Navy Football 2021: Midshipmen look to right the ship

Not much went right for Navy football last season. Can the Midshipmen have a turnaround year in 2021 and get back to a bowl game?

The 2019 season was a banner year for Navy football. The Midshipmen posted an 11-2 record, the second 11-win mark in Ken Niumatalolo’s tenure in Annapolis. The season was capped with a win over rival Army and a Liberty Bowl victory over Kansas State.

Then came the Covid-19 season last year. Programs around the country scrambled to adjust to changing schedules and limiting contact amongst their players.

Niumatalolo decided to hold August training camp completely non-contact. Once the season started, the Midshipmen were completely unprepared. They were routed in their first game against BYU 55-3 and struggled the rest of the way.

In hindsight for the player’s health, it was good. The Midshipmen played seven games without a positive test. But on the field, the players were behind other programs physically and the results showed. A Covid-19 outbreak on campus affected the football team and they did not play a game for 28 days. The disjointed season came to a close with a 15-0 shutout loss to Army on December 12th.

With the country clawing its way back to a sense of normalcy this year, college football also appears on track to follow suit. Spring practices were held this year and the fall looks to follow a normal pattern. Navy will look to put the anomaly of the 2020 season behind it and add more W’s this season.

How is this year’s edition of the Midshipmen shaping up? Can they avoid a third losing season in four years? Let’s break down this year’s team and outlook.