Navy football senior class was decimated by attrition with many talented players transferring out of the program – Baltimore Sun

On June 27, 2019, the Navy soccer program introduced an incoming recruiting class that includes 57 gamers representing 22 states.

Lower than half of these Class of 2019 recruits are nonetheless round to rejoice senior day.

Navy will honor its 25 remaining seniors throughout a ceremony previous to Saturday’s last house recreation in opposition to Temple. Large attrition from that recruiting class, primarily as a result of pandemic, are an enormous cause why the Midshipmen sit at 2-5.

There are solely 5 seniors (two offense, two protection, one particular groups) beginning for Navy this season. Solely three different seniors are on the depth chart and all are third string. In the meantime, the Midshipmen’s present three-deep features a whopping 29 sophomores and two freshmen.

“It’s undoubtedly affected us. We misplaced quite a lot of guys that might be seniors now,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo mentioned. “It’s pressured us to play with youthful guys.”

Navy outdoors linebacker and defensive captain John Marshall retains a working listing on his cellphone of former classmates that left this system. Throughout an interview Wednesday, Marshall knew instantly the quantity had reached 32.

“I feel we have been super-talented to begin off. We had quite a lot of plebes play for that 2019 workforce,” Marshall mentioned.

Marshall didn’t hesitate when requested if any of the departed may very well be serving to the Midshipmen proper now. He shortly talked about three defensive gamers — Johnny Hodges, Chelen Garnes and David Miller.

Hodges, who was initially recruited to play lacrosse in Annapolis earlier than switching to soccer, is the beginning weakside linebacker for TCU. The Quince Orchard Excessive product is the second-leading tackler for the Horned Frogs (7-0), who’re ranked seventh nationally.

Garnes is a beginning security and second-leading tackler for No. 10 Wake Forest (6-1), whereas Miller is a beginning cornerback and fourth-leading tackler at Southern Illinois (5-3).

“That’s simply quite a lot of guys who, if we have been to have stored, could be ballplayers and produce quite a lot of management,” mentioned Marshall, Navy’s main tackler.

Navy doesn’t land many three-star prospects, a lot much less these with 4 and 5 stars. Typically, the Midshipmen are beating the opposite service academies, Ivy League applications and Soccer Championship Subdivision colleges for prospects.

These under-the-radar gamers have to be developed over time by way of teaching and a rigorous power and conditioning program. It takes time to construct a program that method, which is why Navy has at all times relied closely on juniors and seniors.

“We’re a developmental program. We construct our workforce by way of a course of. You must work laborious and earn your stripes,” Niumatalolo mentioned.

As a result of the final two senior lessons have been so small — final yr’s senior class additionally featured 25 gamers — Navy’s present juniors and sophomores have been pressed into motion sooner than anticipated and typically, earlier than they have been prepared for primetime.

Niumatalolo doesn’t have to surprise why the attrition fee for the 2019 recruiting class was greater than regular. He is aware of full effectively the rationale — a historic pandemic that made life on the Naval Academy completely depressing.

Members of the Brigade of Midshipmen have been on lockdown in Bancroft Corridor. Navy soccer gamers that examined optimistic for COVID have been positioned in isolation for so long as two weeks.

“It was actually abysmal and we had quite a lot of gamers having to speak with the psychologist. It was a darkish time for lots of people and I noticed first-hand the way it affected our program,” Niumatalolo mentioned. “A number of guys have been like, ‘Coach, I can’t do that anymore,’ and, fairly frankly, I couldn’t blame them.”

Niumatalolo had lengthy talks with a lot of the gamers that determined to switch, usually attempting to persuade them to remain on the academy. In the end, it was laborious to argue after they defined why they may not.

“It’s at all times robust at a service academy, however add on the pandemic and the way in which we needed to do issues right here at [Navy] — it simply exacerbated issues,” Niumatalolo mentioned.

Contemplating the general scenario, the very fact there are nonetheless 25 members of the Navy soccer Class of 2023 nonetheless with this system is considerably outstanding. In response to Marshall, life on the yard was tough throughout the top of the coronavirus pandemic.

Navy soccer gamers have been required to take COVID assessments each morning and anybody who examined optimistic was separated from this system for a prolonged interval. At a time when each midshipman’s psychological well being was compromised, not being allowed to follow together with your teammates was devastating and disadvantaged people of much-needed social contact.

“Throughout COVID it was a really distinctive dynamic inside the brigade. There was a cut-off date when you might solely go outdoors for an hour and a half per day. You have been just about locked up in your room and the one interactions you had have been together with your roommates,” Marshall mentioned, noting that Midshipmen have been taking on-line programs. “Lots of people weren’t the place they needed to be from a psychological well being standpoint.”

Throughout a workforce assembly this previous Monday, Niumatalolo talked concerning the Class of 2023 and requested all of the seniors to face up. Exterior linebacker Nicholas Straw regarded round and was amazed by how small a proportion of the general workforce have been seniors.

“Seeing the numbers and the way few seniors we’ve got was surreal,” he mentioned. “For those who take a look at all the opposite lessons — the juniors, sophomores and freshmen — there are such a lot of of them.”

Straw doesn’t begrudge those who departed this system and nonetheless stays in contact with a few of those who transferred elsewhere to play soccer. As at all times, there are a number of present seniors who stopped enjoying varsity soccer and stay on the Naval Academy.

“All the fellows that left, they’d their causes and have been justified as a result of we went by way of such a troublesome time,” he mentioned. “Nothing was what we anticipated after we got here right here. It was not regular.”

(Following is a listing of Navy soccer 2019 recruits that transferred to proceed their soccer careers. Not all the 2019 recruits that left the Naval Academy may very well be situated)

Tyshawn Buckner, WR, West Texas A&M; Chelen Garnes, S, Wake Forest; BJ Gibson, CB, South Carolina; Jordan Geter, CB, Johnson C. Smith; Johnny Hodges, LB, Texas Christian; Dexter Manior, DL, Japanese Michigan; Gavin Marts, FB, Kennesaw State; Devin Mathews, WR, Wofford; David Miller, CB, Southern Illinois; Jebril Murray, S, James Madison; Clayton Nelson, OL, Ouachita Baptist; Justin Nelson, CB, Georgia Southern; Perry Olsen, QB, Houston; Walter Soefker, S, Pennsylvania; Jaison Taylor, CB, North Carolina A&T; Tama Tuitele, LB, Northern Colorado; Tysean White, LB, UC Davis