Air Force Football

This is round two in the Commander-in-Chief trophy for Air Force, and the way Navy has dominated Air Force, the Falcons have done the same to the Army, with with an 18-2 record over the past twenty years.

Another fun fact is that the last time Army won two games in a row was in 1977 and 1978.

The Black Knights have not had recent success, and in 2009 they bring in a new coach, Rich Ellerson, who comes from Cal Poly from the FCS level.

The one thing that Army has going for them is that according to football czar Phil Steele, the Black Knights will be the eight most experienced team. Experience will lead to success, so we will see how much Army will improve off its three win 2008 campaign.

While at Cal Poly, Ellerson put up a record of 56-34, which included two trips to the playoffs, and seven winning seasons.

Coach Ellerson looks to be a good fit because at Cal Poly his team was a running team and averaged over 300 yards per game.

This might be able to translate to West Point, because Army is traditionally a running team, which makes Rich Ellerson a good coach for the Black Knights.

If you get a chance, check out his bio, but be sure to take a nap beforehand, because it is lengthy.

Looking at the Army depth chart there are ten spots that list the OR next to a position.

The biggest loss comes for the running back, as the Black Knights need to replace Collin Mooney who had just over 1,300 yards.

The biggest battle comes at quarterback between Chip Bowden and Carson Williams and below is their stats along with the other top returnees

Passing	Com%	YPG	TD	INT
Chip Bowden	43.1	25.64	2	3
Carson Williams	49.1	39	1	3
Rushing	Carries	Yards	Yards Per Carry	TD
Patrick Mealy	18	97	5.4	2
Chip Bowden	194	572	2.9	1
Receiving	Catches	Yards	Yards Per Catch	TD
Jameson Carter	11	157	14.2	0
Damion Hunter	11	134	12.2	1

The edge may go to Williams because he has the better arm, and in 2007 passed for 1,770 yards, but the answer will not be presented until fall camp.

So far this offseason, the Black Knights have been noticed for moving Ali Villanueva 6-10 and 283 pound offensive line to wide receiver.

The height-to-weight ratio is not common for offensive linemen, which makes him athletic enough to play wide out without having his weight be an issue.

While this move may be a head scratcher, but while at Cal Poly Ellerson had a wide out in Ramses Barden who was 6'6". Coach Ellerson hopes to catch lightning twice with Villanueva a turn him into a playmaker as a receiver.

The offense will need all the help it can get, because it must improve of its 117th rate scoring offense that put up a paltry 14.8 points per game.

The defense for the Black Knights is not pretty. Last year the defense was just above the middle of the pack, with Army being ranked 51st in points allowed at 23.7 per game.

As mentioned above, this Army team has experienced players and on this defense Army has only one sophomore listed as a started, plus another is listed as a probable starter.

Well what does this mean?

Army hopes to improve off of its turnover margin (which was a minus 14 or 1.17 per game). That puts Army at 116th in the country, with the worst teams in college football, which Army was last year.

The Black Knights can only hope that experience will win out on this team for improvement, but experience may not always welcome success.

Just because a player has experience does not mean he is good, and Army could really just have a bunch of experienced bad players on their team.

Success will not be immediate for Army, but the team's schedule is not that tough and a jump to a five-win season is not out of the question for Army in 2009.

The Navy game is the first game in the coveted Commander-in-Chief between the service academies, and Navy has defeated the Air Force six straight times, as well as winning the Commander-in-Chief each of the past six years as well.

As everyone knows, the Midshipmen run a triple option offense, which makes them a very dangerous team when they play schools with better athletes.

The Navy does not have the same players as their ACC and Big East neighbors, but with misdirection plays, and running a unique offense allows the Navy to counter against better athletes for a more level playing field.

Head coach Ken Niumatalolo, entering his second year season, looks to build on the success of the former coach (currently at Georgia Tech) and also upon his first year at the Navy.

