Army Football

Sometimes the sound defines a game; the roar, the bands, the sense of urgency, it is what you remember years later about a game. 

That is the way it was at Michie Stadium on Saturday as Army won one of its biggest home games in recent memory, a 21-14 win over Northwestern.

Junior quarterback Trent Steelman carried on his back the hopes of his team, the Corps of Cadets, the alumni, all the "voices' surrounding an Army team. 

And wow did he deliver. 

Army ran the ball 78 times, and Steelman himself carried the rock 28 times, gaining 108 yards often on crucial short yardage third- and fourth-down plays. In the Black Knights first quarter 18-play 81-yard drive, Steelman himself carried for six first downs, including a 17-yard run to score the first of his three touchdowns.  

Afterwards Steelman, described to me the "trust that the coaches and his teammates have in him" and his appreciation for support from the Corps of Cadets.

Army overall had 381 yards rushing the ball with only six yards passing. Eight different ball carriers gave Army an effective attack with sophomore Raymond Maples and junior Malcolm Brown gaining consistent yardage to the outside, often taking pitchouts from Steelman. 

Maples had 95 yards on the day and Malcolm Brown added 79, including a 40-yard run in the fourth quarter that gave Army crucial field possession.   

On defense, Army gave up just 115 yards on the ground and 309 yards overall. Wildcat quarterback Kain Colter was 12-of-23 passing for 89 yards and one touchdown before being relieved in the fourth quarter by redshirt freshman Trevor Siemian. 

On just three plays, Siemian showed accuracy in completing three straight passes; the last being a 62-yard completion to Jeremy Ebert that tied the score at 14, all with less then six minutes left to play.

Getting the ball back, Steelman started a drive at his own 25-yard line and proceeded to lead Army up the field, aided by a Malcolm Brown 23-yard run to bring the Black Knights across midfield to the Wildcat 47. Sophomore slotback Scott Williams came in and pulled off a 17-yard run to the NU 13.

Steelman ran three straight plays; first converting a third-and-six play for a first-and-goal from the three. Then on the second attempt running up the middle, Steelman followed his center, 285-pound Will Wilson for the go-ahead touchdown that gave Army a 21-14 lead with less than three minutes left.

Trevor Siemian had one more chance to tie the game taking over on the Army 40-yard line. A pass to Jeremy Ebert went for 18 yards to the Army 42, but on the next play, Army linebacker Nate Combs sacked Siemian for a loss. A fourth-and-one pass attempt to Ebert failed and the Black Knights took over on downs.

Army Captain Steven Erzinger had a big day with nine tackles and a sack from his outside linebacker spot. The front line of the Black Knights, led by Holt Zalneraitis, A.J. Mackey and Cory Watts did a good job of handling the large Northwestern offensive line while pressuring the throws of the Wildcats QBs. 

Army coach Rich Ellerson was excited about his team's first win of the season, much less defeating a heralded team from the Big Ten. He felt the team had built from the close loss a week ago to San Diego State to "prove we could be fine" against Northwestern. 

I asked the coach about the play of his offensive line which is maturing quickly into an effective unit, and he credited the play of offensive tackles Brad Kelley and Mike McDermott for helping to open up the running plays to the outside. 

West Point, now 1-2 on the year, will travel next week to Muncie, Indiana to play Ball State. In the mean time, there are a lot of happy Army people on the west bank of the Hudson.

Ken Kraetzer covers Army football for Sons of the American Legion Radio, hosting the West Point Football Report every Tuesday at 5:30 PM EST on 1460 AM and WVOX.com. He can be reached on kgk914@aol.com.

A Big Ten team comes to West Point for the first time since 1988 as the 2-0 Northwestern Wildcats will take on an Army team looking for its first win in a 3:30 PM start at Michie Stadium.

The Black Knights showed major improvement in last week's 23-20 loss at home to San Diego State, gaining 403 yards on the ground.  They rank second in the NCAA in rushing with an average of 353 yards gained over the opening two weeks.

The surprise in this is that the yardage has been gained by a committee of backs led by No. 8 QB Trent Steelman and slot-back No. 23 Malcolm Brown.  Steelman carried 21 times versus the Aztecs and gained 157 yards, the most rushing yards by an Army QB since Myreon Williams in 1991. The thousand-yard gainer from last year, fullback junior No. 7 Jared Hassin, has been limited to 75 yards gained on 20 carries as defenses have been keying on him.

Malcolm Brown has had success in getting outside, often taking pitch-outs from Steelman. The junior from Bay Shore, NY ran for 77 yards against SDSU on 10 carries, including a 31-yard gain.  He is averaging 84.5 yards per game.

Importantly, he keeps the defense from keying on the middle of the line, which is opening runs for Steelman.  Brown's threat to the outside should also help open up space for Hassin, who so far has been mostly tied up by the first two opponents.

On defense, the Black Knights have been built around two senior linebackers, both captains of the team: No. 9 Steve Erzinger and No. 42 Andrew Rodriguez.

Erzinger had a huge opening night against Northern Illinois, being credited with 21 tackles.  Rodriguez, back on the field after a back injury kept him out all of 2010, has five tackles so far and Army's only fumble recovery.

Two emerging players on the defense are freshman No. 30 Hayden Pierce from Yorba Linda, California, who has 11 tackles at free safety, and strong safety No. 11 Thomas Holloway from Birmingham, Alabama, who has nine tackles so far.

