2020 Mids Bits
•    Navy finished the 2020 season with a 3-7 record, including a 3-4 mark in the American Athletic Conference. It is just the third losing season for the Mids in the last 18 years. Navy will return 23 players - 10 on offense, 13 on defense - that started multiple games in 2020.
•     Navy senior guard Peter Nestrowitz was named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference, while junior linebacker Diego Fagot was named to the second team by the league's 11 head coaches.
•    Navy started three different quarterbacks in its first-three games of the season for the first time since 1992. That 1992 team finished 1-10. Navy played at least two quarterbacks in eight of its 10 contests, playing just one QB against Temple and Houston (Dalen Morris went the distance in both games).
•    13th-year Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo earned his 100th-career victory when the Mids defeated Temple in Annapolis on Oct. 10. He is the 24th active coach with 100-career wins and just the sixth active coach to achieve it at one school.
•    Navy is 42-28 (.600) in the Niumatalolo era (2008-present) in one-score games (8 points or less), including 3-1 (.750) in 2020.
•    Senior defensive end Jackson Perkins was the only player on Navy's defensive unit to start all 10 games in 2020.
•    Navy saw 26 players make their first-career start during the 2020 campaign which tied for the most in the country along with Clemson and Mississippi State.
•    In each of its last three games of the season, the Navy defense held the opposition to under 300 yards of total offense (205 by Memphis, 296 by Tulsa and 162 by Army). It marked the first time a Navy defense held the opposition to under 300 yards total offense in three-straight games since 1997 when the Mids did it in seven-consecutive games.
•    Sophomore linebacker Tama Tuitele finished tied for second in the nation in forced fumbles with four.
•    Senior cornerback Cameron Kinley was one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda. The Campbell Trophy, also known as the Academic Heisman, is college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Kinley also served as a tri-captain on the football team and is the President of the Naval Academy Class of 2021.

Nestrowitz and Fagot Named All-AAC
•    Navy senior guard Peter Nestrowitz was named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference, while junior linebacker Diego Fagot was named to the second team by the league's 11 head coaches. It was the second-straight year Fagot garnered honors, as he was named to the first team in 2019.
• Nestrowitz started all 10 games at right guard for the Mids this year and finished his career starting 24-consecutive games dating back to last year.
• Fagot started all nine games in which he played and led the Mids with 72 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss and three sacks.

Kinley Named Finalist For Campbell Trophy
•     On Nov. 12, the National Football Foundation announced that Cameron Kinley was one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda. Also known as the Academic Heisman, the Campbell Trophy is college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
•     The 12 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. The winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy will be selected later this year and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
•     Kinley is the 10th Navy football player selected as a finalist and third who has played for Ken Niumatalolo, joining John Dowd in 2011 and E.K. Binns in 2015.
•     Submitted by their school's Sports Information Department, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
•     Kinley carries a 3.32 GPA, was a two-year starter at cornerback, served as a tri-captain on the 2020 football team and is the Class President for the Class of 2021.

Kinley Honored By Witten, Wuerffel and Senior CLASS Awards
•    Senior cornerback Cameron Kinley was a semifinalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the Jason Witten Award, while also being named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
•    Kinley was one of 30 NCAA FBS student-athletes who were selected as semifinalists for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
• An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
•     Kinley was also one of 20 players nationwide selected as semifinalists for the Jason Witten Award.
•    The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player's leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, has served as one of football's most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others.
•    The Wuerffel Trophy, named after former Florida quarterback and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, honors college football players who serve others, celebrate their positive impact on society and inspire greater service in the world.

Mids Lose Two Key Seniors Due To Injury
•    The Navy defense suffered a key loss when senior free safety Evan Fochtman made the decision to retire due to concussions.
•    Fochtman was considered one of Navy's best players on defense and started all 13 games a year ago for one of the nation's most improved defense's.
•    Fochtman started three games in 2020 before suffering his career-ending concussion.
•     The Navy offense lost senior wide receiver Ryan Mitchell to a broken collarbone against SMU.  
•    Mitchell had 5 catches for 156 yards (31.2 yards per catch) and a touchdown for the MIds and was also an outstanding blocker.