The offense has, what seems, interchangeable parts, with new Cadets graduating and new ones taking over their place. The biggest question this year is on quarterbacks, because the Navy lost its top two quarterbacks and is being replaced by QB/RB Ricky Dobbs. Below is the leading returning state leaders:

Passing	Com%	YPG	TD	INT
Ricky Dobbs	56.3	53	1	1
Rushing	Carries	Yards	Yards Per Carry	TD
Cory Finnerty	8	71	8.9	1
Ricky Dobbs	106	498	4.7	8
Bobby Doyle	16	169	10.6	1
Receiving	Catches	Yards	Yards Per Catch	TD
Mario Washington	3	56	18.7	0
Mike Schupp	1	14	14	0

These returning numbers are quite low and the mighty Phil Steele created a chart in order of teams with the most offense returning. The Navy returns only 23.2 percent of their offense for the 2009 year, which ranks 118 out of 120.

That also correlates with how experienced this team on offense is in 2009 and is in the bottom ten percent of that category as well. The quarterback position at the Navy is one that needs to be lead by a smart individual who also has speed, like a running back, and they need to throw a little bit. Dobbs is the choice because he has the experience at quarterback and running back as he played both last year.

The running game did lose an overwhelming majority of their offense, and with Dobbs moving to quarterback, the leading returning rusher at running back is Bobby Doyle. Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was a three year starter for Navy and while experience is gold at the quarterback position, back in 2005 when the Navy had a first time starting quarterback in Lamar Owens and won eight games.

With Dobbs at the helm, the Navy should not worry too much, because this Navy team has had six winning seasons and knows how to win games. The running game will be joined by a few new comers with slot back Marcus Curry and Alex Teich at fullback.

Just because they are new does not mean they will not put up the typical Navy rushing numbers, which, by the way, if one does not know, is a lot. Now while the passing game is not used too often in the Navy arsenal, it is a potent weapon.

Most teams concentrate on the option which sucks in the safeties, and then Navy will throw the deep ball over the top. If Ricky Dobbs is able to perform the over the top pass, and run the offense with new backs then the Navy offense should be its typical self. The Navy defense is putting most of its speed players on that side of the ball in order to counter the offense.

The 2009 Navy defense depth chart lists five positions as co-starters, now this could be a good thing with both players are too good to make a decision during the spring. Or, it could be that neither player has separated themselves to nail down the starting position.

The 2008 defense was middle of the pack nationally by allowing 346 per game, but that number could increase because the 2009 schedule is a little bit more tougher then the 2008 version. Turnover margin is what makes Navy stand out, 2008 the Midshipmen were plus 15 in the turnover margin and out gained opponents on average 1.15 per game.

While the offense maybe inexperienced the defense is loaded with upper class-man, and in the post-spring three deep only eight of thirty-four are Sophomores.

The defense should be just as good as last year with more experienced team, and all opponents including their season opener against Ohio State should be careful of the Midshipmen.

OK so getting two or three previews was not possible last week, just blame Jake Heaps for making his announcement early for not getting the ever so important 2009 non-conference team previews.

Game number two for Air Force is the Minnesota Golden Gophers out of the Big 10. For a preview on this game from a Golden Gophers perspective go check out the Daily Gopher over at SB Nation.

A quick recap from last year for Minnesota's season: the Gophers went 4-0 in their cupcake non-conference schedule, and then 7-1 before losing their last five games. Also, the only team they beat with a .500 record or above was the 6-6 Bowling Green out of the MAC, and then 7-6 Florida Atlantic out of the Sun Belt.

The one great thing going for the Gophers is wide receiver Erick Decker who was a force with over 1,000 yards on the season, and Minnesota also returns their top runner and top quarterback. The chart below represents the team's top returning skill position players.

Passing	COM%	YPG	TD	INT
Adam Weber	62.2	212.38	15	8
Rushing	Carries	Total Yards	Yards Per Carry	TD
DeLeon Eskridge	184	678	3.7	7
Adam Weber	127	233	1.8	4
Receiving	Receptions	Total Yards	Yards Per Catch	TD
Eric Decker	84	1074	12.8	7
Ben Kuznia	31	310	10.0	0
Brandon Green	20	298	14.9	1

Offensively, the Gophers were a one-man show with receiver Eric Decker, and after a few games the opposing teams tried to slow him down. Minnesota's offense averaged only 23.2 per game which was 83rd nationally and defensively were only slightly better at 61st nationally while giving up 24.8.

