<p>SUPER RAM: Navy outside linebacker Ram Vela is receiving a lot of attention for his spectacular leaping hit on Notre Dame quarterback Evan Sharpley.</p>
<p>A video replay of Velas athletic maneuver has become a You Tube favorite and all sorts of friends have e-mailed the clip to the sophomore from San Antonio, Texas. He never expected to be talking about the play three days after the fact.</p>
<p>Naturally, you want to soak up the moment, but its time to think about North Texas. Im trying to move on from that, Vela said yesterday.</p>
<p>Vela had noticed during film study that Notre Dame tailback Armando Allen always went low and tried to take out the legs of blitzing linebackers. I said to myself, If I see him doing that in the game, maybe Ill leap over him. That thought might have been in the back of my mind when the play developed, but really it was just by instinct, Vela said.</p>
<p>Vela, a converted cornerback, is probably the smallest linebacker in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 5-foot-9, 196 pounds. He plays the striker position and certainly lived up to that name on Saturday with nine tackles.</p>
<p>For Vela, the Superman move to hit Sharpley made up for the fact he had failed to sack the quarterback on fourth-and-14 from the Notre Dame 32. Sharpley broke free of Velas grasp and threw a 16-yard pass to tight end John Carlson to keep alive a game-tying touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Vela made sure there would be no repeat when the Fighting Irish faced fourth-and-eight from the Navy 24 a few minutes later. End Chris Kuhar-Pitters got credit for the sack that essentially forced overtime, but Vela got the glory.</p>
<p>I had to redeem myself because I had missed that one sack on the previous series. I figured you might as well go all-out, take a chance, do or die, Vela said. </p>
<p>Perhaps the ultimate compliment came on Sunday when Minnesota Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson dove over San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson to sack quarterback Philip Rivers.</p>
<p>You know where I got that play? It was from that Navy linebacker, Henderson told the media afterward. I was watching the last part of Navys game, and this kid jumped over a blocker and went flying at the quarterback, and he stopped Notre Dame. I came through and saw the blocker going low and thought, If that kid from Navy can do it, I can do it. </p>
<p>Vela was absolutely flabbergasted when he heard hed been the model for Hendersons latest blitzing move. Its an honor to have someone that you model your play after come back and say something you did on field inspired him, Vela said. I wish I could meet him and thank him in person.</p>
<p>UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Inside linebacker Irv Spencer and left end Michael Walsh were the initial Navy defenders to hit Notre Dame halfback Travis Thomas on the game-tying, two-point conversion attempt in the third overtime.</p>
<p>Those two were followed quickly by the likes of inside linebacker Ross Pospisil, safety Emmett Merchant and seemingly every other member of Navys defense. Spencer was not unhappy with the fact he did not get immediate credit for leading the charge.</p>
<p>There were so many guys there, if I didnt make the tackle somebody would have. It was an all-out blitz so everybody was coming, Spencer said. The credit goes to the entire team. Im just glad I got in the mix somewhere, somehow.</p>
<p>Spencer, a senior who has assumed the responsibilities of defensive captain, felt the much-maligned defense made progress on Saturday. The Midshipmen had season-highs for sacks (four) and tackles for loss (eight) while forcing a fumble that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown return by Kuhar-Pitters.</p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, a review of the film showed the Midshipmen defenders had only 13 missed assignments as opposed to 45 the previous week against Delaware. There were still too many missed tackles (29) and Spencer was upset that 12 of those were committed by inside linebackers.</p>
<p>Thats still one area weve got to fix. We need to do a better job of wrapping up and getting guys to the ground, he said.</p>
<p>BUDDY IN THE BOX: Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green coached the game from the press box instead of the sideline for the first time during his six-year tenure in Annapolis.</p>
<p>Green felt the move might help him see what mistakes the defensive unit was making and allow him to make better adjustments during the game. Misalignments and missed assignments had hurt the Midshipmen this season and Green was able to notice those errors more easily from on high.</p>
<p>Id been thinking about it for a couple weeks. When you havent been playing the way you want, you have to look at ways of doing things differently, Green said. I thought by going upstairs, Id see them all and
get a better feel for what was going on in the game.</p>
<p>Green worked from the press box while a defensive assistant at N.C. State from 1986-89, but changed his approach after being named defensive coordinator in 1990. Hes called signals from the field ever since,
including while head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga from 1994-99.</p>
<p>I just had a feel that it was a good time to go up there and maybe see more things than what Id been seeing, he said.</p>
<p>Green made the defensive calls from the press box and Joe Speed relayed the signals to the players from field level.</p>
<p>NO HAPPY RETURNS: Theres a long-standing item in the Navy game notes that Reggie Campbell would like to eliminate. It comes under the title Special Drought and points out how long its been since Navy returned either a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown.</p>
<p>Navy has gone 134 games without bringing a punt back for a score, the second-longest drought in the country. Ross Scott was the last Midshipmen to accomplish the feat, returning a punt 65 yards to paydirt against Duke on Oct. 5, 1996.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Midshipmen have a streak of 117 games without a kickoff return for touchdown, eighth-longest among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. It hasnt happened since Matt Nelson took a lateral and raced 58 yards to the end zone against Colgate on Nov. 15, 1997.</p>
<p>Campbell, who doubles as Navys punt and kickoff returner, has come darn close to ending those streaks this season. The 5-foot-6 speedster broke a career-long 74-yard kickoff return against Delaware, but a decision to cut back outside proved costly and he was dragged down from behind. Against Pittsburgh, Campbell got loose for a 60-yard return along the right sideline, but was knocked out by the kicker.</p>
<p>It aint too cool getting tackled by the kicker, said Campbell, shaking his head. Ive had some good chances this season that Ive messed up personally; I kind of feel like I owe the team.</p>
<p>Campbell said there is always one key moment that determines whether a return is going to break. Choosing the right hole or making the correct cut are crucial to having a chance to score.</p>
<p>You cant force it, youve just got to let it happen. At the same time, if you get out in the open, trust your speed and make something happen, he said. Hopefully, Ill get one before its all said and done.</p>
<p>Campbell is averaging 23.7 yards per kickoff return and 12.4 yards per punt return this season. He needs just two more kickoff returns to become the school record-holder in that category, breaking the mark of 73 held by Michael Jefferson (1991-94). Campbells 1,543 yards on kickoff returns are just 27 yards shy of Jeffersons career record. I think weve done a decent job of setting the team up with good field position, but Im far from satisfied, said Campbell, whose 4,033 career all-purpose yards are also second-highest in program history.</p>
<ul>
<li>Compiled by BILL WAGNER</li>
</ul>