At this time last week, a disappointed Dalen Morris watched from the sideline as freshman Xavier Arline took all the first-team repetitions at quarterback during practice. Morris had been benched, losing the starting spot after just one miserable half in a season-opening 55-3 loss to BYU.
Now Morris is the toast of the town, having directed the greatest comeback in Navy football history to produce a 27-24 defeat of Tulane. He is being hailed as a hero after coming off the bench to spark the Midshipmen, who trailed 24-0 at halftime.
Not surprisingly, Morris was named Offensive Player of the Game by the Navy coaching staff and Athlete of the Week by the Naval Academy Athletic Association.