Navy's Eli Heidenreich sees a confident Temple defense

Navy wide receiver Eli Heidenreich spoke with reporters on Zoom Wednesday, and OwlScoop.com was on the call to talk to the 6-foot, 205-pound senior about Saturday’s game against Temple. 

The Midshipmen are 5-0 heading into this weekend’s 4 p.m., nationally televised matchup on ESPN2, and Heidenreich has been a big part of Navy’s success. Playing “snipe,” a hybrid position in the Midshipmen’s triple-option offense, Heidenreich caught eight passes for a career-high 243 yards in Navy’s 34-31 win over Air Force last week. 

Heidenreich said Wednesday that he sees a Temple defense that has been playing with a lot of confidence en route to helping the Owls post a 3-2 record.

“I think a big thing with them is their physicality,” said Heidenreich, who accounted for more than half of his season receiving yardage total last week. “I think that they have their saying, I believe it’s ‘Temple tough,’ and they like to kind of bring to the table a lot of things that we like to on defense and that physicality piece. So I think that’s something that we have to go up there and match. And then obviously, they have a ton of athletes. I think they’re a really athletic team, and something that’ll certainly present a challenge to us.”

You can listen to Heidenreich’s entire interview with reporters here and read excerpts from his conversation with OwlScoop below. 

Heidenreich on how he expects Temple’s defense to prepare for Navy’s offense after what the Midshipmen have been able to do in the passing game:

Heidenreich: “I think after last week, they might take us a little more seriously in the passing game than I think other teams maybe would. I think we might get a little overlooked there, and a lot of people are worried about our run game and the things that we present there. I think that’s probably the biggest challenge that we give to teams. I think we’re one of the leading rushing units in the country, at least before last week. (Navy has the No. 1 rushing offense in the FBS at 317.4 yards per game.)

So I think after last week’s game, the focus might be kind of making sure that they’re covering everything, both running pass. And then too, I think a big thing about our offense is we gave a lot of different looks out of a lot of different sets. We’re moving around a lot, motioning to different formations. I think that can be tough on a defense. So just making sure that they’re squared away on all the different kind of moving around that we’re doing.”

Heidenreich on Colin Thompson, a former Temple and NFL tight end who is now working with Navy as a volunteer assistant coach:

Heidenreich: “He’s been awesome. He like … I’m not really sure when he started, but one day, it feels like he kind of just appeared out of nowhere, and he’s had a really awesome presence within our program, and he just brings a ton of knowledge of the game to the table. He played tight end in the NFL and then for Temple.

“I think tight end is kind of an interesting position in that sense that you’re getting blocking and pass catching, and you’re kind of doing a lot of everything. So I feel like he has a ton of knowledge that he’s kind of given to us and has been able to pass on to us from all his years playing football. So he’s been a help with me, and it’s also fun kind of chit chatting with him about his NFL days and teammates he’s played with, and different experiences that he’s had. He’s just a really interesting person to talk to, and obviously a fantastic coach that brings a lot to our program.”

Heidenreich on whether anything looks different defensively from Temple as opposed to years past: 

“That’s a good question. I really do think it’s that – I already talked about earlier – that physicality piece. I think they play a really tough brand of football, and that’s something that they pride themselves on, and you can certainly see it on film. And then I think that they’re playing pretty confident right now. They’re playing good football. And you know when a team is playing confident, has a little bit of … kind of swag about themselves, I think that’s when they’re playing their best football. So that’s something you’ll pick up a little bit on film as well.”

Heidenreich on if he, as a Pittsburgh native and Mt. Lebanon High School graduate know or played with or against any of the Pittsburgh-area players on Temple’s roster like Dontae Pollard at Penn Hills, Tyree Alualu at North Allegheny or even Anthony Chiccitt at Bethel Park:

So Dontae Pollard, I grew up playing seven on seven with. We played Evolve 7-on-7 was the program in Pittsburgh. A lot of talent comes out of that program, but he’s a guy I’ve known for a long time. I haven’t texted him yet. I got to reach out to him, and hopefully we’ll get a picture after the game. It’s gonna be cool. I never had the chance to play him in high school because our schedules never worked out, but I’m definitely looking forward to catching up with him. And then Alualu, I did play against in high school. I believe he was a freshman or a sophomore at the time, but he was a really good player for them, for even how young he was when I played him. So I’m looking forward to playing those guys. Chiccitt, I know the name. I’ve never really run into him before or talked to, but definitely aware of him, and you know what he’s done. So looking forward to that.”

Heidenreich on the plusses and minuses of Navy dropping back more to pass and giving opposing linemen and edge rushers more of an opportunity to rush the quarterback that they normally don’t get against the triple-option: 

So I think the interesting thing about a lot of our passes, and you’ll see it on film, is how they’re kind of play action, really initially looking like a run. I think that’s something that might challenge some traditional edge rushers. They’re at their best when they know it’s a one-on-one matchup against the tackle on a quarterback who’s just dropping back. We, I think, make it challenging for them to be at their best when edge rushing. So I’m not sure if I quite answered your question, but I think it’s for us, just really trying to set up those pass plays with the run. I think that’s the best thing for us.”