The 2008 season could have been a fluke with their non-conference schedule very weak with the 75 rating according to the 2008 Sagarian ratings. Then looking at the all-knowing Phil Steele, he has Minnesota's 2009 schedule ranked 11th toughest based on the 2008 opponents win-loss record.

The Big 10 historically has been a running conference, and then pass when needed. Minnesota seems to be doing the opposite, and they should since they have a big time receiver in Eric Decker who put up big numbers.

The Gophers will still try to sling the ball, but will move back to a more traditional pro-style offense from the spread they tried to run in 2008. Minnesota brings in a new offensive coordinator in Jed Fisch who most recently was coaching in the NFL for the past eight seasons.

The main importance for Minnesota to attempt to get their playmaker the ball is to first: Develop a running game that gained only 103 per game and ranked 105th nationally.

Their passing game was 55th, but when they played good opponents they struggled to do anything with the ball, and their is evidence with the 55-0 beat down by the hands of Iowa. The running game should be much improve with the return of Duane Bennett who is returning from knee surgery, and the addition of top junior college prospect Hayo Carpenter who will help ease the pressure off Eric Decker.

They do return eight starters on offense and half of those come from the most under-looked position by fans which is the line. The 2009 Gophers return four starting offensive lineman, and typically when a team has experience on the line they will be a good team.

There is hope for this 2009 team to be better from 2008, but the win total may not reflect that with their tougher non-conference games against Syracuse, Air Force, California, and South Dakota State (well, not the last one).

Defensively the Gophers were in the bottom quarter nationally on defense ranking 81st out of 120 in the nation, all while giving up 383 yards per game.

Their defense will have a tough time defending the Air Force run option, because this will be the only time Minnesota sees that offense and that they were at the bottom nationally on rush defense.

The defense does return seven players, but when a defense is not all that great does that really matter? Minnesota could have success against the Falcons' option attack with speed at linebacker and the secondary. Assignments will be key, but if the Gophers second and third level defenders have as much speed or more than the Falcons that could limit the big time plays the option is known to produce.

The front line does need to replace their top pass rusher from last year—Willie Van De Steeg—and bring the pressure to the quarterback. The top replacement looks to be Cedric McKinley. The rushing defense will be anchored by two very large men in Garrett and Eric Small, and they will need to step up against the Air Force run attack and try to slow it down.

The defense did improve greatly from coach Tim Brewster's tenure from year one where the team was dead last nationally up to 80th last year. Again, that could be attributed to the lackluster schedule early on, but one indicator that shows how good a defense is, is the turnover margin. Minnesota was plus-12 which translates to plus .92 per game and a national ranking of 16.

The offense plays a part in that number, but so does the defense in getting that to a positive number. In this matchup, specifically Air Force will need help in the secondary, because of the talent and speed that the Minnesota receivers posses.

Also, the Falcons will need to settle in on who will be their starting quarterback in either Tim Jefferson or Asher Clark. Jefferson was a true freshman who put up good numbers last year, but is in academic limbo since the spring, and Asher Clark played running back last and is making the move to quarterback but suffered an injury in the spring.

That situation should be figured out by then, but this game really could go either way because Air Force is always fundamentally sound and keep most games close. The week before both teams play inferior opponents—both who should win—with Minnesota coming off a game against Syracuse and Air Force playing FCS punching bag Nicholls State.

One last note that should be mentioned, The Daily Gopher has this quote about the game:

"Air Force has this one circled on their calendar."

While that may be true—since it is a BCS school on the road—in reality if one were to get a truthful answer from someone at the Academy this game ranks sixth out of 12.

