Head coach Ken Niumatalolo didn’t hesitate when asked what Jamale Carothers brings to the table.

“Breakaway speed,” Niumatalolo said succinctly.

That was evident this past Saturday against South Florida when Carothers burst through a big hole on the left side, broke through the second level, then turned on afterburners and zoomed into the end zone.

Carothers electrified the crowd at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with his 58-yard touchdown run, serving notice he is going to be a real factor moving forward.

“I can’t remember a time when we’ve had someone run away from South Florida,” Niumatalolo said. “It’s encouraging to know we’ve got a guy that can take it to the house like that.”

Navy’s never had a fullback with the speed caliber of Carothers, who was a tailback at Bowling Green High in western Kentucky and was recruited as a slotback. The 5-foot-9, 203-pound sophomore switched to fullback prior to spring camp and has proven a quick study.

“Jamale came into the fullback room with no knowledge of what was going on and picked up everything very fast,” Navy fullbacks coach Jason MacDonald said.

Carothers was the 2016 Gatorade Player of the Year for Kentucky after rushing for 1,410 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior. He added another 884 yards and 11 scores on 45 receptions that season, also being named Mr. Football in Kentucky.

Carothers, who set the school record with 3,921 career rushing yards in leading Bowling Green to a 55-3 record and three Class 5-A state championships, was also recruited by Army, Austin Peay and Eastern Michigan.

After spending the 2016-2017 academic year at the Naval Academy Prep School, Carothers was relegated to junior varsity games only as a plebe in Annapolis. He did something to catch the attention of the head coach during practice this fall because it was Niumatalolo who suggested the sophomore should be playing in games.

“Coach Niumat deserves a lot of credit. He wanted to get Jamale into the game-plan,” MacDonald admitted. “We gave Jamale a shot at Tulsa and he showed what he can do.”

Carothers rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on five carries and caught a 26-yard pass off a gadget play against Tulsa. That solidified his status as the backup, and one would expect him to see increased action after the home run versus USF.

“Jamale has a real burst and when he gets into the open field, watch out man,” MacDonald said. “When Jamale gets into the open, he shows that next level of speed.”

MacDonald described Carothers as a “tweener” because he’s undersized as a fullback in the triple-option system, but a bit bigger and stronger than the typical slotback.

Nelson Smith, the season-long starting fullback, isn’t much bigger than Carothers at 5-foot-9 and 212 pounds. It shows how much the fullback position has evolved during the triple-option era at Navy as the likes of Kyle Eckel, Adam Ballard and Eric Kettani were all bruising battering rams who weighed in between 220 and 240 pounds.

“We have a nice one-two punch. We’ve got that inside, hit-it-up-in-there guy with Nelson and a little more of a speed guy with Jamale,” MacDonald said. “Both of those guys are playing at a high level right now.”