Navy is the consensus preseason favorite in American Conference football and roster stability is a big reason why.

The Midshipmen had some significant losses in terms of personnel completing eligibility from an 11-2 team, but the program prides itself on developing players to step in and fill voids.

Coach Brian Newbery, who enters his fourth season after a promotion from defensive coordinator, doesn’t have to concern himself with scouring the transfer portal since service academies don’t allow enrollment by that means.

Navy also doesn’t pay NILs so a lot of factors that programs across the country must deal with in rebuilding rosters every year are not a problem for the Midshipmen. Players who sign with Navy do so with the commitment to a military career and therein are the long-term financial rewards.

Navy has gone from an option attack to a variation of the Wing-T under third-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic, but remains geared to the run, leading the nation with 285.6 yards per game in 2025.

Gone are quarterback Blake Horvath, running back Alec Tecza and slot Eli Heidenreich, who accounted for roughly 75 percent of Navy’s yards from scrimmage last season.

Poised to step in at quarterback is senior Braxton Woodson. Senior Vic Listorti is projected at running back and junior Charles Robinson is set to go at slot.

Midshipmen depth chart

Although Navy only has four starters back on offense and five on defense, five of the first-time starters on offense are seniors. Those are players that have been developed in the program.

The extent of time in the program is not as pronounced on defense. The first-year starters include sophomores, Will Miller and Christian Johnson, at outside linebackers.

Navy schedule

The Midshipmen missed the conference championship game last season because of a 31-17 loss at North Texas, the week before a 49-10 pounding at Notre Dame.

Tulane topped North Texas, 34-21, for the American title.

Navy will get the Mean Green (Oct. 24) and Memphis (Nov. 21) at home this season. Texas-San Antonio on Oct. 17 looks like the toughest road trip on the league slate.

ECU schedule

East Carolina does not play Navy during the 2026 regular season.

With 14 football-playing teams in the league and eight conference games, the Pirates also will miss UTSA and defending champ Tulane.

ECU, outgoing

The portal opened wide for the Pirates after a 9-4 season in 2025.

Qiarterback Katin Houser had exited before a 23-17 Military Bowl win over Pitt. He apparently has won the starting job at Illinois.

Running back London Montgomery left for Florida. Receiver Yannick Smith went to Southern Methodist, where he is expected to start.

Nose tackle Zion Wilson wound up at Virginia, where he is listed as a second teamer.

Safety Ja’Marley Riddle ran afoul of the law in May after transferring to Georgia and his status with the Bulldogs has not been publicly defined.

Pirates, incoming

If ECU gets productivity from Mitch Griffis (Texas Tech) and/or Emory Williams (Miami) at quarterback, offensive success may be determined by several newcomers among skill personnel.

Running backs Ashton Gray (North Texas) and Michael Allen (Marshall) are proven to a degree. T.J. Engleman Jr. averaged 5.2 yards per carry for ECU last year.

Receiver Brock Spalding is the only returning starter on offense but the pass receiving corps has been enhanced with Landon Sides (North Texas), Ja’Keith Hamilton (Furman) and Ray Ray Joseph (Miami).

Four transfers on the offensive front will join returner Bryce Walker, who is listed at left tackle.

CJ2K issues Ice Bucket challenge

The news that former East Carolina running back Chris Johnson is suffering from ALS was stunning and saddening this week.

It was deja vu for Pirate Nation which had witnessed the ravages of the unforgiving condition endured by former baseball coach Keith LeClair.

Johnson was the best recruit of the John Thompson coaching era.

He ran a then-record 4,24 seconds for the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and ran for 2,006 yards in 2009 when he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Johnson has asked for the Ice Bucket Challenge for the disease to be revived. Former Seattle back Marshawn Lynch took the challenge Wednesday.

The ritual involves a dousing with a bucket of ice and passing the challenge to someone else via video.

Correction

The Chad Tracy serving as interim manager of the Boston Red Sox is not the Chad Tracy who was a teammate of Cliff Godwin’s at ECU,

The Bosox skipper played collegiately at Pepperdine.