Ranked ahead of this game would be both service academies and the TCU, BYU, and Utah. The last three schools mentioned and Navy are going to be better than Minnesota and the Army game is for the Commander-in-Chief trophy.

Summer is not "officially" here, but June is summer for me, and to keep things rolling lets preview the non-conference opponents.

This was done last year, and there will be two or three of these per week ending in mid to late August.

The first previews of Air Force's opponent is the Nicholls State Colonels from the FCS (formerly I-AA). The Colonels were nothing special last year with a 3-6 record, from the Southland conference. They did end the season on a higher note though, by winning three of their last five games.

Their 2008 offense was well, to be nice, terrible. The Colonels averaged 25 points per game. Their defense did not help the team by giving up 34 points per game. The passing offense, which was really really bad, averaged only 102.7 yards per game, between two players.

The sad part about the 2009 team is that both quarterbacks were seniors last year and the front runner looks to be either junior Nolan Dumas, or junior college transfer Jose Avina.

Avina came from the College of San Mateo, where he went 7-4 in his Sophomore season, and then spent 2008 using his redshirt so he could have two years of eligibility left for the Colonels. The running game was impressive last year by averaging 208 per game, and if the team could have been in more games, that number could have been quite a bit higher. 

The running game will be important to help out either of the new quarterbacks, but the top returning rusher is sophomore Corey Buchanan. The rushing offense was split pretty evenly between the backs and Buchanan had 353 yards, one touchdown, but did average 6.5 yards per play.

Marlin Meeks is the other back who will get carries, and in 2008 he had 241 yards and two scores.

The running game will be the key component for success in their season, and they could have success against Air Force who gave up 139 yards per game in 2008. The best returning talent on the team will be receiver Antonio Robinson who had 502 yards and six scores. He will obviously be the primary target with a new quarterback.

Robinson also is the only wide receiver to be returning who had any receptions, the only other player returning who caught the ball is running back AJ Williams.

This offense will struggle to put up points at all this season, and especially in game one  against Air Force. The defense will have a tough time stopping the run option attack by Air Force, but at least it's their first game which means more practice time then a week to prepare.

Nicholls State gave up 171 yards per game on the ground, and going just by pure numbers and comparing them to the FBS division, they would rank 92 out of 120 teams.

The Colonels will have their hands full on defense against the Falcons. Plus, they should be expecting a heavy dose of the run. The Air Force quarterback situation is unstable with Tim Jefferson unsure because of academics and Asher Clark who is converting to quarterback after one year at running back was injured during the offseason.

Their overall defense from 2008 per game was 422 yards, and with most of the team seniors last year 2009 looks to be worse then the Colonels 3-6 record.

The Falcons are looking to continue to build on their last two seasons, and with it being Troy Calhoun's third season in Colorado Springs, they should still be on the rise.  My predictions put the Falcons finishing the season at 10-2, keep reading to find out why.

Nicholls State - Win

Starting the year at home over Parent's Weekend against a weak opponent.  Should serve as a tuneup game to try and get the option going in a good rhythm before heading to Minnesota for a very tough game.

at Minnesota - Win

Minnesota's home opener in their brand new stadium.  Will be a very tough game for the Falcons, but their offense is not something that Big 10 schools like Minnesota see very often.  Minnesota is a solid team, but only mediocre for being in one of the BCS conferences.  With them graduating much of their defense and the key players for the Falcons returning this year, this could definitely be a Falcons victory.

at New Mexico - Win

The last two years New Mexico has struggled.  They beat the Falcons two years ago in New Mexico, but that was because of five turnovers on the Falcons side of the fifty.  The Falcons should roll.

vs. San Diego St. - Win

A new coach does not instantaneously turn around a team that has been as bad as San Diego St. has been.  They have no offense, no defense, and no kicking game.

at Navy - Win

No doubt about it, this is the biggest game of the year.  Navy is now without their two best players from last year and hopefully does not have people waiting in the wings.  Air Force has given this game away two years in a row now and is win less in their last six meetings with Navy.  As long as they don't accumulate 50 yards of penalties after a first and goal from the two, or allow two punts to get blocked and returned for touchdowns, I don't foresee the Falcons losing to this Navy team.  But here's to hoping Navy beats Ohio State.

