Navy defensive back Jonathan Wev suffered a career-ending concussion Saturday against VMI, according to reports. Here, Wev drags down an Eastern Carolina ball carrier during a 2011 game. (US Presswire photo by Evan Habeeb)
What Navy fans need to know as the Mids attempt to go 2-0 at home.
Who, where, when: San Jose State (3-1) at Navy (1-2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern. It’s San Jose’s first trip to the East Coast since a 2003 game at Florida.
How’d that work out for them?: Not well.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Grant Boone and Todd Christensen have the call).
Gambling is illegal in most states: San Jose State is a 2.5-point favorite.
Sad news: Junior cornerback Jonathan Wev reportedly suffered a career-ending third concussion in Navy’s 41-3 win over VMI last week, according to multiple reports. Wev left the season-opening contest against Notre Dame after a helmet-to-helmet hit and missed the Penn State game. As head coach Ken Niumatolo told the Washington Times while discussing the injury, “There’s things — your knee might get hurt and you get surgery, but you don’t want to mess with anybody’s brain.”
Stepping up: Freshman Quincy Adams will take over for Wev in Navy’s defensive backfield. The Navy pass defense will be tested by SJSU junior quarterback David Fales, who went 21-of-31 for 260 yards and four touchdowns in the Spartans’ 38-34 win over San Diego State on Saturday.
About that offense: Fales and company are averaging 35 points per game so far this season. And against San Diego State, the Spartans got a big boost from their special teams — a 97-yard kickoff return for a score by sophomore cornerback-turned-running back Tyler Ervin. Ervin will back up senior De’Leon Eskridge in the Spartan backfield; Eskridge is averaging more than five yards a carry.
Brotherly pit-fighting: Another matchup to watch when the Spartans have the ball — senior offensive tackle David Quessenberry taking on sophomore Navy defensive end Paul Quessenberry. Older brother David is also the bigger brother (6-foot-6, 295 pounds), and he’s got more experience than Paul (6-2, 230), who didn’t play as a freshman and has seen rotational duty on the Mids’ defensive front so far this year. Dad’s a former Navy pilot. Read more about the duo, including quotes from Mom, here.
Option update: While San Jose State prepares for Navy’s triple option, it’ll be up to the Mids to preserve the success they managed against Virginia Military Institute in their home opener — 510 yards of total offense, including 403 rushing yards. Junior quarterback Trey Miller’s been carrying much of the load, but he’s averaged 2.8 yards per attempt and didn’t reach the end zone until the VMI game. Senior Gee Gee Greene‘s gone the other way — not used often (19 carries all season), but putting up big numbers when he gets the chance (team-high 182 rushing yards, good for 9.6 a carry).
