ORLANDO – Navy made a significant change on defense, coming out in a nickel package that Juan Hailey as the extra defensive back.
Head coach Ken Niumatalolo said the Navy staff has been studying what teams around the country have been doing to counteract the proliferation of spread offenses and the consensus was that a 3-3-5 alignment was the most effective weapon.
Niumatalolo said the idea of playing five defensive backs is to combat the run-pass option plays.
“We’re trying anything,” Niumatalolo said with a wry chuckle. “A lot of people are playing a 3-3 stack against spread offenses.