Brian Newberry Named Head Coach
•    Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced on Dec. 19 that Brian Newberry will be the 40th head football coach at the Naval Academy. Newberry has served as the defensive coordinator at Navy for the last four seasons.
• Navy finished third in the nation against the run in 2022, which is even more impressive when you consider it was the only defense ranked in the top 25 that faced 3 of the top-10 rushing offenses in the country. Navy also finished third in fewest first downs allowed, 23rd in sacks, 22nd in fumbles recovered and 32nd in total defense.
• Senior striker John Marshall finished third in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss per game while setting school records for single-season and single-game sacks. Marshall was the only unanimous First-Team All- American Athletic Conference selection in 2022.
• In 2021, the Navy defense acquitted itself well by finishing #32 in the nation in rushing defense, #34 in total defense and #34 in red zone defense. Linebacker Diego Fagot was distinguished with All-America honors, First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and was named All-East. He was also named MVP of the East-West Shrine All-Star Game.
• In 2020, after a slow start due to COVID, the defense finished the year with a flurry, holding Memphis, Tulsa and Army to under 300 yards of total offense. It was the first time a Navy defense had achieved that feat since 1997.
• In 2019, Newberry's first year on the job, Navy made massive improvements on the defense.
• Navy ranked 20th in third down defense (121st in 2018), 10th in rushing defense (90th in 2018), 39th in passing defense (75th in 2018), 16th in total defense (86th in 2018) and 34th in scoring defense (103rd in 2018).
• Newberry, a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, presented annually to the best assistant coach in college football, and his defensive staff installed a "Get 6" culture within the Navy defense that took off. Newberry told the defensive players if they got a combination of six three-and-outs, fourth down stops, turnovers and defensive touchdowns in a game, the Mids would win. In 2019, Navy was 8-0 when it managed to "Get 6."
•     The Mids finished 10th in the nation against the run despite facing the #2, #3 and #11 rushing offenses in the country. Navy forced the opposing offense off the field in 3 plays or less in 36 percent of its drives, which was the nation's 10th-best average. Navy also gave up just 15.2 first downs per game, which was tied for third best.
• Prior to his arrival in Annapolis, Newberry served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Kennesaw State from 2015-18, leading the Owls to the FCS quarterfinals in each of his last two seasons.
•     Newberry joined the Kennesaw State coaching staff after spending the 2012 season as defensive coordinator at Northern Michigan. Prior to his one season at Northern Michigan, Newberry served as defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at the University of the South in 2011 where the Tigers improved their scoring defense by 16 points per game and total defense by 85 yards a contest.
•     Newberry's coaching experience also includes 4 seasons (2007-10) as defensive backs coach at Elon and 5 years (2004-06, 2001 and 2002) as defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Washington & Lee. He also served as a graduate assistant/defensive line coach at Rice during the spring of 2004, spent one season (2003) as an assistant defensive backs coach at Lehigh and began his coaching career at Southern Arkansas where he was a graduate assistant coaching the defensive backs and wide receivers in 1999 and 2000.
•     In 2004, Newberry's Washington & Lee defense produced a school-record 43 sacks and ranked among the Division III leaders in rushing defense. The Generals' defense led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in pass defense, rush defense and scoring defense in 2005 and in 2006, Washington & Lee forced 30 turnovers and ranked among the nation's leaders in pass defense.
•     Newberry played collegiately at Baylor and graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in education. He helped lead the Bears to the Southwest Conference Co-Championship and an appearance in the 1994 Alamo Bowl. In 1995, Baylor was ranked #5 in total defense.

Marshall Named ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, Busic and Marshall Named First-Team All-East
•    Senior striker John Marshall was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, while junior defensive end Jacob Busic and Marshall were named First-Team All-East by the ECAC.
• Marshall had an incredible season that saw him lead the Mids in tackles (96), tackles for loss (19.5), sacks (11.5), pass breakups (7) and quarterback hurries (6) and tie for the team lead in forced fumbles (2). His 19.5 sacks is a Navy record, while the 11.5 tackles for a loss are the third most in school history. Marshall finished the regular season third in the nation in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game.
•     Busic finished with 38 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and recovered a fumble while teaming up with Marshall to give Navy one of its best pass rushing duos since 2005 when Tyler Tidwell (10) and David Mahoney (8) combined for 18 sacks.