vs TCU - Loss

TCU's defense just knows how to defend the Air Force option.  I've seen it happen over and over again.  TCU's defense is big and fast and has the experience necessary to defend the option effectively.  If TCU scores 7 points they win this game.

vs. Wyoming - Win

Wyoming will be implementing a new offense this year now with Christensen replacing Glenn as the head coach.  I know that Wyoming doesn't have the personnel to run the offense that Missouri has run the past few years so I think they will struggle as Christensen gets frustrated with his lack of talent.

at Utah - Win

I predict this win because Utah lost Brian Johnson.  Without a mobile quarterback, Utah is more liable to lose to the Falcons.  Look at the game two years ago when Johnson was injured.  Air Force dominated every facet of that ball game, and the same will happen this year.

at Colorado State - Win

The Falcons have dominated this rivalry the past few years.  The Rams were much improved last year and I expect they will continue their improvement, but Troy Calhoun's team just has Colorado State's number and won't let the team up North ruin their chances for a conference title.

vs. Army - Win

This series is one that has also been dominated by Air Force.  With the Black Knights traveling to Falcon Stadium, there is no way that Army will be able to stand up to the all-around more talented Falcon team.  It could still be trouble because rivalries always can be, but I expect an Air Force win.

vs. UNLV - Win

The Runnin' Rebels gave Air Force a run for their money last year, but it was also played in Las Vegas.  The last home game for the Air Force Seniors will be a win, if for no other reason than they will refuse to lose their last game in Falcon Stadium.

at BYU - Loss

BYU matches up extremely well against Air Force because of their huge linebackers, fast receivers, and Max Hall at quarterback.  The Air Force secondary just can't handle the BYU receivers with a quarterback that has the intelligence that Max Hall has throwing to them.  They also struggle to score points because of those BYU linebackers that just overpower the Air Force linemen.

These predictions are up for debate and I welcome it so please comment!

Reggie Rembert’s mother never wanted him to play football.

When Rembert was five, Ida Rembert was appalled by the idea of her son shoving around a bunch of other little boys.

“Let’s let Reggie play football,” his father said.

“No way is my son playing football,” she snapped.

Mrs. Rembert went out of town and his dad signed him up that day.

Rembert has played football now for 15 years, but his mother’s long-gone wish might come true this fall.

Now starting cornerback for the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons, in April Rembert was indefinitely suspended for an academic violation. Although he can practice with the team, he cannot play in games until the suspension is lifted.

Air Force officials would not comment on or elaborate on the infraction because it would violate the federal privacy act.

The loss of Rembert’s standout performance on the field will be a significant blow to the Falcons if he is forced to miss games in the fall. In 2008 he was the team leader in interceptions (3) and all-purpose yards (943). He played in all 13 games as a first-year in 2007 and started at corner in all 13 games in 2008.

Rembert, a sophomore, is notably one of the most recognized and talented players at the academy, and now his mother refuses to miss a single game.

After missing one game during his freshman year, Mrs. Rembert booked all of the plane tickets she and Rembert’s father would need for the following season, as they live in Texas.

“You’ll never make me miss a game again,” she told Mr. Rembert.           

And they haven’t since. This should come as no surprise to the cadet, a self-proclaimed spoiled only child from Flower Mound, Texas.

He called his parents the best in the world, behind him 100 percent, even through the suspension.

The infraction, however, was not his first setback. At just 5’7” his height makes him one of the shortest cornerbacks in the NCAA. His friends jokingly call him “lil Reggie” and “lil tyke,” but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Like one of my coaches said, ‘Reggie, you’re just a seven-foot guy trapped in a five-foot frame.’ They respect me because I play a lot bigger than I am,” Rembert said.

And his explosiveness on the field has done exactly what he had hoped. Proven everybody wrong.

