Navy's Preseason Schedule
•    Second-year head football coach Brian Newberry and the Navy football team will open the 2024 campaign when the Midshipmen report for fall camp on Tuesday, July 30. Navy will hold its first practice on Wednesday, July 31.
•    Media Day / Fan Fest is set for Saturday, Aug. 3 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium beginning at 10:00 am. Newberry, co-captains Daba Fofana (Sr / FB) and Colin Ramos (Sr / LB) along with position captains Blake Horvath (Jr / QB) and Justin Reed (Sr / DE) will meet with the media, while the rest of the team will sign autographs on the concourse.
•    The annual Blue & Gold BBQ will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10. Practice begins at 9:30 am with the BBQ to follow at 11:30 am.
•    The final day of fall camp is Saturday, August 17 and will be a closed practice. The first day of classes is on Monday, Aug. 19.
•    Navy will resume its traditional practice schedule on Aug. 19, practicing on the Yard from 4-6 pm. That will also be the first day the plebes will be available for interviews.
•    Navy's opener is slated for Aug. 31 (12:00 pm) against Bucknell at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on CBS Sports Network and the Navy Radio Network.

News and Notes
•    Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P) are returning First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selections by the league's coaches. Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) was named to the third team, while Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB) and Dashaun Peele (Sr / CB) were named honorable mention last year.
• The Mids have 4 players returning who were named All-East last fall - Defense (2): Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S), Offense (1): Alex Tecza (Jr. / FB) and Special Teams (1): Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).
•    Navy and Penn State were the only schools in the FBS last year to record 3 shutouts. The 3 shutouts were the most by a Navy team since 1978 when the Mids shut out 4 opponents. The shutout of East Carolina was the first time the Pirates had been shut out in 26 years (322 games). The Navy defense did not allow a touchdown in 4 of its 12 games last year (UAB scored 6 points on 2 field goals).
•    Navy's defense finished 2nd in the nation last year in fumbles recovered with 14.
•    Navy's red zone defense finished 3rd in the country last fall, allowing opponents to score just 72 percent of the time.
•    Navy was 4th in the country in turnover margin last year at +0.92.
•    Navy's 5 interceptions thrown last year were the 5th fewest in the country.
•    Navy had 9 touchdown drives under 1:00 last year, tied for the 7th most in the country.
•    Luke Pirris (Jr. / Raider) and Justin Reed (Sr. / DE) tied for 6th in the country in fumble recoveries with 3 apiece last year.
•    Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) and Daba Fofana (Sr. / FB) were voted team captains for the 2024 season by their teammates. It is the greatest honor a Navy student-athlete can receive.
•    Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) is one of 42 candidates named to the 2024 Lott IMPACT Award Watch List. The list includes 18 defensive backs, 13 defensive linemen and 11 linebackers. Ramos is the only player on the list that is not from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC Conference.
•    Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT) will have the honor of wearing jersey No. 68 this fall in memory of former Navy offensive lineman David Forney. Forney, who was a senior offensive lineman on the 2019 team, died on Feb. 20, 2020, after being found unresponsive in Bancroft Hall. He was 22 years old. Forney won 3 varsity letters for the Mids and played in 39-consecutive games over his final three seasons.
•    Landon Robinson (Jr. / NG) was named the 2024 Admiral Mack Award winner as the most improved player during spring drills as voted on by the coaching staff.
•    Phil Steele released his 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams and Navy placed 13 players among the four teams, the second most in the conference.  Likely preseason favorite Memphis had 15 players named to the list.  Navy had four first-team selections: Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT), Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).  Ramos and Riethman were both First-Team All-AAC last fall, while Lane III was named to the third team.
•    Athlon Sports also released its 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams and Navy placed 10 players among the four teams. Navy had three first-team selections: Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).
•    Navy has won 68-consecutive games when leading after 3 quarters at home, the nation's longest streak. The last time Navy lost at home when leading after 3 quarters was Oct. 23, 1999, when the Mids led Akron 29-13 and lost 35-29.

