Navy's Harmon still kicking himself

Matt Harmon had a chance to win last year's game against Ball State. Harmon entered the game with two seconds left in regulation to attempt a 31-yard field goal, a veritable chip shot. His attempt, which would have broken a 31-31 tie, was a low line drive that was easily blocked by 6-foot-3 defensive end Brandon Crawford.

Tomorrow night's rematch between Navy and Ball State figures to be another high-scoring, close contest. Harmon would like nothing better than a shot at redemption.

"I'm 0-for-2 in big-game kicks during my career," said Harmon, who also missed a game-winning extra point attempt in overtime against Tulsa in 2006. "That's probably what everybody remembers me by. It would be nice to erase that. I wouldn't mind getting a chance to redeem myself."

Harmon enjoyed an outstanding preseason, showing a strong leg and tremendous accuracy. He was by far the most consistent place-kicker and easily fended off challenges from sophomore Joe Buckley and freshman Jon Teague.

"I'm kicking decent. I'm not where I want to be yet," Harmon said. "My goal is to come out here, work hard in practice and get better every day. I felt like last year I got a little complacent toward the middle of the season. I got hurt and wasn't doing much in practice and it showed in games."

Harmon has been rock-solid on extra point attempts, having made 52 in a row. That is the longest streak in school history, one better than Tim Shubzda (1996-99). Harmon surpassed Shubzda by going 5-for-5 on point after touchdowns against Towson.

"Harmon has impressed me with his focus and consistency. He has made a high percentage of kicks during (August) camp," said Steve Johns, who has taken over as Navy's special teams coordinator.

However, Harmon has struggled at times on field goals. He narrowly missed a 47-yarder in the season opener and is now 16-for-24 in his career. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior did make field goals of 20 and 31 yards against Towson.

"I'm hoping to gain the confidence of Coach (Ken) Niumatalolo so he's not afraid to put me out there in a pressure situation," said Harmon, who connected on a career-long field goal of 46 yards against Duke last season. "That means I can't miss any kicks. It's just a matter of keeping my head down, stick to the basics as far as my steps and follow through and just do everything I've been taught."

It appears Navy has discovered a new weapon in Teague, a plebe with a cannon of a leg. The North Carolina native, whose older brother Adam is a member of the Navy basketball team, is handling kickoffs for the Midshipmen since he boots those much farther than Harmon.

The kickoff has become much more important in college football ever since it was moved back to the 30-yard line prior to last season. It is very difficult to kick the ball to the goal line from that distance.

"With the new rules, the kickoff becomes even more important in establishing field position. Last season, a lot of teams were starting on the 35 or better against Navy," Johns said. "So the most important thing is to try to get some touchbacks and I think we've got a guy who can kick the ball into the end zone. Teague has a very strong leg and that's something Navy hasn't had in a while."

Teague made Johns look good by booting his first career kickoff into the end zone for a touchback against Towson. His other six attempts all dropped inside the 15-yard line.

One of Navy's biggest question marks coming into preseason involved finding a punter to replace Greg Veteto. Sophomore Kyle Delahooke saw the logjam at kicker, decided to focus on punting and earned the starting job.

"Kyle is punting the ball well. He gets the ball off fast and has good hang time," Johns said.

Delahooke only punted once against Towson and did a good job, nailing an extremely high kick that resulted in a fair catch at the visitors' 18-yard line. He is aiming for a punting average of 40 yards or more and a hang time of four seconds or better.

"Consistency is also a big thing. It doesn't matter how many 60-yard punts you have if you also have 10-yarders," Delahooke said. "I think the big thing I learned from (Veteto) last season is the importance of get-off time. It doesn't matter how far or how high you kick the ball if it's blocked."

INJURY UPDATE: Head coach Ken Niumatalolo said earlier this week that projected starting quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada would not make the trip to Ball State, staying in Annapolis to rest and further rehabilitate his injured hamstring.

There has been an abrupt about- face with that situation as Navy sports information director Scott Strasmeier announced yesterday that Kaheaku-Enhada will travel to Indiana and could be available to play.

Kaheaku-Enhada sustained a partial tear of his left hamstring during an intra-squad scrimmage on Aug. 9. Dr. Jeff Fair, the team physician, said the quarterback would be sidelined four to six weeks.

However, Kaheaku-Enhada has been in full pads this week and partially participated in practice. He did significant throwing and running drills in order to test the hamstring. Niumatalolo said he was pleased with the senior signal-caller's progress, which was ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, starting right tackle Andrew McGinn did not practice all week after suffering a concussion in the season opener against Towson. He will be replaced in the lineup by senior Mike Von Bargen (6-5, 270) tomorrow night versus Ball State while either junior Austin Milke or sophomore Matt Molloy will become the top backup at tackle.

Navy got good news in the slot back department as Greg Shinego (broken hand), Corey James (sprained ankle) and Andre Byrd (bruised leg) all returned to practice this week and are available to play against Ball State.

Backup cornerback Ketric Buffin (right quad) also practiced and is probably for tomorrow night.

TEAM TRADITION: Navy has a ritual of recognizing any birthdays following every practice. If a player, coach or a member of the support staff was born on that particular day, the entire team sings "Happy Birthday."

For the past few years, fullback Adam Ballard led the singing. Then-head coach Paul Johnson gave Ballard that order after he appeared on NBC.com and sang "Family Tradition," a Hank Williams Jr. tune.

This season, senior center Ricky Moore has taken over as the ceremonial "Happy Birthday" singer. How did Moore get picked for that duty?

"I don't know. Somebody suggested Ricky and he stood up and started singing," Niumatalolo said. "Ricky has been practicing. Every day, he adds a little more to his act. He clears his throat, makes eye contact, points (at the birthday boy). Soon I think there will be some hand motions and gestures. He does a good job."

ROOKIE STANDOUT: A point of emphasis on the defensive side coming into this season was to improve the Navy pass rush. The Midshipmen managed only 12 sacks last season and that was a factor in opposing quarterbacks completing 279 of 399 passes for 3,424 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Freshman Jabaree Tuani provided a big lift in that department during the season opener against Towson. The direct-entry recruit from Madison, Tenn., saw significant action in the second half and recorded 1 ½ sacks for minus-10 yards.

Defensive coordinator Buddy Green was impressed with the speed, quickness and pass-rushing moves of Tuani and said the 6-foot-1, 242-pounder would see increased time in Navy's nickel package, which is employed in passing situations.

"A lot of times you've got guys that have the physical tools as a freshman, they're smart, they can run, they're strong," Niumatalolo said of Tuani. "The thing that Jabaree has, he's got some football smarts too. He's able to transfer some of the stuff that Coach (Dale) Pehrson's been teaching him in practice and in the classroom to the field. He's got a bright future here."

ON THE AIR: The Navy Sports Magazine Show, presented by Comcast, will air tonight (6 p.m.) on WNAV Radio (1430-AM) in Annapolis. The weekly 60-minute show, hosted by Pete Medhurst, will feature interviews with Navy players and coaches.