Navy's Triple-Option Will Keep Them Successful in 2011

It’s going to be an incredibly tough task for the Navy Midshipmen, but if they have any hope of matching last year’s 9-4 season that ended in the Poinsettia Bowl, they’re going to have to find somebody to step up and replace graduated quarterback Ricky Dobbs.

Dobbs may have been the most unnoticed elite player the last two years, having over 1,000 passing and 1,000 rushing yards in each season. In the last two season Dobbs put up some very impressive number for the Midshipmen’s offense: 2,304 passing yards, 2,558 rushing yards, and 60 total touchdowns.

Year in and year out, the Midshipmen always seem to find a guy to line up under center that can be that dual threat player. Before Dobbs was Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, before him it was Lamar Owens, and before him it was Aaron Polanco.  But none of them were nearly as dangerous as Dobbs, and none of them were as hard to replace.

Right now, though, the job looks like it’s going to be Kriss Proctor’s and of all of Navy’s QB’s in the triple-threat era, he may very well be the fastest.

Proctor, a senior, ran the pro agility drill in 4.10 seconds, the fourth-fastest mark on the team. Last season he saw time in eight games and started against Central Michigan, where he lead Navy to a 38-37 victory after rushing for 201 yards and a touchdown. Proctor finished last season with 304 rushing yards and four touchdowns, though he is still unproven as a passer, only throwing the ball five times and gaining 33 yards.

But helping the cause, Navy is returning 29 players from last season on offense, including eight starters, four of whom played on the offensive line.  Left guard Josh Cabral, center Brady DeMell, right guard John David, and right tackle Ryan Basford were all big reasons why Dobbs had so much success and every one of them are back with loads of experience playing at the collegiate level – three of the four are seniors while the other is a junior. 

The only starting spot on the offensive line with a question mark right now is left tackle but the two guys battling for the job, David Sumrall and Andrew Barker, are very experienced players, entering their senior and junior seasons, respectively.

Elsewhere on offense, key returners in the backfield should continue to help give Navy one of the nation’s best running games. When Dobbs handed the ball off it was most often to fullback Alexander Teich, who powered his way forward for 863 yards and five touchdowns.  Teich is back for his senior season and slot backs Gee Gee Greene (505 yards and 5 touchdowns) and Aaron Santiago (204 yards, 1 touchdown) are both set for their junior campaigns.

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