Ramos and Fofana Named 2024 Team Captains
•    Seniors Colin Ramos (LB) and Daba Fofana (FB) have been voted team captains for the 2024 season by their teammates. It is the greatest honor a Navy student-athlete can receive.
•     Ramos has seen action in 32 games during his career, including 24 starts, and has earned 3 varsity letters. He has recorded 198 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception.
•    A 2023 First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and All-East selection, Ramos led Navy in tackles last fall with 110, the most by a Navy player since Cody Peterson recorded 142 in 2013. Additionally, he spearheaded a defense that recorded a nation's-best 3 shutouts, which were the most by a Navy team since 1978.
•    Fofana has played in 24-career games, starting 13, while earning 2 varsity letters.  He has rushed for 1,052 yards and 9 touchdowns over the past two seasons, which includes 3 100-yard rushing days.
•    A physics major who carries a 3.57 grade-point average, Fofana has been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team on twice.

Position Captains Announced for 2024 season
•    Navy head football coach Brian Newberry has announced the position captains for the 2024 season.  
•    The position captains will serve as part of the leadership council. Two position captains will join team captains Daba Fofana (Sr. / FB) and Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB) as game captains each week.

Defensive Line: Senior Justin Reed
Linebackers: Senior Kyle Jacob
Strikers / Raiders: Senior Jordan Sanders
Corners: Senior Dashaun Peele
Safeties: Senior Mbiti Williams Jr.
Specialists: Senior Riley Riethman
Wide Receivers: Senior Kroy Myers
Offensive Line: Senior Connor McMahon
Fullbacks: Junior Alex Tecza
Snipes: Senior Amin Hassan
Quarterbacks: Junior Blake Horvath
Tight Ends: Senior Thomas Scully
Sophomore Representative: Quarterback Braxton Woodson
Sophomore Representative:  Linebacker Job Grant

Ramos Among 42 Candidates for Lott Impact Award
•    The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation announced the 42 candidates for the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy, which included Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB). This year marks the 21st season of the award.
•    The 42-man Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List includes 18 defensive backs, 13 defensive linemen and 11 linebackers. Ramos is the only player that is not from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC Conference.
•    The Lott IMPACT Trophy is the only major college football award that considers character. Named after former NFL Hall of Fame star Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy annually goes to the Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, a player who has had the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity, all characteristics exhibited by Lott during his illustrious playing career.
•    The annual winner is selected by a national voter panel, consisting of former winners, members of the media, coaches and members of the Board of Directors of The IMPACT Foundation.
•    The winner will be announced at a gala, black-tie event at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif. on Dec. 8.
•    Ramos was a 2023 First-Team All-AAC selection after leading Navy with 110 tackles, and was second on the team with 8 tackles for loss. He recorded a career-high 16 tackles against Army.

Robinson Named 2024 Admiral Mack Award Winner
•    Landon Robinson (Jr. / NG) was named the 2024 Admiral Mack Award winner as the most improved player during spring drills as voted on by the coaching staff.
•    This is the second-consecutive year a defensive lineman has won the award as Justin Reed  (Sr. / DE) won the award last year. Robinson is the first true nose guard to win the Admiral Mack Award since Bernie Sarra in 2013 and just the third ever.
•    The Vice Admiral William P. Mack Award was established in 1976 and is named in honor of Vice Admiral Mack, the Naval Academy Superintendent from 1972-75, who was a strong supporter of the school's intercollegiate athletic program.
•    Robinson had a standout sophomore campaign backing up Donald Berniard Jr. at nose, finishing with 28 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and 4 sacks. His 4 sacks were the 3rd most on the team behind Justin Reed (Sr. / DE) and Luke Pirris, (Jr. / Raider) who recorded 4.5 sacks apiece.
•    Robinson was also one of just 13 defensive linemen and the only nose guard in the Football Bowl Subdivision to play on the kickoff team last fall.
•    Robinson appeared on last year's Freaks List by Bruce Feldman in The Athletic for his 600 pound squat, 420 pound bench press and 33-inch vertical.
•    Robinson, who came to Navy weighing 240 pounds, improved his numbers this year and now squats 650 lbs, bench presses 450 lbs, power cleans 335 lbs, has a 33-inch vertical and has a top speed of 20.13mph according to Catapult.