Fagot Has Solid Junior Campaign
•    Junior linebacker Diego Fagot was named a 2020 Preseason Third-Team All-American by Phil Steele and also appeared on the watch lists for both the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards.
•    In 2019, Fagot led the team in tackles with 100 (52s-48a) and was second on the team in tackles for a loss (12) and sacks (5.5). He also forced two fumbles, broke up two passes and had an interception that he returned for a TD. Fagot earned 2019 First-Team All-AAC recognition and was named the Liberty Bowl Defensive Player of the Game.
•    In the 2020 season opener against BYU, Fagot led the Mids with a career-high 13 tackles and equaled his career mark with two tackles for a loss.
•    He came up huge in Navy's 27-24 win at Tulane, recording nine tackles, two tackles for a loss, two pass breakups and a sack as Navy pulled off the biggest comeback in school history.
•    After missing the Temple game with an injury, Fagot led the team with 12 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack in Navy's win over East Carolina.
•    Against Houston, he had 10 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack.
•    Fagot led the way as the Navy defense posted its best night of the season by holding Memphis to 10 points, 280 yards of total offense and 205 yards through the air. Fagot paced Navy with eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.
•    In another strong outing for the Navy defense, Fagot recorded 6 tackles against Tulsa, forced and recovered a fumble and had a tackle for a loss.
•    Fagot had five tackles and a tackle for a loss against Army.
•    Despite injuries that plagued him throughout the year, Fagot led the Mids in tackles (72), tackles for a loss (11) and sacks (3) and was named 2020 Second-Team All-AAC.

First-Time Starters
•    Navy saw 26 players make their first-career start during the 2020 campaign which tied for the most in the country along with Clemson and Mississippi State.
•    Broken down by class, Navy saw 8 seniors, 8 juniors, 8 sophomores and 2 freshmen earn their first-career starts during the 2020 season.
•    There were 11 players on offense to earn first-career starts and 15 on defense.

Navy's Trends Under Niumatalolo
•    Ken Niumatalolo, the longest-tenured coach in school history and in the American Athletic Conference, closed out his 13th year as the Mids' head coach.  
•    With 101-career wins, Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in school history.
•    With his 9 wins against Army, he is the winningest coach in the history of the Army-Navy game and with 7 wins against Air Force, he's the winningest Navy coach in the history of the Navy-Air Force game.
•    Navy is 65-15 (.813) under Niumatalolo when scoring first, including 2-2 (.500) in 2020.
•    Navy is 84-5 (.944) under Niumatalolo when entering the fourth quarter with the lead, including 2-0 (1.000) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 70-17 (.805) under Niumatalolo when scoring 30 or more points in a game, including 1-1 (.500) in 2020.
•    Navy is 87-23 (.791) when holding the opposition to under 30 points, including 3-3 (.500) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 54-17 (.761) at home under Niumatalolo, including 1-4 (.200) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 94-42 (.691) when outrushing the opposition under Niumatalolo, including 2-2 (.500) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 71-9 (.888) when having more total offense than the opposition under Niumatalolo, including 0-1 (.000) in 2020.
•    The Mids are 81-33 (.711) when winning the time of possession, including 3-4 (.429) in 2020.
•    Navy is 61-20 (.753) under Niumatalolo when scoring on its first possession (regardless of who had the ball first), including 1-1 (.500) in 2020. It is 39-46 (.459) when it doesn't score on its first possession, including 2-5 (.286) in 2020.  
•    When Navy scores a touchdown on its first possession of the game (regardless of who had the ball first) in the Niumatalolo era, its record improves to 52-13 (.800), including 1-1 (.500) in 2020.
•    When Navy starts the game with the ball in the Niumatalolo era and scores, the Mids are an impressive 19-5 (.792), including 1-0 in 2020. When the Mids start the game with the ball and go down and score a touchdown, the record is even better at 14-2 (.875), including 1-0 in 2020. When Navy starts the game with the ball and kicks a field goal, the Mids are 5-3 (.625). When Navy starts the game with the ball and doesn't score, it is 15-16 (.484).
•    When the opposition starts the game with the ball and scores a TD, Navy is 16-21 (.432) in the Niumatalolo era. If the Mids hold them to a field goal, Navy is 5-5 (.500). If the opposition starts the game with the ball and Navy holds them off the scoreboard, the Mids are 46-20 (.697).
•    Navy is 36-52 (.409) under Niumatalolo when the opponent scores first in the game, including 1-5 (.167) in 2020.
•    Under Niumatalolo, Navy is 32-24 (.571) with more than one week to prepare for an opponent, including 1-2 (.333) in 2020.