As Navy’s Elan Nash answered a question detailing how the senior safety managed to come off the bench to lead his team in tackles, he sounded “Belichickian,” meaning the New England Patriots’ vaunted head coach. That’s not necessarily hyperbole.
After all, Bill Belichick has Annapolis roots as the son of the late Steve Belichick, a long-time Navy assistant coach that was revered in program history long before his famous son began collecting Super Bowl titles.
What it means is Nash, who led the 2-0 Midshipmen with nine tackles, including one for a loss in the 42-10 win last week over East Carolina, sounded like a “Belichickian” coach that is a teacher. The best coaches say they are first a teacher; the best teachers can elucidate their instructions for some and put in plain words for others.
Nash began explaining his ECU success noting that he and sophomore Kevin Brennan share the “bandit” safety position that protects boundary, the short side of the field from the hash marks. They’ve split the first two starts, with Nash starting the Holy Cross opener and Brennan in the ECU game.
Then, the 5-foot-11, 205-pounder explained when Navy switches from its base 3-3-5 scheme on passing downs to its dime package, a sixth defensive back replaces the outside linebacker known as the “striker.” Nash is that sixth DB taking the field at “striker,” while Brennan remains at “bandit.”
“Kevin and I both know we’re going to get meaningful snaps no matter who gets the start,” Nash said. “A lot of my productivity against East Carolina came in the dime package. There were a lot of third-and-long downs so we went to the dime. And as we pulled away, I got a decent amount of snaps at the end of the game. I try to make the most of my opportunities anytime I get on the field.”
Clear enough?
“People go to him for help, whether it’s about learning plays or something about classes,” said teammate C.J. Williams, a junior slot back with two touchdown catches against ECU. “He’s a selfless player — a really good role model for guys to look up to.”
Nash is playing a different role on the team in new defensive coordinator Brian Newberry’s version of the 3-3-5, and head coach Ken Niumatalolo is impressed with how quickly he has adapted.
“I’m really pleased with how he is playing defensively,” Niumatalolo said. “He also played well on special teams. He’s a senior and a great kid that works hard. He’s a great leader that leads by example. The other guys pull for a guy they see working hard all the time and getting results on the field. I’m really happy for him.”
It’s been a roundabout path for Nash to play a role that the Midshipmen hope helps them contend for the AAC West title while rebounding from a 3-10 season. Navy is off Saturday before traveling to Memphis (3-0) for a Thursday night game crucial to the AAC West. Memphis was the preseason favorite by Phil Steele College Football Magazine, with Navy picked second.
Nash was recruited as a cornerback out of Unionville High outside of Philadelphia, but he was limited to the JV team his freshman year in 2016.
In 2017, he moved to “striker,” but he was behind to older players. He had his moments, playing in 10 games, with four tackles against Houston, two against Notre Dame and a fumble recovery in the Military Bowl win over Virginia.
In 2018, he took over as the starting “striker,” finishing the season seventh in tackles with 38.
But this year Newberry saw him as a better fit at the back of the defense.
“I feel really comfortable at safety, and I’m enjoying a lot,” he said. “I still get to the play the run and to be aggressive and drop off in coverage on deep stuff. I try to know as many positions as I can to get on the field.”
The middle of the field fits how Nash ended up at Navy. Most academy football recruits fall into one of two categories: 1) They had little knowledge of the academies or interest in a military career until recruited and saw the benefits; 2) They had long desired to attend an academy, often because they’re from a military family.
“My story is a combination,” Nash said. “My dad was enlisted in the Navy four years, which were like his formative college years, serving on the flight deck of (USS) Forrestal (a super carrier). And being from the Philadelphia area, he took me to the Army-Navy Game as a fan. It was always something I was aware of but wasn’t really considering it until they recruited me.”
Nash’s interest leaned toward Ivy League schools pursuing him, but his Navy recruiting trip swayed him in a manner he didn’t anticipate.
“It was pretty quick I realized this was the right place me,” he said. “It’s a great education as well as Division I football. Those were the main things. But what really impressed me were the people I met. Being around the team and other military people, I saw the brotherhood. Every college team talks about their brotherhood, but this brotherhood is real. It’s something special here.”
Those words from Nash simply teach/explain that Navy’s players — and academy athletes in general — dress in “cammies” for more reasons than military appreciation days that are common with other college and pro teams. Their brotherhood is beyond the football field.
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I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055
Tom Shanahan, Author: Raye of Light http://tinyurl.com/knsqtqu
— Book on Michigan State’s leading role in the integration of college football. It explains Duffy Daugherty’s untold pioneering role and debunks myths that steered recognition away from him to Bear Bryant.
http://shanahan.report/a/the-case-for-duffy-and-medal-of-freedom
Don’t believe the myths at Duffy Daugherty’s expense about Bear Bryant’s motivation to play the 1970 USC-Alabama game or myths about the Charlie Thornhill-for-Joe Namath trade. Bear Bryant knew nothing about black talent in the South while he dragged his feet on segregation.
http://www.shanahan.report/a/forty-four-underground-railroad-legacy-facts
http://shanahan.report/a/myths-that-grew-out-of-1970-alabama-game-with-usc
http://shanahan.report/a/mystery-solved-in-thornhill-and-namath-myth
David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize winner and biographer; “History writes people out of the story. It’s our job to write them back in.”
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