McMahon To Wear No. 68 in Memory of Former Navy Offensive Lineman David Forney
•    Navy head football coach Brian Newberry announced that Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT) will have the honor of wearing jersey No. 68 in memory of former Navy offensive lineman David Forney.
•    Forney, who was a senior offensive lineman on the 2019 team, died on Feb. 20, 2020, after being found unresponsive in Bancroft Hall. He was 22 years old. Forney was a 3-year varsity letter winner for the Mids and played in 39-consecutive games over his final 3 seasons.
•    In 2019, Forney started all 13 games at guard and was the anchor of an offensive line that set a school record and led the nation in rushing, averaging 360.5 yards per game.  Forney was extremely proud of being part of a senior class that authored the second-greatest turnaround in the history of FBS football as the Mids won a school-record tying 11 games, won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, shared the American Athletic Conference West Division title and won the Liberty Bowl. Forney was named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and First-Team All-East.
•     In 2020, Navy honored Forney by wearing a sticker on the back of its helmets that pictured him running out of the tunnel at the 2019 Army-Navy game carrying the American flag with the word Brotherhood underneath.  Additionally, Navy did not issue jersey No. 68 until the Army-Navy game when starting offensive lineman Billy Honaker wore it to honor his friend.
•    At the start of the 2021 season it was determined that a senior offensive lineman would be assigned No. 68 each year to remember Forney. Pierce Banbury (C / OG) was the first to be tabbed with the honor. Kip Frankland (OT) wore No. 68 in 2022 and Lirion Murtezi (C) was chosen in 2023.
•     McMahon is a returning starter for the Mids at offensive tackle and has played in 23-consecutive games over the last 2 years, starting 22-straight contests despite battling injuries. McMahon's success also carries over to the classroom where he earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors last year.
•    A native of Walkersville, Md. and a 2015 graduate of Georgetown Prep, Forney is survived by his parents, Rick and Erika Forney, younger brothers, Chris and Erik, and sister, Rebekah.
•     Forney, who was a member of the ninth company at the Naval Academy and a political science major, would have graduated on May 22, 2020. He was due to serve as a cryptologic warfare officer.

13 Mids Named to Phil Steele's All-AAC Team
•    Phil Steele released his 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference peams and Navy placed 13 of its players among the four teams, the second most in the conference. Likely preseason favorite Memphis had 15 players named to the list.
•    Navy had 4 first-team selections: Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT), Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P). Ramos and Riethman earned First-Team All-AAC recognition last fall, while Lane III was named to the third team.
•    Additionally Justin Reed (Sr. / DE), Dashaun Peele (Sr. / CB) and Amin Hassan (Sr. / PR) were named to Steele's  second team. Peele was Honorable Mention All-AAC last year.
•    Alex Tecza (Jr / FB), Eli Heidenreich (Jr. / Snipe) and Landon Robinson (Jr. / NG) were named to the third team. Heidenreich was named to the squad as a wide receiver.
•    Javan Bouton (Sr. / OG), Tyler Bradley (So. / KR) and Rayne Fry (So. / LS) were named to the fourth team.

10 Navy Players Named to Athlon's All-AAC Team
•    Athlon Sports also released its 2024 preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams and Navy placed 10 players among the four teams.
•    Navy had three first-team selections: Colin Ramos (Sr. / LB), Rayuan Lane III (Sr. / S) and Riley Riethman (Sr. / P).  
•    Connor McMahon (Sr. / OT), Alex Tecza (Jr / FB), Justin Reed (Sr. / DE), Dashaun Peele (Sr. / CB) and Amin Hassan (Sr. / PR) were named to the second team.  Peele was Honorable Mention All-AAC last year.
•    Luke Pirris (Jr. / Raider) was named to the third team, while Mbiti Williams Jr. (Sr. / S) was named to the fourth team.