Football | 11/18/2019 9:09:00 AM

During their 12 years together as leaders of the successful Navy football program, head coach Ken Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper have combined on countless correct decisions.

When it comes to senior quarterback Malcolm Perry, arguably the most explosive, exciting athlete ever to wear shoulder pads for the Midshipmen, it admittedly took them a while to get this one right.

Jasper, who has developed a line of effective — and some big-time — option quarterbacks in Annapolis, frowned as he flashed back to last season's loss in Colorado Springs to rival Air Force.

Following that 35-7 defeat, which dropped Navy's record to 2-3, Jasper got Niumatalolo's endorsement of another position switch regarding Perry, who had alternated between slot back and quarterback for two seasons. Perry seemingly had secured the quarterback job during preseason camp in 2018.

The midseason idea was to get more useful pieces back into the Navy offense by replacing Perry with the rugged Zach Abey and by shifting Perry back to slot back, where he could still manufacture big plays.

The unsettled quarterback situation was not the only reason the Mids kept tumbling after the Air Force loss — a season that finished as just the second losing record in 11 seasons under Niumatalolo.

But the decision to turn the offense over to Perry completely in 2019 has undeniably paid large dividends for the 7-2 Mids.

Navy enters Saturday's showdown with visiting SMU with a 5-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference and in a three-way tie atop the west division with the Mustangs and Memphis.

"After Air Force just flat-out beat us last year, I panicked," Jasper says. "I recommended we move Malcolm to A-back again. I wanted to get more of our best players on the field at the same time. It was a bad decision."

"We did Malcolm a real disservice by not fully committing to him last year [at quarterback]," Niumatalolo says. "Our only move this year was to put all of our chips on him. No more switching back and forth. He was going to be our quarterback, win or bust."

In the aftermath of a bitter, 17-10 loss to Army in Philadelphia last year, Jasper approached Perry in the lobby of the team's hotel to confirm the obvious. Perry was Navy's man, period, starting at that moment. Perry, who had just completed his second straight season as a 1,000-yard rusher, already was mapping out a plan to devour the assignment as the undisputed leader of the offense.

"I had to become a more complete player," says Perry, whose passing game was pretty much non-existent during his eight combined starts at quarterback as a sophomore and junior.

"I had to increase my knowledge of the offense. I had to get better at throwing the ball. I had to be a better leader," he adds. "I had to become more than a guy running all over the place, especially against good defenses stacking the box [and daring Navy to pass]. You can't rely too much on using your athletic ability as a 'save me' card. That is  not good for an offense."

Following an offseason during which Perry threw himself into every aspect of playing quarterback — part of the reason he was chosen by teammates as a co-captain — the proof lies in the numbers.

With 1,159 rushing yards and 16 rushing TDs and steady dose of big plays, Perry has set the tone all season for the Navy ground game that leads the FBS with 349.4 yards per game. He ranks fifth among major college players with 128.8 rushing yards per game.

Perry ranks third in school history with 3,501 rushing yards. He trails former NFL running back Napoleon McCallum (4,179) and 2016 graduate Keenan Reynolds, considered by many to be the best-ever Navy quarterback behind Roger Staubach.

Only two Mids — Reynolds and Perry — have rushed for at least 1,000 yards in three three seasons.

"I've watched [Perry] his whole career," Reynolds says. "His maturity level has really stood out this year. I'm proud of him and the way he's grown."

Perry's command of the triple option offers clear evidence of his practice repetitions and the long hours spent watching film on his own, dating to last summer.

And his passing game, which he honed last spring and further sharpened on his free time during summer school by throwing often to teammates such as receivers Mychal Cooper and Chance Warren and slot back Tazh Maloy, has been a revelation.

After two seasons in which Perry combined to complete only 10 of 27 pass attempts for 227 yards, this year he has connected on 32 of 60 passes for 758 yards and five scores. He also has formed a dangerous combination with Cooper (two TDs, 26.2-yard advantage on 12 receptions).

But it's still Perry's breakaway speed and dazzling cut-back ability that continue to define what he means to the Mids.

