April 5, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Senior quarterback Jarod Bryant (Hoover, Ala.) rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown on nine carries and completed five of his 11 pass attempts for 43 yards in Navy's first football scrimmage of the spring. Bryant led the first team offense to two touchdowns in three drives against the first team defense. His biggest play of the day was a 63-yard touchdown run on the second play of the scrimmage where he displayed his breakaway speed by running by the Navy secondary.

"I thought the offense came out ready to play and the defense was sleepwalking to start the scrimmage, said Niumatalolo. "I thought the defense picked up the intensity later in the scrimmage. I thought Jarod Bryant had a great scrimmage. I'm excited about what he did. The best thing about today was we didn't have any serious injuries. We got some guys banged up today, but nothing serious. Overall I was pleased."

Bryant, who is projected to see some time at slot back this fall when senior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Kapolei, Hawaii) fully recovers from knee surgery, was nearly flawless running the offense, making all the right reads and keeping the football off the ground. He made a perfect pitch to sophomore slot back Andre Byrd (Jacksonville, Fla.) on an option play that Byrd broke for a 14-yard touchdown run down the left sideline.

"Jarod is a good football player, but unfortunately for him (at quarterback) number 10 (Kaipo) is pretty good too. It is something we are constantly talking about," said Niumatalolo. "Kaipo is still our starting quarterback, but we are very, very confident in Jarod. This spring has been great for him because he has gotten lots of reps at quarterback, but when Kaipo has gotten reps (non-contact) he has looked great too. Kaipo is probably not going to go full contact this spring. We know what he can do and we would rather be safe than sorry with him. These next two weeks we are going to play Jarod a little more at slot back to see how he does."

Three slot backs battling for playing time opposite senior Shun White (Memphis, Tenn.) showed well. Junior Bobby Doyle (Chardon, Ohio) carried the ball twice for 14 yards, senior Greg Shinego (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) carried the ball three times for 30 yards and caught two passes for 24 yards and Byrd carried the ball three times for 20 yards and a touchdown. White added 23 yards rushing on four carries.

"We are very excited about all three (Doyle, Shinego and Byrd) of those guys," said Niumatalolo. "We are very excited about Andre Byrd. Andre is a smaller kid and we weren't really sure how tough he would be, but there's no questioning it now he is a tough kid. He can block and he has a high football IQ."

On defense the Mids were led by sophomore end Maurice Cumberland (Jacksonville, N.C.), who recorded five tackles, recovered two fumbles and forced a fumble. Junior inside linebacker Ross Pospisil (Temple, Texas) led the defense with 10 tackles, while junior inside linebacker Tony Haberer (Liberty Hill, Texas) had eight stops.

"Maurice is a guy that we think has a chance to help us," said Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green. "I liked how he ran around out there. He chased the ball and made some plays on the backside. I was encouraged about Cumberland and I thought Ryan Griffith (senior nose guard) did some good things today. I liked how hard both of those guys played. We feel really good about our linebackers with Pospisil, Haberer, Clint Sovie, Jordan Eddington and Tyler Simmons inside and Craig Schaefer, Ram Vela, Corey Johnson, Trey Grissom and Travis Sudderth outside. Ram Vela looks like a different guy. This is the first time that he has had daily reps at outside linebacker in the spring. At this time last year he was a defensive back. We are looking for some depth at safety and two guys that have stepped up are Darius Terry and John Angelo. Kevin Edwards has made good progress at cornerback."

Navy will resume spring practice on Monday at 3:45 p.m. The next scrimmage will be held Saturday, April 12 at 9 a.m. on the Navy practice fields.

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