NAVY OFFENSE

There was one way to ensure Malcolm Perry would get the ball more. Navy switched Perry from slotback to quarterback near the end of last season. In three starts at QB, Perry averaged 215.3 rushing yards per game. In all, Perry had 164 touches, averaging 11.1 yards. His 8.6 yards per carry set the school record. Perry is fast (4.45 seconds over 40 yards), smart (quantitative economics major), and charismatic (he was featured in Showtime’s “A Season With Navy Football”). He also displays keen sleight-of-hand in the triple option in which he feeds co-captain Anthony Gargiulo on a dive, pitches to a slotback or keeps it on a mid-line option. When it became apparent Perry would start at quarterback, predecessor Zach Abey offered to play receiver, a position that lost eight to graduation. “I know coach (Mick Yokitis), the receivers coach, likes big physical guys,” said Abey, who is 6-2 and 212 pounds.“I figured I was a pretty good size for that. I thought I could help out there, so I mentioned it, and they jumped on it.” There are some situations in which Abey also will play quarterback. Last year, Abey rushed for a team-high 1,413 yards, and scored five touchdowns on 13 carries in the Military Bowl. In 2017, the Midshipmen ran on 88.9 percent of their first-down plays, 90.1 percent on second down, and 86.2 percent on third. In the Military Bowl, all but one of their 76 plays were rushes.

• X—9 Zach Abey 6-2 212 Sr.
• LT—76 Kendel Wright 6-4 278 Jr.
• LG—78 Laurent Njiki 6-3 292 Sr.
• C—72 Ford Higgins 6-2 260 Jr.
• RG—67 Chris Gesell 6-4 288 Sr.
• RT—61 Andrew Wood 6-4 290 Sr.
• Z—89 Taylor Jackson 6-3 215 Sr.
• SB—21 Tre Walker 5-9 190 Sr.
• QB—10 Malcolm Perry 5-9 185 Jr.
• SB—28 Keoni-Kordell Makekau 5-11 170 So.
• FB—38 Anthony Gargiulo 6-2 239 Sr.

NAVY DEFENSE

Defensive coordinator Dale Pehrson played defensive back at Utah and spent most of his coaching career working with the defensive line. But two years ago, Pehrson decided he needed to redefine the 3-4 scheme to counter the American Athletic Conference’s spread offenses. A significant move was to change an outside-linebacker position to a hybrid safety-linebacker who could blitz or defend slot receivers. The striker now resembles a nickelback. Napoleon Sykes, a former Wake Forest linebacker, coaches the strikers. Last year’s strikers were seniors, prompting Pehrson to elevate Elan Nash, who was a cornerback in high school. Backup striker Evan Fochtman was recruited as a quarterback. Fochtman moved to safety for better playing time, and then shifted to striker after impressing with his hard hits. Nizaire Cromartie plays the more traditional outside linebacker position known as Raider. He made only nine tackles in a cameo last year, but five were in the backfield. Cromartie also can slide to the front as a stand-up end. Navy can morph its 3-4 into several looks. Against four-wide teams, the Midshipmen sometimes open with a three-layered zone. Safeties Juan Hailey and Sean Williams often are in two-deep zone. They have interchangeable roles.

• LE—92 Josh Webb 6-5 250 Sr.
• DT—99 Jackson Pittman 6-3 309 Jr.
• RE—90 Jarvis Polu 6-3 292 Sr.
• STK—8 Elan Nash 5-11 196 Jr.
• MLB—54 Taylor Heflin 6-2 229 Sr.
• SLB—53 Hudson Sullivan 6-2 240 Sr.
• RAID—56 Nizaire Cromartie 6-2 243 Jr.
• CB—14 Micah Farrar 6-0 189 So.
• S—13 Juan Hailey 6-1 199 Sr.
• S—6 Sean Williams 6-1 190 Sr.
• CB—2 Jarid Ryan 5-11 198 Sr.

NAVY SPECIALISTS

Michael Pifer, who did not play in any games the past two seasons, will be snapping to first-time holder Garret Lewis, who is considered to be Navy’s best passer. But fresh starts have been a successful pattern for Navy specialists. Two years ago, Bennett Moehring was pressed into duty because of an injury to the starting place-kicker. Moehring amassed 89 points in 2016, third most by a Navy kicker in the program’s history. Owen White, who replaced a suspended punter at the start of the 2017 season, averaged 40.5 yards, with five punts exceeding 50 yards.

• PK—16 Bennett Moehring 5-9 175 Sr.
• KO—18 J.R. Osborn 6-0 184 Jr.
• LS—44 Michael Pifer 6-3 226 Jr.
• H—7 Garret Lewis 6-1 200 Sr.
• P—4 Owen White 5-10 197 Jr.
• KR/PR—20 C.J. Williams 5-8 180 So.