Then there is the way Perry absorbs some crushing blows and presses on with his 5-feet-9, 185-pound frame. Since getting blasted in the back downfield by a pursuing defensive lineman while fighting for extra yardage in an early-season loss at Memphis — the hit rendered him unable to lift his throwing arm that day — Perry rarely has missed a meaningful play.

"Malcolm makes us look way better as a line that we are," senior center Ford Higgins says.

"Some guys need a hole to run through. Malcolm squeezes between people and makes other people miss. And as much as this sport is about wanting to be a tough guy, it truly shows with him. That part of his character is contagious. It makes us all want to play that much better for each other."

"If we just give [Perry] a little crease, he can make magic happen," adds senior guard David Forney. "Hands down, he's the toughest guy, mentally and physically, on our team. He commands respect."

Perry's time in the backfield, regardless of the position, has been peppered with long runs. He is one of four Navy players with at least four, 200-yard rushing games in his career. Only Perry has produced a pair of runs of 90 yards or more at Navy.

In 17 career starts at quarterback, he has averaged 140.5 yards per game and scored 29 touchdowns.

"It's amazing what Malcolm has done for us this year when he's had to scramble," says Jasper. "We had lots of minus [yardage] plays on scrambles last year. This year, he's done a great job running our base offense and making big-play throws. And our scramble plays have been very dangerous — 20, 30, even 60 yards.

"[Perry] has become a capable option quarterback, making the reads and checks and hitting the play action [pass]," Reynolds adds. "But his speed in the open field and be a game breaker and take it to the house from anywhere is unique. He's got the ability to play the game at the next level.

"I think his season is going hand in hand with getting the keys [to run the offense]. If you know you're secure in your job, you can focus on getting better and not worry about getting yanked if you make some mistakes. It brings on confidence."

Perry has been a constant force for the Mids, especially in the way he engineered game-winning drives against Air Force and Tulane.

Using his legs and his arm on October 5 against the Falcons, Perry drove Navy downfield in the final minutes and scored a late touchdown to lift the Mids to a come-from-behind victory. Three weeks later in a wild 41-38 win over Tulane, Perry needed a minute to march Navy 43 yards — without a pass. His clutch, 21-yard scramble put the Mids in field-goal range.

That allowed freshman kicker Bijan Nichols to kick a game-winning, 48-yard field goal as time expired.

"Malcolm just put us on his back and willed us to victory in those two games. He was so calm and had such clarity about him," Niumatlolo says.

"His ability to cut back and make people miss is the most dynamic I've seen since I've been here. And there isn't one iota of 'I've arrived' or 'I'm satisfied' in his attitude. He never settles for anything.

Yes, this year's success hasn't changed Perry. He remains the shy kid from Clarksville, Tenn, the product of a military family with four older siblings, who has excelled at running a football since he first wore pads as a third grader.

His parents, Bonny and Malcolm, served in the U.S. Army for a combined 40 years, raising a family with Fort Campbell as a steady presence on the Kentucky-Tennesse border.

"Malcolm is a lot like me. I don't do well around unruly, undisciplined people," Bonny Perry says. "He was always talking about joining the Army as a kid. He's always been camera shy. And he still doesn't think he's a big deal."

Perry showed exceptional ability as a quarterback at Kenwood High School. A two-time, All-State selection, Perry attracted offers from Navy, Army, Air Force and Austin Peay.

"The thing I got most from college coaches was, 'We like him, but we don't know what he is,' sort of like it went at Navy," says Brian Beaubien, formerly the head coach at Kenwood. Malcolm played quarterback and we used him like a running back, with some option concepts.

"I'd tell them that Malcolm was the most dependable, humble kid you could meet. He was never in trouble, always got good grades, never missed practice, had a great work ethic. He was also the most dynamic kid with a ball in his hands that i've ever been around."

Perry has lost none of that humility. He doesn't run from the attention he inevitably attracts, be it from the media or on the Yard. But he definitely seeks no spotlights.

"If I can avoid talking about football on the Yard or even in my room, I'll do it," says Perry, who aims to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. "I don't enjoy talking about my successes or failures. I'd rather keep that in the locker room or on the field.

"My parents taught me to work hard and be humble. I realize I'm a senior now and I'm the quarterback. i've gotten to the point where I've learned to accept [the attention]. But it's not something I want to bathe in. I'd rather not have it."