the defense every chance they had. Adding, that there would be no assignments on Offense...essentially 6 players on the field in a 'flow' state, stressing the absolute hell out of the defense and the only shots you can take are dunk finishes. And if the defense embarrasses the O.....good!, keep doing it until they don't.

[old salt]

Today, Xavier Arline saw his first action at QB this season. He started & went all the way in Navy's loss to Temple. He played well, considering the play of the O line. Executed the option better than any other Navy QB this season & showed improved passing.
Most importantly -- he looked healthy, ran well & appears to have survived (so far) without injury (knock on wood)
Given the injuries to, & play of, Navy's other 3 QB's, I fear he may have won back the starter's job.

[10stone5]

That’s as good a command of the field and team as I’ve seen from Arline, today, in either sport.

[youthathletics]

That’s as good a command of the field and team as I’ve seen from Arline, today, in either sport.

agreed. It certainly helped that they modified his role, in order to buy him more time for decision making. They still leave so many yards on the field with wide open players in the flats, when they refuse to throw and just keep it. Little do they know, if they made it those those flat, quick out passes, they'd open up the run even more.

[old salt]

We are finally seeing what Arline can do as a QB when he's healthy, gets the 1st team snaps in practice, & has a full game plan tailored to his strengths.

This is from before the UAB game :
https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Navy football’s Xavier Arline has gone from seldom-used slotback to starting quarterback in strange season

By Bill Wagner, Capital Gazette, Nov 10, 2023

It’s been a strange senior season for Navy football player Xavier Arline.

This 2023 campaign started with a shock to the system as Arline found himself battling for a spot on the depth chart at quarterback. That was somewhat of a surprise considering he closed out the previous season as the starter.

However, Arline started preseason camp at the bottom, presumably because he missed most of spring practice due to a combination of playing lacrosse and being injured.

Arline spent most of training camp getting practice repetitions with the third team or not at all and when the first depth chart was issued he was not on it. That led to Arline getting switched to slotback and he practiced at that position for two weeks leading up to the season opener.

Arline was in for another surprise when starting quarterback Tai Lavatai had to leave the game briefly after Lavatai’s knee brace was knocked loose when he slid to the turf following a quarterback keeper.

Arline was sent into the game at quarterback even though he had not been practicing at the position. He effectively ran two plays that produced a first down before Lavatai returned.

Later in the Notre Dame game, Arline lined up as a wide receiver and ran two gadget plays designed for him to throw the ball after taking a handoff on a jet sweep. One play led to an incompletion and the other resulted in a 10-yard loss.

However, it was an indication that Arline might be used as somewhat of a slash player similar to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback-wide receiver Kordell Stewart.

That wound up not being the case. Arline was barely utilized as a slotback or receiver and eventually fell completely out of the rotation. He did not even get into the South Florida, Charlotte and Air Force games.

“It’s been crazy. Definitely not how I expected things to be before the season started,” Arline said. “I’ve just tried to play the cards I’ve been dealt as though they were the ones I wanted.”

Arline had worked his way back into the slotback rotation and was set to see more playing time when there was another twist. Blake Horvath, recently promoted to starting quarterback, got injured during his first career start against North Texas on Oct. 7. Arline moved back to quarterback the following Wednesday to provide depth behind Lavatai and Braxton Woodson.

“I was trying to make the transition to being a full-time slotback and it was taking time. There were a lot of things I had to learn in order to play that position,” Arline said. “I saw myself being there for the rest of the season so I dove into it full-speed. I was getting to the point where I was going to be in the rotation. That’s exactly when I was moved again, which has kind of been the roller coaster of this season.”

Lavatai started against Charlotte and lasted just one offensive possession before having to leave the game with a rib injury. Woodson took over and helped Navy to a 14-0 victory, a performance that elevated him into the starting role.

Woodson started against Air Force and looked exactly like the inexperienced plebe he is. Navy did nothing offensively for the better part of three quarters before Lavatai replaced Woodson and provided a little bit of a spark.

Somewhere along the way Lavatai also suffered a leg injury and that elevated Arline to No. 2 on the depth chart. He and Woodson got all the practice repetitions during the two weeks leading up to the Temple game with the coaching staff considering the competition for the starting spot wide-open.

Much to the surprise of many, Arline started the Temple game and wound up going the distance. Offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut said this week that Arline performed better and more consistently than Woodson in practice during game week.

“Xavier stepped right back into the quarterback role fluidly and did a great job of assuming leadership,” Chesnut said. “He has made a lot of progress at quarterback the last couple weeks. He’s played quarterback in a lot of football games and that experience shows.”

