Pospisil Will Shoulder Load for Banged-Up Midshipmen

During an endurance run with classmates in his freshman year, Navy linebacker Ross Pospisil noticed one person was lagging behind as the finish line approached. Pospisil went back, put the classmate on his back and the two crossed the line together.

Pospisil, a 6-foot, 223-pound sophomore, will have more heavy lifting to do when the Midshipmen (1-1) face Ball State (1-1) in their home opener tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

He will start at inside linebacker following a likely season-ending ankle injury to junior Clint Sovie. Pospisil will call the defensive signals and make sure that the front seven players -- the linemen and linebackers -- are lined up correctly.

Meantime, Jeff Deliz, a senior safety and team captain, also is likely out for the year with a leg injury. His spot will be taken either by freshman Wyatt Middleton or sophomore Jesse Iwuji.

"In high school I'm the first one to admit that I wasn't much of a thinker on the field," Pospisil said. "I just played. . . . But at this level you have to think, and in my position it's about making the calls on defense. I've got to go full out [combined] with thinking. Sometimes you see players think too much and play slow. Or I'll go out there and run around and be all fired up, but I'll be like a chicken with its head cut off. My main focus is and continues to be to combine the two."

As the training run during plebe summer indicates, Navy's coaches are confident that Pospisil has the leadership skills to succeed in Sovie's role.

His father first saw those skills when Pospisil's team at Temple (Tex.) High went 0-10 in his senior year.

"He exhibited calm and courage," Scott Pospisil said. "People were very discouraged, but he hung in there and tried to be a positive influence. . . . He said that when he gets out of the Naval Academy he'd like to be a ground commander for the Marines and lead people into combat.

"Part of that scares me, but part of me thinks it's neat that he wants to put such a commitment over his own personal safety."

Ball State will pose a formidable challenge. Sophomore quarterback Nate Davis has good size and speed -- he is 6-2, 214 pounds and lost 18 pounds in the offseason. He has thrown five touchdown passes and no interceptions this year.

Davis was a runner-up for "Mr. Basketball" in Ohio in his junior and senior years at Bellaire High.

In football, he was recruited by several Big Ten and Southeastern Conference schools.

"He had some opportunities," Ball State Coach Brady Hoke said. "And you can tell by watching him on film that [losing weight] has really helped him. He looks a lot better and a lot more mobile."

Among his targets is 6-6 tight end Darius Hill, a junior who had 10 touchdown receptions last year.

"I'm sure they're going to try and get him the ball against our smaller DBs," Navy Coach Paul Johnson said. "I know I would."

Pospisil believes he and the defense will be ready. Defensive coordinator Buddy Green recalled that he referred to Pospisil by his jersey number -- 51 -- until, in a scrimmage in the preseason, Pospisil recovered a fumble and made several tackles.

"He went from 51 to 'Big Papi' to Ross in one scrimmage," Green said.

Navy Notes: The team has set a record for season tickets sold; as of yesterday it had sold 22,634. The previous record of 20,206 was set last year. . . . Cardinals reserve defensive end Brandon Crawford, 31, served in the Marines before being honorably discharged in 2003.