Navy Exudes Toughness

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Temple head coach Al Golden said the coaching staff has worked hard to instill toughness in the players. Golden played and coached at Penn State and said one of the most important things he learned from legendary head coach Joe Paterno was that championships don't come without toughness.

Golden believes Temple has made great strides in that area, but said the Navy football program is the very definition of toughness. "Navy is the ultimate test of toughness. Their kids all play with tremendous energy, discipline and toughness," Golden said.

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo was pleased to hear such a comment from an opposing coach, but certainly did not need to be reminded that Navy players tend to be tough.

"A lot of it is a testament tothis place and all they go through here. NAPS, plebe summer, all the adversity that you face as a Midshipmen... all of that blends in. It's definitely a compliment, especially coming from Coach Golden," Niumatalolo said. "The one thing you hope is that we?re tougher than most teams. We?re not going to be bigger and we?re not going to be faster. The one intangible we can bring is toughness."

 

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Injury Update -- Navy


Quarterback Ricky Dobbs participated in practice yesterday wearing a green non-contact jersey,

throwing passes in a skeleton drill and doing some other light work. Dobbs appeared to be moving well and showed no ill affects from his knee injury.

?It was good to see him out there throwing the football. You?re always tempted to have him do more, but we just have to be smart about it,? Niumatalolo said.

Niumatalolo said Dobbs will dress and serve as the third string, emergency quarterback against Temple on Saturday. If starter Kriss Proctor is injured, Navy would turn to fellow sophomore Mike Stukel before using Dobbs.

Cornerback Kevin Edwards hopes to play against Temple despite a shoulder injury that forced him to wear a safety harness in practice yesterday. ?It was encouraging to see him out here for one of our padded practices,? Niumatalolo said.

Guard Andy Lark (ankle) is slated to see action on Saturday after missing the last three games while wide receiver Mike Schupp is fully recovered from the flu that kept him out of the Wake Forest contest.