Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
4/16Inside-5 share
4 of the team's 16 inside-the-5 carries (25.0%).
Tai Lavatai
Tai Lavatai: QB · Navy · #1.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Tai Lavatai
Extends plays on the move until something opens up. Played for two head coaches at Navy: Ken Niumatalolo and Brian Newberry. One game to point at: 179 passing yards and 74 rushing yards against Army — Week 15, 2023.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Navy in the news
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-42vs No. 13 Notre Dame | 3/6 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 23.9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 24-0vs Wagner | 8/13 | 161 | 1 | 0 | 12.4 | 39.0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 24-28@ Memphis | 10/19 | 133 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 44.5 | |
| Wk 5 | L 30-44vs South Florida | 1/5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 | 10.7 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24vs North Texas | 4/8 | 75 | 1 | 0 | 9.4 | 72.0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 14-0@ Charlotte | 1/1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 41.2 | |
| Wk 8 | L 6-17vs No. 22 Air Force | 13/23 | 96 | 1 | 2 | 4.2 | 14.1 | |
| Wk 15 | L 11-17vs Army | 16/26 | 179 | 1 | 0 | 6.9 | — | Season-high 179 yds |
| Total | 56/101 | 701 | 5 | 2 | 6.9 | — |
Signature game
Week 2 · 2023
W 24-0
vs Wagner
161 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 39.0 · 65 rush yds (16 car)
Dominant 24-point win at home against Wagner.
With R. Riethman — 44.4 yards per punt · 5 punts · 2 inside the 20 · A. Hassan — 9 rush yds (2 car)
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 15 · Army · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +6.66Tai Lavatai pass complete to Jayden Umbarger for 14 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
- Week 15 · Army · 3rd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +3.61Tai Lavatai sacked by Kalib Fortner for a loss of 8 yards Tai Lavatai fumbled, forced by Kalib Fortner, recovered by ARMY Kalib Fortner , return for 0 yards , return for 44 yds
- Week 3 · Memphis · 4th and 6 · Q4 · EPA −3.50Tai Lavatai pass complete to Jayden Umbarger for 5 yds to the MEM 10
- Week 15 · Army · 4th and 7 · Q4 · EPA +3.22Tai Lavatai pass complete to Brandon Chatman for 13 yds to the ARMY 43 for a
- Week 2 · Wagner · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.91Tai Lavatai pass complete to Nathan Kent for 35 yds to the WAG 45 for a
- Week 8 · Air Force · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.80Tai Lavatai pass complete to Eli Heidenreich for 10 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
4 more plays
- Week 6 · North Texas · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.78Tai Lavatai pass complete to Brandon Chatman for 38 yds to the UNT 1 for a
- Week 15 · Army · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.73Tai Lavatai pass complete to Jayden Umbarger for 13 yds to the ARMY 24 for a
- Week 6 · North Texas · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.72Tai Lavatai pass complete to Nathan Kent for 26 yds for a TD (Nathan Kirkwood PAT MISSED)
- Week 6 · North Texas · 3rd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +2.67Tai Lavatai run for 20 yds to the UNT 26 for a
Passing profile
Pass Profile · Completions by yards gained (PBP)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
98 of 101 attempts matched to play-by-play
Totals here are the box score's. Play-by-play lists 98 passing plays (55 completions) against the box score's 101 attempts (56 completions), and the depth buckets use play-by-play.
Adjusted ANY/A
6.26103 of 212 QBsSack rate
6.5%130 of 212 QBsSacked on 6.5% of dropbacks (130 of 212) — and still 103 of 212 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Short
0–9 yds56%of completions
31 comp5.6 yds avg
Middle
10–19 yds29%of completions
16 comp12.8 yds avg4 TD
Deep
20+ yds15%of completions
8 comp32.9 yds avg1 TD
Overall 55.4% completion on 101 attempts · 8 deep completions averaging 32.9 yds.
Teams and coaches
2021Navy4-8HC: Ken Niumatalolo · Run-heavy
2022Navy4-8HC: Ken Niumatalolo · Run-heavy
2023Navy5-7HC: Brian Newberry · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 84.8 | 0.8 | 6.9 | 0.5 |
| Road2g | 70.0 | 0.5 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 71.0 | 0.5 | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 138 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brian Newberry
Pass share
27.0%
198 pass / 536 run
Plays / game
61.2
12 games
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2023
101 pass attempts and 75 carries in 8 games
Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
30 · #114 of 140 QBs · 2023
Four seasons at Navy
- 2023 Navy NewberryYear 4 · 8 games
- 2022 Navy NiumataloloYear 3 · 8 games
- 2021 Navy NiumataloloYear 2 · 10 games
- 2020 Navy NiumataloloYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
How it ended
Three seasons at Navy, 1,937 passing yards — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
2 coaches2020–2022
Navy
Coaching transition mid-career: Ken Niumatalolo → Brian Newberry. Worth noting in scheme + development context.