Mick Yokitis is in his 15th year at the Naval Academy as the wide receivers coach.
In 2024, Yokitis helped lead the Mids to a 10-3 record, wins over Air Force and Army to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy and a victory over Oklahoma to win the Armed Forces Bowl. The 10 wins marked just the sixth time in school history Navy has won 10 or more games in a season.
The win over Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl was the first time Navy has defeated a team from the SEC in a bowl game since 1954 (1955 Sugar Bowl) when the Mids beat Ole Miss 21-0. It was the first win against an SEC team overall since Navy defeated Vanderbilt in 2004.
Navy finished the regular season with a complete domination of Service Academy rival #19 Army, knocking off the Black Knights 31-13 in the 125th playing of the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA. With wins over Air Force and Army, the Mids won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, which is presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the 3 major service academies (Navy, Air Force and Army) and is named in honor of the President of the United States.
Navy won the two Service Academy games in 2024 by a combined 45 points, which ties the 2019 Navy team for the biggest combined CIC blowouts by any of the three Service Academies since 2007 when Navy beat Air Force and Army by a combined 46 points.
Navy’s win over Army gave Navy victories over two ranked opponents for the first time since 1958, when the Mids defeated #8 / #7 Rice 20-7 and #14 / #12 Michigan 20-14. Navy defeated #24 (Coaches) Memphis 56-44 on Sept. 21, 2024.
Navy was predicted to finish 11th in the 2024 American Athletic Conference preseason poll and ended the year tied for third with Memphis (Navy beat Memphis head-to-head) with a 6-2 mark.
The Navy offense scored 407 points in its 13 games in 2024, which was a whopping 195 more than it scored in its 12 games in 2023.
Navy averaged 247.5 rushing yards per game in 2024, the 6th-best average in the FBS and the program’s best since 2019.
The Mids finished 37 of 42 (.881) in the red zone with 34 (.810) of those scores resulting in touchdowns. Navy finished #1 in the country in red zone touchdown percentage
Navy finished with a 5-7 record and a 4-4 mark in the American Athletic Conference in 2023. The Mids, picked ninth in the preseason poll by the league’s coaches, finished tied for fifth in the AAC despite having to play 4 different quarterbacks due to injury (second most in the country) and was the only FBS school to start 3 different quarterbacks in a win.
In 2022, Navy finished fourth in the nation in rushing, averaging 241.2 yards per game. The Mids finished third in the country in passing yards per completion (19.0), 25th in fourth down conversions (.605) and second in time of possession (34:38).
In 2021, Navy managed to have the ninth-best rushing offense in the country (225.5 yards per game) despite facing six of the top-35 defenses in the country, including three of the top 10. On top of the tough schedule, Navy had to start five different offensive tackles, five different guards and three different centers due to injury. Wide receiver Mychal Cooper finished his career averaging 19.4 yards per catch, which is the fifth-best average in school history. Cooper was also invited to the NFL Players Association Bowl.
In 2019, Navy had one of the greatest seasons in school history, winning a school-record tying 11 games against just two losses, winning the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, sharing the American Athletic Conference West Division title with Memphis and winning the prestigious Liberty Bowl. The Mids’ eight-game improvement from 2018 was the second-biggest turnaround in FBS history.
The Mids finished the 2019 campaign ranked 20th in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. It marked just the second time in the last 56 years that Navy finished in the AP Top 20 (18th in 2015).
A big part of that success was a Navy offense that set school records for total rushing yards (4,687), rushing yards per attempt (6.1), rushing yards per game (360.5), total offense yards per game (455.8) and tied the record for total offensive yards per attempt (6.8). The Mids also led the nation in rushing.
The Mids were also prolific in the passing game, finishing second in the country in average yards per catch (22.51) and seventh in passing efficiency (176.92). Quarterback Malcolm Perry set the school record for passer rating (181.6).
Navy finished the 2017 campaign with a 7-6 record, which included a 49-7 rout of Virginia in the Military Bowl. The 42-point margin of victory was the largest by a Navy team over a team from the autonomy 5 since the Mids beat West Virginia 51-7 in the 1963 season opener. The Mids played eight games against teams that went to a bowl game and played five teams that won 10 or more games. The offense set a school record by averaging 351.4 rushing yards per game.
Navy finished the 2016 campaign with a 9-5 mark and a 7-1 record in the American Athletic Conference despite a season that saw the Mids have 102 missed games by starters or key contributors. The Mids played Temple in the AAC Championship game and played in a bowl game (Armed Forces) for the 13th time in the last 14 years. The nine wins tied for the fifth most wins in school history and the team set school records for points (531), touchdowns (73), touchdowns per game (5.2), rushing touchdowns (61), total offense (6,136 yards) and yards per play (6.8) despite playing four different quarterbacks.
Senior wide receiver Jamir Tillman was named First-Team All-East and finished his career second all-time at Navy in career receiving yards (1,620) and seventh in catches (91)
Navy finished the 2015 campaign with a school-record 11 wins against just two losses, qualified for a bowl game for the 12th time in the last 13 years, won a bowl game for the 10th time in school history (beat Pittsburgh 44-28 in the Military Bowl), won a bowl game for a third straight year for the first time in school history, defeated Army for a series-record 14th consecutive year, won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the third time in the last four years, won the Lambert Trophy as the best team in the East for the first time since 1963, finished 18th in the country in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls and shared the West Division title of the American Athletic Conference with Houston in Navy’s first year of being in a conference after being an Independent for 134 years.
In 2014, the Mids finished No. 2 in the country in rushing offense (326.7), No. 3 in passing yards per completion (20.0), 22nd in scoring offense (36.8), No. 1 in red zone offense (.948),No. 4 in third down conversions (.503), No. 1 in fourth down conversions (.923), No. 1 in fewest turnovers lost (8), No. 3 in turnover margin (+1.46), No. 1 in fewest penalties per game (3.1) and No. 1 in fewest penalty yards per game (26.1).
Wide receiver Jamir Tillman became the first player in school history to catch a touchdown pass in four straight games, while his 20.59 yards per catch was the nation’s ninth-best average.
Navy finished the 2014 campaign with an 8-5 record, won a bowl game (beat San Diego State 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl) and defeated Army for a series-record 13th consecutive year.
Navy finished the 2013 season with a 9-4 record, won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, won a bowl game (beat Middle Tennessee 24-6 in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl) and defeated Army for a series-record 12th-consecutive year.
Yokitis helped lead Navy to an 8-5 record in 2012 and a berth in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy defeated Air Force 28-21 in overtime and Army 17-13 to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.
Yokitis was the head football coach and offensive coordinator at the Naval Academy Prep School from 2008-10 where he led NAPS to a 16-7 record.
Yokitis is a 2006 graduate of the Naval Academy where he earned three varsity letters at wide receiver and saw the Midshipmen post a 26-11 record, qualify for three bowl games, win two bowl games and win three Commander-In-Chief’s Trophies. Yokitis played in 37-consecutive games for the Midshipmen, including earning a start in all 12 contests as a senior.
After graduation, Yokitis served in the United States Marine Corps before being medically discharged. Mick and his wife, Lindsey, have two sons, Bryce and Nolan, and a daughter, Makenna.