HAWAII OFFENSE

An offense’s numbers are supposed to be fixed: five linemen, a quarterback, and five others who can be assigned as receivers, tight ends, running backs, or H-backs. But in 2011, Nick Rolovich, who was UH’s offensive coordinator at the time, decided to tinker with the run-and-shoot’s math. The plan was to make use of mobile quarterback Bryant Moniz with quarter- and half-rolls from the shotgun. In essence, an active QB would make it a two-back, four-receiver attack. Moniz suffered a midseason injury before the scheme could ripen. But in this season’s revival of the run-and-shoot, Rolovich, now the head coach and play-caller, revived the concept of a dual-threat quarterback with Cole McDonald’s selection as starter. In the opener, McDonald defused his reputation as a run-first QB by launching 34 of his 37 passes from the pocket. He also proved to be elusive and responsible. He has not been sacked or intercepted in a UH uniform. Against Colorado State, McDonald was effective on the move — by pressure (7.0 yards per scramble) or design (7.6 yards per keeper or draw). McDonald credited his line — freshman guard Solo Vaipulu has evoked memories of Vince Manuwai — and his receivers. A scoring pass to slotback John Ursua was set up when wideout JoJo Ward ran a rub route that caused two defensive backs to collide. McDonald also praised Moniz, now playing professionally in Canada, as inspiration. In homage to Moniz, McDonald sports dreadlocks.

• LWO—85 Marcus Armstrong-Brown 6-3 210 Sr.
• SB—5 John Ursua 5-10 175 Jr.
• LT—75 Ilm Manning 6-4 280 Fr.
• LG—57 J.R. Hensley 6-5 310 Jr.
• C—63 Taaga Tuulima 6-2 290 So.
• RG—60 Solo Vaipulu 6-2 310 Fr.
• RT—72 Kohl Levao 6-6 340 Jr.
• SB—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 170 Jr.
• RWO—19 JoJo Ward 5-9 175 Jr.
• QB—13 Cole McDonald 6-4 205 So.
• RB—21 Fred Holly 6-0 200 So.

HAWAII DEFENSE

In a recent walk-through session, the entire defensive rotation — about 25 players — was on the field at the same time going through assignments. Too bad for the Warriors the rules don’t allow for a cover-25 scheme against Navy’s triple-option. Instead, the Warriors have worked on hand speed and awareness to fend off Navy’s low blocks, visual discipline to identify the ball carrier, and controlled aggression to not overplay a coverage. “You never get the realistic speed of the option until the game,” defensive line coach Ricky Logo said. “We try to work as much as we can with the scout team.” Nickelback Cameron Hayes portrayed Navy QB Malcolm Perry during practice. “He looked like Michael Vick back there running all over the place,” rush end Kaimana Padello said. Padello is a down lineman with unique qualities. At 6 feet with a first-step burst, Padello is difficult to block in space. Against CSU, Padello caused three holding penalties from grasping offensive tackles. Against Navy, he is expected to use his quickness to seal the edge on option pitches. “He’s an explosive guy,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said of Padello. “He has a very good pass rush. Even in the run game, he plays to his leverage and to his strengths. He plays very hard.” After serving a one-game suspension, middle linebacker Jahlani Tavai returns to the lineup.

• DE—99 Zeno Choi 6-3 280 Sr.
• NT—54 Blessman Ta‘ala 6-1 310 Fr.
• DT—91 Samiuela Akoteu 6-2 280 Jr.
• DE—96 Kaimana Padello 6-0 215 Jr.
• LB—27 Solomon Matautia 6-1 230 Jr.
• LB—31 Jahlani Tavai 6-4 235 Sr.
• CB—8 Eugene Ford 6-2 195 So.
• S—16 Kalen Hicks 6-3 200 Jr.
• NB—14 Manu Hudson-Rasmussen 6-0 180 Sr.
• S—22 Ikem Okeke 6-0 200 Jr.
• CB—4 Rojesterman Farris II 6-1 180 Jr.

HAWAII SPECIALISTS

Michael Boyle, who redshirted in 2017, made a booming debut last week. Of his nine kickoffs, seven reached the end zone, resulting in three touchbacks. Factoring two holding penalties, Colorado State’s average start was on the 22 following a Boyle kickoff. Stan Gaudion averaged 53.5 yards per punt. His roll-out style led to an average of 13.5 extra yards on bounces. CSU did not return a punt.

• PK—94 Ryan Meskell 6-0 185 Jr.
• KO—52 Michael Boyle 6-1 175 Fr.
• LS—1 Noah Borden 6-1 220 Sr.
• P/H—99 Stan Gaudion 6-3 210 So
• KR/PR—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 170 Jr.