Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo thought back to that final, mostly forgettable game in December 2012, a season-ending blowout loss to Arizona State in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

After watching 6-feet-1, 245-pound, then-freshman Chris Swain produce two long runs that night, including a scintillating, 46-yard touchdown highlight, Niumatalolo sensed there was a strong chance the Midshipmen had found a new, starting fullback.

Yet, nearly two years later, a familiar presence remains a leading fixture in Navy's deep offensive backfield. Senior fullback Noah Copeland, who is three inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than Swain and was derailed by injuries in 2013, has regained his place atop the Navy depth chart.

Although Swain has earned his share of starts and playing time and remains a force in the Navy game plan - and senior Quinton Singleton is a very capable third-stringer - there is no doubt about who sets the tone while lining up behind quarterback Keenan Reynolds in the Mids' triple-option attack.

"Swain is built like a Greek god and he's got so much speed. Singleton is good enough to start for us," Niumatalolo said. "But Noah is healthy again, and he is the guy we look to."

"The coaches fell in love with Swain by the end of 2012," recalled Mids fullbacks coach Mike Judge. "We even talked about moving Copeland or Singleton to slot back last year to make room for Chris. But when you go back and watch every play of every game [on tape], Noah proved he was the most consistent [among the fullbacks].

"It's about effort, execution and [knowing] assignments. The total body of work Noah has put together is what separates him. He doesn't repeat errors. His attention to detail is immaculate. He doesn't miss the little things. If we had a team full of Noahs, we'd be really good. He's what you're looking for in a player."

Clearly, Copeland's teammates agree with that assessment. Last spring, they spoke with their votes and bestowed a huge honor upon Copeland by declaring him offensive captain.

"I was very surprised and humbled by that. I wasn't looking to be a team captain," said Copeland, 22. "It's obviously a blessing to be voted to lead your team [along with defensive captain Parrish Gaines]. But it's easy to lead a team like this. Our attitudes are focused on playing winning football and staying out of trouble. We're all moving in one direction."

"Everyone knew [Copeland] was going to be a captain," Swain said. "He's very consistent and he's a vocal leader who knows what to do on every play. That doesn't frustrate me. It pushes me to be a better football player."

After an injury-marred, junior season that limited him to three starts in nine games, Copeland is thrilled just to be moving forward without pain in 2014.

Last fall brought him one ailment after another. In the season's third game, a 19-7 loss at Western Kentucky, Copeland injured a hamstring. That did not keep him from playing a week later against Air Force, but Copeland sprained a knee ligament in the Mids' 28-10 victory.

Two weeks later in a 45-44, double-overtime loss at Toledo, Copeland had a bittersweet afternoon. He was the heart of the Navy offense with 28 carries for 153 yards, both career-highs. He caught a 20-yard scoring pass for the first touchdown reception of his career. But something was wrong with his right leg.

A sluggish week of practice followed. Then, after an ineffective first half during Navy's 24-21 win over Pittsburgh, Copeland was pulled from the game. Later, an MRI revealed he was suffering from a stress fracture in his lower leg.

"I felt fine playing through the Toledo game, but the next day when I got out of the ice tub, I was [unusually] sore," Copeland said. "The next week at practice, it hurt when I pushed off to start running, and it hurt when I stopped. I could not run full speed."

The definitive news was devastating to Copeland, who said, "I've been hurt before playing football, but I had never missed a game in my entire life. It was almost too much to take."

Here he was at midseason, with that huge performance against Toledo behind him and a trip to Notre Dame in front of him - it would be his last time playing in South Bend - and Copeland had to face the reality that he would be out of action for at least a month. All football activities had to be shut down.

The only thing that lifted Copeland's spirits was hearing team doctor Jeff Fair's projection that he could return to face Army in mid-December, barring a setback in his recovery.

After missing four games, Copeland made a triumphant return in Navy's 34-7 rout of its archrival by rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on five carries. He then wrapped up his roller-coaster season by adding 59 rushing yards (second most on the team) in the Mids' 24-6 win over Middle Tennessee State in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.

Heading into his final offseason as a Midshipman, Copeland made some changes in his routine. For starters, after following the advice of the Navy coaching staff to "bulk up" to nearly 230 pounds to protect his body against the wear and tear of the fullback position, Copeland and the staff were convinced the calculated weight gain had been a mistake.

Copeland, who stands 5 feet 10, shaved off 15 pounds and weighed in last spring at 214. He also added more rest to his schedule and eliminated junk food from his diet while increasing his consumption of vegetables and chicken.