Navy’s offense continued to struggle with Arline at the controls, managing just two first downs and punting on seven straight possessions to start the Temple game. However, the Midshipmen found some success midway through the third quarter with Arline leading two touchdown drives.

Temple wound up winning, 32-18, but the Navy coaches and players were encouraged by the progress the offense showed during the second half. Arline finished with solid numbers, rushing for 97 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries while completing 6 of 14 passes for 124 yards and another score.

“I think I did some good things. In the second half, we opened up offensively as a whole. We were able to operate some different things and give Temple some different looks. I was able to use my legs and my arm to the best of my ability, Arline said. “Considering I’ve been out of the room for so long and was playing my first game [at quarterback] since Army-Navy last season, I think I played fairly well.”

Navy quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper thought Arline looked a “little rusty” and said he missed some option reads he would expect the experienced senior to see. No player is harder on himself than Arline and acknowledged he needs to be better.

“Definitely never satisfied. I took the things I did well and made a note of those. More importantly, I took a hard look at the things I need to improve upon. A lot of those things come from getting more game speed repetitions,” he said.

It appears Arline is set to make a second straight start Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham as the coaching staff tries to find some consistency at the quarterback position. The Long Island native’s unexpected journey from fourth-string quarterback to slotback to starting quarterback has been a whirlwind.

“It’s been tough in terms of the entire season. Being in the [quarterback] room then being moved out of the room and trying to make an impact where I could as a slotback,” Arline said. “Then going back to quarterback. It’s been kind of hectic. Thankfully, I’ve been playing the position for a while so it wasn’t too much of a leap.”

Arline smiled when asked how long it took him to reacclimate to playing quarterback after spending 2 ½ months practicing exclusively as a slotback. “About five minutes” was the response.

“I honestly felt comfortable as soon as I put my hands under center. As far as being comfortable and able to operate, I felt like I never left,” Arline said. “There are some different nuances I missed from not being there for so long. I was a little bit behind and had to get caught up to speed. It’s hard to improve at quarterback when you’re in the slotback room.”

Head coach Brian Newberry mentioned during the week leading up to the Temple game that he was impressed by the improvement Arline has made as a passer. That showed last Saturday as he lofted a beautiful pass that dropped right into the arms of slotback Eli Heidenreich for a 24-yard touchdown.

Arline later delivered a pair of deep darts, hitting both Heidenreich and Brandon Chatman for completions of 39 and 31 yards.

“X is throwing the football with more confidence as well as with a lot more velocity and accuracy,” Jasper said.

Arline bristled at suggestions he was not an effective thrower earlier in his career. He’s played quarterback from the youth level on up and says completing passes has never been a problem.

“That ability to throw the football is something I’ve always possessed. I know the narrative for a couple years now has been that I can’t really throw the football. I hope that [Temple game] cleared things up a little bit for people that I can throw the football,” Arline said. “If there’s time and open receivers and the play call is right, I can make the throws.”

Arline was asked if he regrets missing most of spring football practice because of lacrosse. He initially planned to pull double duty by practicing both sports, but an injury derailed that idea.

“That’s a difficult question to answer. Could things have been different? Maybe,” he said. “I followed my heart and followed my dreams.”

Speaking to the media this week, Arline said that as a high school senior he believed he would go to Navy and win both the Heisman Trophy and its lacrosse equivalent the Tewaaraton Award while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
“That’s not how it went. It came with a lot of adversity and I believe God gave me that for a reason. Things are going to happen in my life when I’m going to need to fall back on those moments,” Arline said. “So even though things might not have gone exactly as I expected, I’m super-grateful for the struggles I’ve faced because it’s built me and made me a better man.”

Navy is the only football program in the country to start four different quarterbacks this season. If Arline winds up being the answer and leading the Mids to a winning record and victory over archrival Army, it will prove quite a redemption story.

“I think the most important lesson from all this is to never give up on yourself. It’s easy to get down and kind of feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” Arline said. “If you keep believing and keep coming to work each day with a great attitude you’ll find ways to get better and help your team in the process.

“I never lost faith in myself no matter what was going on. I never lost confidence. I always felt like I could come back and help this team win games.

This was published following the UAB game :
https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Quarterback Xavier Arline, linebacker Colin Ramos lead way as Navy football blows out Alabama-Birmingham, 31-6

By Bill Wagner, Capital Gazette, Nov 11, 2023

Quarterback Xavier Arline directed an offense that broke out of a three-game slump, while inside linebacker Colin Ramos spearheaded a defense that bounced back from its poorest performance of the season as Navy played its most complete game in a month, beating Alabama-Birmingham, 31-6.