Five Mids Named To Phil Steele's All-AAC Teams
•    Senior striker John Marshall, junior nose guard Donald Berniard Jr., junior defensive end Jacob Busic, sophomore linebacker Colin Ramos and sophomore fullback Daba Fofana were named to Phil Steele's All-American Athletic Conference teams.
•     Marshall was Navy's lone representative on the first team after an incredible season that saw him lead the Mids in tackles (96), tackles for loss (19.5), sacks (11.5), pass breakups (7) and quarterback hurries (6) and tie for the team lead in forced fumbles (2). His 19.5 sacks is a Navy record, while the 11.5 tackles for a loss are the third most in school history. Marshall finished the regular season fourth in the nation in sacks per game and tackles for a loss per game.
•     Berniard Jr., Busic and Ramos were all named to the third team and were anchors for a defense that finished sixth nationally against the run (88.9 yds/gm), seventh in fewest first downs allowed (187), 20th in sacks per game (2.83) and 33rd in total defense per game (339.0).
•     Berniard Jr. recorded 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble while constantly taking on double teams, freeing up other players to make tackles.
•     Busic finished with 38 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and recovered a fumble while teaming up with Marshall to give Navy one of its best pass rushing duos in recent memory.
•     Ramos finished second to Marshall in tackles with 79, had 8.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery proving that for a sophomore he has an incredible knack for making plays all over the field.
•     Fofana, who started the year as the third-team fullback, was named to the fourth team thanks to his team-high 769 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 186 carries. He helped Navy finish sixth in the country in rushing offense (241.2 yds/gm).

Seniors Receive Service Assignments
•    The 25 seniors on the Navy football team received their service assignments on Nov. 17.
•    Navy's seniors will graduate on May 26 and be commissioned Ensigns in the Navy or 2nd Lieutenants in the Marine Corps. Graduates serve a minimum of 5 years in the Navy or Marine Corps, while pilots serve 8 years upon earning their wings.  

Joshua Adams: S / Marine Corps Ground
Terrell Adams: LB / Marine Corps Ground
John Amell: TE / Surface Warfare
Derek Atwaters: S / Surface Warfare
John Brand: DT / Submarines
Daniel Davies: K/P / Meteorology and     Oceanography
Kip Frankland: OT / Navy Pilot
Christian Hutchinson: TE / Information Professional
Zachary Kuhlman: WR / Navy Pilot
Brandon Madison: FB / Submarines
John Marshall: Striker / Information Professional
Mike Mauai: FB / Suface Warfare
Maasai Maynor: QB / Marine Corps Ground
Brandon Moore: OG / Surface Warfare
Michael Naze: TE / Marine Corps Ground
Bijan Nichols: K / Submarines
Joseph Petti: OT / Marine Corps Ground
Jacobi Rice Jr.: DT / Naval Intelligence
Taylor Robinson: S / Marine Corps Ground
Jamie Romo: OT / Navy Pilot
Nicolas Rowan: OG / Surface Warfare
Max Sandlin: OLB / Marine Corps Pilot
Trent Shiraki: LB / Surface Warfare Nuclear
Nicholas Straw: Raider / Navy Pilot
Mark Walker: WR / Marine Corps Ground

Navy Earns 2022 AFCA Academic Achievement Award
•    Navy, Air Force, Boston College, Northwestern, Stanford, Toledo and Vanderbilt will share the American Football Coaches Association's 2022 Academic Achievement Award, which is presented by the Memphis Touchdown Club.
 • All seven schools recorded a 100 percent graduation rate for members of their 2015 freshman football student-athlete classes. The award was presented during the Honors Luncheon at the 2023 AFCA Convention.
• This year's award marks the 11th time the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) formula has been used to select the winner. From 1981 to 2007, the award was presented based on a formula used by the College Football Association and the AFCA. From 2008-17, the criteria for the AFCA's Academic Achievement Award was based on the highest NCAA GSR, and a Federal Graduation Rate of 75 percent or better. For 2018 and 2019, the AFCA used the NCAA's single-year APR. The AFCA returns to the NCAA GSR for 2022.
• The GSR is based on a six-year graduation window for student-athletes and holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees and non-scholarship students at schools that do not offer athletics aid. Under GSR calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing transfer students who leave in good academic standing. These outgoing transfers are passed to the receiving institution's GSR cohort.
•     The Academic Achievement Award was established by the College Football Association in 1981. The award recognized the CFA-member Football Bowl Subdivision institution with the highest graduation rate among members of its football team. When the CFA disbanded in 1997, the AFCA stepped in to present the award.