After an outstanding preseason camp, Copeland was on full, healthy display before more than 57,000 spectators at M&T Bank Stadium, in Navy's much-anticipated season opener against fifth-ranked Ohio State. He averaged three yards on seven carries, squirted through the arms of Buckeyes tacklers several times to turn no gains into positive yards, threw numerous effective blocks to spring Reynolds and slot backs Ryan Williams-Jenkins and Geoffrey Whiteside.

And there was Copeland also doing one of his treasured "other jobs." Twice after lining up as a gunner on Navy's punt team, Copeland fought through Ohio State blockers, sprinted downfield and made tackles.

How many senior fullbacks who have started for three years even play on special teams coverage units? Copeland, who, after spending a year at the Naval Academy Prep School, earned his first letter in 2011 as one of the team's top specialists, still craves the role. He was very happy that Niumatalolo, who seriously considered removing Copeland from all coverage duty this season, changed his mind after special teams coach Steve Johns pleaded for Copeland's continued service.

"I loved hitting people as a defender before I ever started running the ball in high school," said Copeland, who starred as a running back for two seasons at Louis D. Brandeis High School in San Antonio in what was then a new program at a new school. "Instead of cut-blocking somebody or running the ball, when I get to hit people, wrap them up and throw them to the ground, it takes me back to what I first loved about playing football."

As the youngest of three children raised by Catherine and Fred Copeland, Sr. - she runs a daycare business, while Fred, Sr., a retired Master Sergeant and 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is a physical education aide and youth basketball coach - Noah played soccer and studied karate before discovering the gridiron at age 10.

Copeland first fell in love with the martial arts. He fondly recalled the day in middle school when he earned his junior black belt by successfully fighting off four "attackers." By that point, he had already tried flag football and had been discovered by a Pop Warner coach who urged Noah's parents to sign him up for a youth team.

"Noah is one of our more outgoing kids. At first, he didn't want anything to do with football, but he usually would try anything. He was a lineman until the seventh grade," Fred, Sr. said. "Then he started getting thinner and faster. He made the varsity as a safety in his sophomore year [of high school]."

After that year at Sandra Day O'Connor High, school redistricting sent Copeland to Brandeis, where he became a running back for the first time. As Navy junior cornerback and former Brandeis teammate Quincy Adams remembered, it didn't take long for Copeland to establish his place at the top of the Brandeis pecking order. As a senior, Copeland led the team to three playoff wins and a district title.

"Noah was a regular, 20-plus carry per game guy right away. He was the premier football player at the school," said Adams, who followed Copeland by becoming the school's Athlete of the Year as a senior. "People had to respect him and his performance."

Catherine Copeland said when Navy began to recruit her son aggressively she felt some trepidation at the thought of Noah serving in the military (he hopes to be commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps).

"[Noah] never thought he'd be playing college football, so he was determined to check out the Naval Academy [with a recruiting visit]," she said. "When he called to tell me how much he loved the visit and loved the idea of the brotherhood, I realized he was already connecting with his brothers. He's worked hard to get where he is."

"You don't question what kind of Noah you're going to get on game day or on the practice field," said Navy senior guard Jake Zuzek, who bonded with Copeland at NAPS, where they were in the same company. "He's one of the hardest workers on our team and one of my best friends. He's got real good speed. He can run over people like he's 240 pounds. I love blocking for that guy."

"Noah was relentless as a freshman. If I asked him to stay late for one more rep, he'd stay for two," recalled former fullback Alex Teich '12, who tutored Copeland as a plebe. "He never wanted to be good. He wanted to be great. He never lost sight of being the no. 1 guy in that [fullback] rotation."

Copeland paid his dues. He capped a fine freshman season against Army on special teams by making four tackles and forcing a fourth-quarter fumble that teammate Jordan Drake recovered, as Navy sealed a 27-21 win.

The following season, Copeland settled in at fullback and finished as the Mids' second-leading rusher with 738 yards and added five touchdowns. So far, the co-captain has buried last year's injury-plagued experience.

"Noah runs low and hard. He takes great pride in his blocking and being a student of the game," Judge said. "Normally, that caliber of player would be too good for special teams. He was mad last year when he found out we were taking him off of a couple of [specialty] units."

"I'm not really worried about how much I play or if I start. I don't look at things that way," Copeland said. "If I'm getting on the field and contributing and doing anything to help my team, playing the game I love, I'm happy."