Arline made a strong argument that he should have been the starting quarterback all along by operating the option offense in an efficient and effective manner. With Arline mostly making good reads and doing a good job distributing the ball, the Mids amassed 363 total yards.

Arline rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown and also got the job done through the air, completing 7 of 10 passes for 94 yards and a score. Fullback Alex Tecza brought an inside element to the option by running for 82 yards on just nine carries, while slotback Eli Heidenreich provided a perimeter threat with 60 yards on five attempts.

Arline took an option keeper up the middle for a 50-yard touchdown that basically clinched the win with 4:12 remaining. He faked to the fullback and burst through a huge hole to race untouched into the end zone.

“I thought Arline played really well and did some good things. I thought he played really well as far as decision-making, taking care of the football, making the right reads and distributing the ball where it needed to go,” Newberry said. “To see [Arline] lead us to a win out there warms my heart. I thought he was really steady today and I’m really proud of him.”

Navy struck first with a well-executed pass play on first down. Arline pump-faked as if he was throwing a short out, then reared back and fired a dart that hit wide receiver Regis Velez in stride to produce a 45-yard touchdown.

Newberry had talked about the need to throw on early downs to make defenses pay for stacking the line of scrimmage. That first-down call succeeded in doing just that and gave Navy a 7-0 lead with 2:49 left in the first quarter.

It was the longest completion of Arline’s career and the longest reception of Velez’s.

[old salt]

More on Xavier Arline :

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Bill Wagner: It appears Navy football has found its starting quarterback. He was on the roster all along. | COMMENTARY
By Bill Wagner, Capital Gazette, Published: Nov 13, 2023 at 4:44 pm

Navy football has spent the entire season trying to settle on a starting quarterback.

It turns out the right man for the job was on the roster all along and not being used in any capacity.

Xavier Arline spent most of the season standing on the sideline as a reserve slotback. He had four touches through seven games; two came in the season opener against Notre Dame.

Arline became the starting quarterback pretty much by default. He was basically the last resort after senior Tai Lavatai and sophomore Blake Horvath got hurt and freshman Braxton Woodson proved not ready for prime time.

Navy’s revamped version of option offense requires a quarterback who is both an effective runner and passer. In two games as the starter, Arline has shown he can be that guy — totaling 208 rushing yards and 218 passing yards, while accounting for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing).

That’s exactly the type of balance you want out of the position.

More importantly, Navy’s offense has looked functional again under the direction of Arline, a senior who has now played in 27 games with 11 starts as a quarterback. There were signs of life during the second half of the Temple game and that momentum carried over to the Alabama-Birmingham matchup Saturday.

Arline mostly made the right reads and the offense found some balance that had been sorely missing in totaling 363 yards to spark a 31-6 win. Fullback Alex Tecza did most of the damage inside with 82 yards on nine carries, while slotback Eli Heidenreich provided a perimeter threat with 60 yards on five carries.

Arline was efficient throwing the ball, completing 7 of 10 passes for 94 yards. He fired a deep dart to wide receiver Regis Velez for a 45-yard touchdown. The Midshipmen implemented some impressive short passing concepts in the second half with Arline connecting with Heidenreich and fellow slot Brandon Chatman for five throws totaling 51 yards.

Coach Brian Newberry noted a few weeks ago that Arline has improved as a passer and the past two games have supported that assessment. Arline delivered three beautiful balls against Temple, showing great touch on a 24-yard touchdown toss to Heidenreich and an ability to throw downfield on completions of 39 and 31 yards.

Flush with that success, Arline took exception to the career characterization that he could not pass. He’s played quarterback from the youth level on up and says completing passes has never been a problem.

“I know the narrative for a couple years now has been that I can’t really throw the football. I hope that [Temple performance] cleared things up a little for people that I can,” Arline said. “If there’s time and open receivers and the play call is right, I can make the throws.”

To be honest, I’ve contributed to that narrative — writing in this space several times that passing was not a strength Arline possessed. That assessment was based on what I’d seen in games and the statistics supported it. Coming into this season, Arline had completed 15 of 41 passes (36%) for 254 yards and three touchdowns.

However, it should be pointed out that 30 of those pass attempts came when he was a freshman and sophomore. Last season, Arline threw touchdown passes of 23 and 20 yards in the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame game as Navy almost pulled off an improbable comeback.

