Harmon's Kicks Have a Lot of Upside

Navy Coach Paul Johnson once had this description of junior place kicker Matt Harmon: "He can kick the fool out of the ball."

Harmon did just that in a 30-19 victory over Temple in the season opener last Friday. He made all three of his field goal attempts, including a career-long 43-yarder with 1 minute 7 seconds left to clinch the victory.

Harmon also sent two kickoffs into the end zone; others reached the 5-, 6- and 7-yard lines. Those efforts came despite a new NCAA rule that moved kickoffs back to the 30-yard line from the 35.

Navy's next opponent, No. 16 Rutgers, has a strong kickoff return team. The Scarlet Knights have five kickoff returns for touchdowns in the past five seasons. Sophomore Kordell Young had a 56-yard return in a 38-3 victory over Buffalo last week.

Harmon's performance was one of the positives for Navy in its opener. Among the negatives were fumbles by seniors Zerbin Singleton and Adam Ballard and 69 yards in penalties.

Meantime, the six ballcarriers Navy used in its opener tied for the fewest since at least 2004. The Midshipmen also used six carriers in a loss to Tulsa last year and in a loss to Rutgers in 2005.

Drawing a Crowd

Rutgers has sold out each of its eight home games this year (Rutgers Stadium holds 42,000). There also are 6,000 fans on the waiting list for season tickets.

Navy junior Anthony Gaskins, a starting guard, is from West Orange, N.J., and is aware of the program's momentum.

"Every time I talk to my dad and my mom back home, they read the papers and there's big-time hype," he said.

A Possible Return

Navy senior cornerback Greg Thrasher is eligible to play Friday. He served a one-game suspension for violating team rules during the preseason.

Thrasher was listed as a starting cornerback entering the season. He started 10 games in 2005 but sat out last year.