The starter doesn’t let size affect the way he plays or his dream to make it big. Rembert hopes to be drafted by an NFL team, but he has to serve two years in the Air Force after he graduates before he can play.

Who does he want to play for?

“Any team. I just want the chance,” he said.

And that’s all he wanted when he came to the academy, as well. Rembert was All-State in high school in Texas and led the state in interceptions in the regular season in 2005 during his junior year. After high school his goal was to play Division I football in college, but not many schools were willing to take the chance on the cornerback’s size. The academy gave him that chance.

That doesn’t mean Rembert hasn’t thought about leaving.

“It’s really hard. I’ve thought about going somewhere else. Anyone who says they haven’t is lying,” he said.

Rembert wakes up five days a week at 7 a.m. and puts on his blue trousers and buttons up his blue shirt. He heads to mandatory breakfast at 7:20 a.m. He may or may not eat. Four hours of class and then military drills. Marching is followed by another mandatory meal—lunch this time. He gives up the trousers and shirt for pads. Workout, practice, lift, watch film. Shower, dinner, homework, under the covers by 10:45 p.m. Repeat.

The academy is known for having one of the most rigorous academic programs in the nation, and it expects the best from student-athletes. The NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate (APR) report on May 11, in which the academy ranked second out of 120 Division I football programs.

The APR tracks the academic progress of each student-athlete during a period of four years and calculates an overall score based on criteria such as eligibility, retention and graduation. The academy ranked second to Stanford by only one point.

The academy was the right choice for him according to Rembert. He’ll be guaranteed a job and the option to retire in 20 years.

“It’s all worth it in the end,” Rembert said.

In many years of playing EA Sports Madden football as well as the NCAA college football game, I have never once punted. Not once.  Nada.  I could be facing 4th and 18 on my own three yard line…doesn’t matter.

The punter stays parked on the bench. I’d rather air it out and suffer the consequences, which, thanks to the wretched cornerback play on football video games, isn’t all that often.

In returning to the real world of football, I’ve also noticed that whenever the opposing team is playing a team I’m rooting for and a 4th and short situation comes up, I’m always hoping they send the punter on the field. Why? Because it is usually in the best interests of my team.

It is very hard to stop a good offense on 4th and 3 regardless of where they are at on the field. While I’ve done no statistical analysis on it, my gut tells me that every team in the NFL and NCAA punts far more than they really should if the coaches were better at playing the odds, especially teams with subpar defenses.

What is more likely for a team like the Arizona Cardinals, converting a 4th and 3 or actually stopping the other team’s offense? They’d be better off playing the offensive odds, even if they are on their own 35 yard line.

Coaches who have decided they aren’t going to punt have the added luxury of an expanded playbook since they now have four downs to get a first down.

Getting ten yards with four downs should not be that great of a challenge in most cases. After all, the defense doesn’t know what play the offense has called.

A team should almost never send a punter onto the field once they’ve crossed mid-field, unless they end up in a fourth and a ton situation. Nothing in football is more frustrating than watching your team punt from the 40 yardline for a touchback on 4th and short.     

The NFL has evolved to the point where the offenses are, by and large, better than the defenses. The rules, largely governed by the NFL’s desire to market a high scoring product, favor the offenses.

So, why are coaches in such a hurry to send their offenses to the bench and put their frequently overmatched defenses on the field? For some teams, this makes a bit more sense. If a team has a ferocious defense but a less intimidating offense, like the Steelers and Ravens, punting is a more attractive option.

By all means, put that defense back on the field. Ed Reed has a better chance of scoring than most of the Ravens’ skill players.

But, for many of the league’s teams, the situation is the reverse. Why would the Denver Broncos ever punt? Their 2008 defense couldn’t stop anybody. They would be far better served in going for it in most fourth down situation with that defense. The situation was the same for the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and a host of other teams.

The most a team can hope for when punting is about a 40 yard shift in field position and that is the ideal. And a few things can go disastrously wrong. The punt can be blocked or the ball can go sailing over the punter’s head as happened in the Steelers-Giants game.