Arline started the last four contests of 2022 after Lavatai suffered a season-ending injury. It was Arline who led Navy to its biggest win of the season, a 17-14 upset of 17th-ranked Central Florida.

It was somewhat understandable that Arline opened preseason camp tied with Lavatai for third on the depth chart. That was a function of the two seniors both missing spring practice — Lavatai while recovering from knee surgery, Arlline because he played varsity lacrosse and suffered an injury while doing so.

Sophomore Teddy Gleaton emerged from spring camp as the starting quarterback with classmate Horvath as the backup. Gleaton took himself out of the mix with academic problems, missing training camp practices during the week because he was taking summer school classes.

Horvath moved to the top of the depth chart with Lavatai ascending to the backup role. What was most curious was that Woodson was getting most of the third team repetitions instead of Arline.

As best I could tell, Arline was never really part of the quarterback competition during preseason camp and that assessment was reinforced by the fact he was switched to slotback two weeks before the Aug. 26 opener against Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland.

Lavatai started that game and the next two against Wagner and Memphis. Horvath was promoted to starter for the North Texas game and it was a short-lived reign as he suffered a season-ending injury in the second quarter.

Woodson won the job going into the service academy showdown against Air Force and did not distinguish himself. That is how Navy finally got down to Arline, who became the team’s fourth different starting quarterback.

Reality is that had Lavatai and Horvath not gone down, Arline would never have been moved from slotback to quarterback.

Naturally, one wonders where Navy football would be if Arline had been the starter all along. There is really no fair way to make that judgment. Offense wasn’t the problem in losses to Memphis and South Florida as Navy put up 432 and 330 yards, respectively, in those two games.

As my friend Mike James of The Mid Report has pointed out, the offensive problems manifested during the Charlotte and Air Force games really had nothing to do with the quarterback.

Those issues continued during the first half of the Temple game with Arline under center. It seems to me the success the Midshipmen found in the second half at Temple and against UAB were the result of better blocking, improved play-calling and Arline executing the option attack at a higher level.

It’s not worth looking back and wondering what might have been. Better to look forward and ask what can be. If Navy can take care of business on Senior Day and beat struggling East Carolina (2-8) it would move within one win of being bowl eligible.

Navy would then need to go on the road and upset SMU (8-2, 6-0) in order to qualify for the postseason. That would be a tall task considering the Mustangs are in the thick of the battle for the American Athletic Conference championship.

As much as going to a bowl would mean for the program, I can say with certainty that everyone involved with Navy football would rather beat Army. If the coaching staff sticks with Arline and builds some consistency at the quarterback position over the next three games, the Midshipmen would be in a better position to beat the Black Knights.

[youthathletics]

Nice to see Wags pivoting, although subtly, with the offense throwing the ball a bit more. Attribute this to Newberry and staff, for also pivoting, again, subtly, away for the option at all costs.

Airline in shotgun also serves the TEAM well, buying him those added precess seconds to read the field, find the gaps and allowing the receivers to gain separation.

Airline still leaves yards on the field with receivers open, often opting to keep the ball. I wonder if he’s provided the grace to throw on play calls.

Happy to see Navy Football making changes. Securing a top ranked Qb out of PA, with a passing mindset only provides more optimism for the future.

[old salt]

Despite some miscues, another good performance by starting QB Xavier Arline, in a battle of defenses.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html {excerpts}

By Bill Wagner, Capital Gazette, Nov 18, 2023.

Quarterback Xavier Arline directed an offense that did just enough, while inside linebacker Colin Ramos spearheaded a defense that dominated from start to finish as Navy shut out East Carolina, 10-0, on Senior Day.

Arline set a single-game school record for completion percentage. ...completed 10 of 11 passes for 102 yards, while fullback Alex Tecza rushed for 93 yards on 24 carries as the Midshipmen produced a touchdown late in the first quarter and added a field goal midway through the fourth.

That output proved more than enough as a bumbling East Carolina offense could not get out of its own way.

A win is a win no matter how ugly, and the Midshipmen will certainly take it and run. Navy (5-5, 4-3) can become bowl-eligible and finish with a winning record within the conference by upsetting SMU on the road in Dallas next Saturday.
Navy closes the season against archrival Army on Dec. 9 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Navy managed the only touchdown of the game during a first half that featured mistake-filled offense by both teams.
The Midshipmen scored on a two-play drive that lasted less than a minute. A misdirection play caught the East Carolina defense out of position when Arline took an option keeper the other way. Arline raced through a massive hole on the right side and gained 39 yards, setting up first down at the Pirates’ 19. Tecza scored on the very next play, finding plenty of running room on the right side off a counter trey. Kicker Nathan Kirkwood booted the extra point to give the Mids a 7-0 lead with 2:47 remaining in the first quarter.