Six Mids Named Academic All-District
•    Six Navy football players were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators and are now eligible for Academic All-American honors.
• Navy's honorees include sophomore fullback Daba Fofana (3.84 GPA, physics), junior safety Eavan Gibbons (3.53, ocean engineering), sophomore long snapper Byron Rhodes (3.67, foreign area studies-Asia), sophomore punter Riley Riethman (3.95, aerospace engineering), junior wide receiver Jayden Umbarger (3.67, political science) and senior kickoff specialist Evan Warren (4.0, political science - honors program).
• All 6 have not only excelled in the classroom, but also on the gridiron. Fofana is Navy's leading rusher with 635 yards and 6 touchdowns on 155 carries; Gibbons has started every game at safety and is 4th on the team in tackles with 48 and has 5 tackles for loss; Rhodes has been the starting long snapper for the majority of the year; Riethman is averaging 44.3 yards per punt on 30 punts, which includes 9 that have been fair caught, 8 placed inside the 20 and 8 that have traveled 50 yards or more; and Warren who has been Navy's main kickoff specialist and has seen 12 of his 37 kickoffs go for touchbacks, while opponents are averaging just 20.2 yards per return.
    
Gibbons Named Academic All-American
•    Junior safety Eavan Gibbons was named a Second-Team Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators.  It is the fourth-consecutive year a Navy football player has earned Academic All-America honors.
•     Gibbons, who started all 12 games in the fall and recorded 54 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery and 2 forced fumbles, carries a 3.53 grade-point average as an ocean engineering major.
•     Gibbons will be among the 9 returning starters next year on a defense that finished third nationally against the run in 2022. 

Marshall Has Monster Year, Only Player In AAC to Earn Unanimous All-Conference Honors
• Senior striker and team captain John Marshall was named a unanimous First-Team All-American Athletic Conference defense selection. He was the only player on offense or defense to be unanimously selected by the league's head coaches.
•    Marshall led Navy in tackles (96), tackles for loss (19.5), sacks (11.5), pass breakups (7) and quarterback hurries (6).
• His 11.5 sacks broke the school record for most sacks in a single season, while his 19.5 tackles for loss are the third most in program history. He finished fourth in the country in tackles for loss per game, averaging 1.6 per contest and third in sacks, averaging 0.96.
•    He was in on a career-high 15 tackles in Navy's loss to Memphis on Sept. 10. His previous best was 10 against Army in 2020.  
•    The 15 tackles by Marshall were the most by a Navy player since Cody Peterson and DJ Sargenti recorded 18 tackles each in the Mids' triple overtime win over San Jose State in 2013.
•    Marshall had an incredible game against Temple, recording 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 quarterback hurries and broke up 5 passes.
•    The 5 pass breakups against Temple were the most by a Navy player since at least 2000 and the mark tied for the third most in the FBS this year. He had 3 tackles and a pass breakup in Temple's 6 overtime plays. He entered the game with 5 CAREER pass breakups.
•    Marshall had another solid game against Cincinnati, recording 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.
•    Against Notre Dame, he had 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception.
•    He was sensational in Navy's upset of #17 UCF, recording 10 tackles, a school-record 4 sacks and forcing a fumble that Navy recovered and set up the game-winning field goal.
•    He recorded 8 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss against Army.

Depth Chart Dominated by Sophomores and Juniors
•    Navy had just 5 seniors listed on its offensive (3) and defensive (2) two-deep depth chart, including 4 that started.
•    The Mids had 17 juniors (10 off, 7 def), 20 sophomores (8 off, 12 def) and 2 freshmen (1 off, 1 def) on the two-deep.
•    Note that none of these players for Navy were redshirted or "turned back" in Service Academy terms. Air Force had 19 turnbacks on its roster this year, while Army had 17.