More likely, the punt return specialist may find a seam and run the ball back. How often do games turn on punt returns in today’s NFL and NCAA?

This should come down to a simple risk/reward calculation. If the coach assesses the risk is higher than the potential reward, punt. If not, go for it. I don’t think many coaches are good at making this calculation. Somebody needs to develop a chart to help better guide these decisions.  

So, why are there so many punts? Most coaches don’t want to take the heat if they go for it and don’t make it. If a coach goes for it on 4th and 3 from his own 35 yard line and doesn’t make it, he’ll get eaten alive by the “experts.”

But, if he punts and the other team subsequently scores (which in the case of some teams is a near certainty), nobody will say a word about the decision.

If an aggressive coach eschews punting and wins five games because of it while losing one, media attention will focus on the one that was lost. So, coaches punt out of a sense of self preservation. 

Plus, most coaches just don’t have that killer instinct. They are comfortable keeping a game close, figuring they can win it in the end, instead of putting it away by being more aggressive with the ball. This doesn’t just apply to the NFL. College coaches are even worse when it comes to punting too often.

If you are a small conference school playing an NCAA offensive juggernaut like Oklahoma or Florida, why punt the ball to them? Chances are that they will say, “Thank you very much,” and march right down the field and score. Take your chances with all your offensive downs.

As an Air Force football fan, I’d much rather see them go down swinging when they are playing a top-notch team than put an overmatched defense back on the field to try to work a miracle.

Their offense is tough to stop even for the better defensive teams while their their student-athletes on defense will struggle to matchup against an elite offensive squad from an NFL football farmclub.

At some point, a coach is going to come along who is a math wizard. And he is going to keep his punter parked squarely on the bench on most occasions.

People will scratch their heads and try to figure out what he is thinking. And then they will notice that the coach just keeps on winning. And teams are going to finally wake up to the reality that it is okay to go for it on 4th down on a more regular basis.

Air Force wrapped up spring practice a few weeks back on Apr. 4.

But they finished with more questions than answers at the quarterback position. Originally Tim Jefferson, who was the starter for most of last season, was to continue that roll, but with academic issues the Falcons reopened the position in the fall.

Asher Clark, who was running back now turned quarterback, will have a chance to compete to be the starting quarterback in 2009. Last year Clark compiled 588 yards on the ground with a 4.5 yards and if he can even throw a little bit, then Clark has a chance.

The other choice besides Jefferson is Ben Cochran, who was the third string quarterback last year. While he may not start, he received the benefit of extra playing time because Jefferson missed twelve practices due to academics.

Still expect that no one player will be able to do what Chad Hall did two years ago when he produced over 90 percent of the offensive output.

Typically at the academy, any player can be placed into a position and have success, even at the quarterback position.  The players are smart and disciplined which is what a signal caller needs to be.

Whether it be Clark who was a running back last year and now quarterback, or if Jefferson gets his academics in order, the quarterback position at Air Force should be able to produce.

With this being year three of Troy Calhoun, the big change could be here with his recruited players in his system.

Coach Troy Calhoun has officially opened up the quarterback position at Air Force. During spring practices the 2008 starter Tim Jefferson only made five of the fifteen practices, because Jefferson needed to concentrate on grades so that he would be eligible for the 2009 season.

Then freshman tailback Asher Clark was moved to quarterback to provide a challenge to Jefferson. Clark went through only about the first third of the practices before undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee.

These incidents actually could help Air Force in the long run with quarterbacks Ben Cochran and freshman Connor Dietz, who took the majority of the spring snaps.

“I like what they’ve done,” Calhoun said. “The part that you take notice of is their execution’s been pretty good. You just see the command of the offense, you can tell they’re comfortable. They weren’t initially, the first four practices, but you don’t expect them to be at that time.”

Jefferson will be listed as the opening day starter in fall camp, but he should not be too comfortable because Cochran and Dietz played quite well in spring camp, and the two will be in contention to start in 2009.