“It all starts with ‘X.’ He made the right read and gave me an opportunity to get into the open field,” Tecza said. “I give all the credit to the guys outside. Our slotbacks and receivers really blocked their butts off. All I had to do was run into the end zone.”

Navy had three promising drives into East Carolina territory go awry. Arline fumbled on consecutive possessions when the Mids were moving the ball well. He had a moment of indecision on the mesh and lost control of the ball while pulling it, then later had the ball knocked loose from the passing hand while trying to avoid a sack.

What appeared to be a nice gain by fullback Daba Fofana off a late pitch was overturned on replay review. Officials ruled that Arline had illegally pitched the ball forward after crossing the line of scrimmage, resulting in a 5-yard penalty and loss of down that killed that drive.
“It was a weird game because we had so much success offensively and a lot of great production, but there would be one negative play that set us back and kill a drive,” Arline said. “If you take away a couple plays and we probably put up 28 points in the first half. We have to go clean that stuff up.”

[old salt]

Navy QB Xavier Arline exited in Q2 of blowout loss at SMU with a sprained ankle.
He returned for one subsequent 3 play series, but was not comfortable.
Coach hopes it's not serious & he may be ready for Army in 2 weeks.

[The Orfling]

Gallant comeback effort by the Mids. I suppose it didn't end up mattering but I absolutely HATED the 2-point conversion call when Navy scored inside 3 minutes. It's like the coaching staff forgot games can go to overtime. Didn't love the last call either but after all the passing I can see switching it up. Great last stop by the Army defense after giving Black Knight fans a bad case of the Prevent Defense Blues before that.

[NoLeft]

Turnovers, turnovers.....
As the old old saying goes "More football games are lost rather than won."

[10stone5]

What a game !!!

[youthathletics]

Gallant comeback effort by the Mids. I suppose it didn't end up mattering but I absolutely HATED the 2-point conversion call when Navy scored inside 3 minutes. It's like the coaching staff forgot games can go to overtime. Didn't love the last call either but after all the passing I can see switching it up. Great last stop by the Army defense after giving Black Knight fans a bad case of the Prevent Defense Blues before that.

Right there with you. I sure wished X would have thrown that ball much sooner to Howard, rather than floating it in there allowing Army to converge and pick it off. Howard has some ups, I can only imagine how good he can be with a good passing QB and bit more healthy.

[10stone5]

53 from Army made some tremendous plays.

After losing for an entire decade+
Army is 6 and 2.

[youthathletics]

53 from Army made some tremendous plays.

After losing for an entire decade+
Army is 6 and 2.

No surprise. Army adapted to the changes in the game, Navy has not. The old timers still believe the TO of yesteryear is the only way....it is hilarious listening to them foment about the coaching staff not preparing them properly for the TO of the 00's, as of teams do not know how to counter it.
It's even mentioned during the broadcast and witnessed after halftime on the field. Navy did not begin gaining years until the threw the ball. And it was clear as day, they don't throw enough b/c damned near every pass looked awkward and timing was off. Navy will only become better when they become a threat as a passing team.

And to insult to injury, playing in the AAC should have made them better via playing against more talented teams, it has not. So what's it going to be? Stay status quo, just run the TO and be under .500 every year and pray you beat Army, Become a multi-dimensional team and utilize a passing first QB in integrate your TO, or drop the AAC conference and go play little sisters of the poor and feel good about wins?

I have high hopes that once Navy gets a few passing first QB's on the yard, and Newberry's staff stretches the playbook beyond the TO using short slashing qb's who are forced to run into defensive players 2x their size, Navy will once again be considered a concern on your schedule.

[old salt]

The offensive still has not transitioned away from the TO. They haven't recruited & developed the players for a RPO offense.
They need bigger, stand-up O linemen who can passpro & zone block for runs.
They could build a RPO around returning QB's Woodson, Horvath & an incoming plebe from PA.
The rotating AAC sched will be tougher for Navy next year. They dodged 3 AAC bowl teams this year, & lost to all 5 of the bowl teams they played.
At least Xavier Airline looks to have escaped the FB season without injury. He's got a chance for another N* in lax.

[LaxAllStars]

Army 2024 preview

https://laxallstars.com/be-all-that-you ... osse-2024/