Northwestern is the third 2010 bowl team Army is facing to start the 2011 season.  So far this year, the Wildcats have won at Boston College and last week defeated Eastern Illinois 42-21 at home.

Their head coach, Pat Fitzgerald, is in his 6th season in Evanston, and has a 36-29 record. Northwestern received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today top 25 polls—more than Penn State, BYU, and Georgia in both listings.

The national discussion involving the Wildcats has been the great play of starting quarterback Kain Colter, who has been substituting for the injured preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Dan Persa.

Last week, Colter ran for 109 yards, and like Steelman, scored three touchdowns.  The Northwestern offense is averaging 430 yards per game and 33 points per game—quite a challenge for the young Army defense.

Head coach of the Black Knights, Rich Ellerson, complimented this week's opponent at his Tuesday press conference: "Another week, another tremendous challenge. Northwestern is a Big Ten football team; probably one of the better teams in the Big Ten this year. They're a very veteran football team."

Ellerson and his staff are preparing for both possible Wildcats quarterbacks and understand Persa might play.

"We expect we'll see [Dan] Persa, their award-winning quarterback, who brought such tremendous expectations into this year. Having said that, [Kain] Colter has stepped in the first two games and played extraordinarily well. We'll prepare for both, of course."

On the strong improvement on both sides of the ball demonstrated last week by his young Army team, the coach said, "We, on the other hand, this past week, got onto a stage with a quality opponent and we figured out how to play.

How much emotion you have to bring to the game, how much resilience you have to bring to the game, what it's like to turn the scoreboard off and play the game you love to play."

In order to be competitive with a Big Ten team like Northwestern, Ellerson said: "Now, we have to be better at what we do. We have to be more precise at what we do. If we can do that, if we can bring that same passion, aggressiveness and resilience to the contest with better execution, with more guys with their eyes and feet right, we can compete on this stage.

But that's going to take all of that to have a chance. In the absence of both of those things, we have no chance. Given both those things, we belong in this venue and we can compete in it."

One of the impressive performances from the Black Knight's 23-20 loss last week at home to San Diego State was the play of the 285-pound junior center Will Wilson.  No coincidence that Trent Steelman had his best collegiate day running the ball with 157 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

I asked Coach Ellerson about the play of his big center: "What he brought to the game that really helped us and helped him be reasonably successful in that contest was his poise. San Diego State was getting in and out of a lot of different looks, and he's right in the middle of some of those adjustments that have to take place. He was able to be right most of the day, and that gave the offense a chance to get started."

The depth chart for this week lists as starting wide receiver, in addition to No. 88 Jared McFarlin, another sophomore, 6'2" No. 2 Anthony Stephens from Greenville, South Carolina.

I asked Coach Ellerson about the addition of Stephens to the starting lineup: "Anthony [Stephens], Jared [McFarlin] and Davyd [Brooks] are all up there in the starting rotation. The two young guys, Jared and Anthony, are going to get better week after week after week.

They're still playing their first real meaningful reps, and every time they do that against a quality opponent they get a better of idea of what it takes to play the position."

Northwestern provides a big challenge to the West Point defense gaining maturity with each game, built on the stability of Erzinger and Rodriguez at the linebacker spots.  I asked the coach about what it is going to take defensively on Saturday.

"Defensively, what we have to do is get everybody playing the same defense at the same time. When we do that, we can frustrate folks.  They're another up-tempo outfit. They'll challenge you with the number of times they try to snap the ball, the amount of time they're going to spend at the line of scrimmage. We're going to get that young defense stressed again in that regard.

The being right, the being poised, that's where we'll see growth."

A near-sellout crowd is expected at Michie Stadium on Saturday, of close to 40,000.  It is a late start at 3:30 PM, so the Black Knights will have a chance to tailgate and to see the Parade of Cadets on "The Plain" starting at 12 Noon. 

It would a memorable victory if West Point could pull an upset here. They almost did it last week against San Diego State, moving down the field down by only three in the closing minutes.  As Coach Ellerson always talks about, if they can win the turnover battle they have a shot, and not get down too many points early.

West Point is playing very well on special teams this year and both teams run the ball well.  The difference will be the Northwestern offense against the young Army defense.

Should be a good one.

Ken Kraetzer covers West point football for WVOX radio in New Rochelle, NY. Listen to the West point Football Report every Tuesday night at 5:30 PM during the season on WVOX.com. Reach him on kgk914@aol.com.

Check out the full montage of the Pro Combat Unis for Army Here and Navy Here.

Nike’s Pro Combat series of uniforms have been popping up everywhere this season during huge college football games.

Pretty soon, they will find they are being worn by two of the most prestigious football programs in American college football history in one of the oldest rivalry games in the country.

Pro Combat opened the season with the Boise State Broncos debuting their new digs against the Georgia Bulldogs (also donning their new Nikes), on a national stage. Oregon pulled theirs out against LSU on opening day as well.

Upcoming Pro Combat debuts will have Michigan State wearing them against Michigan, as well as LSU rocking them against Auburn.

But the matchup I am most looking forward to seeing them worn in is the Army vs. Navy game on December 10th.

NavySports.com is calling it a perfect marriage for their team.

“Tradition, sacrifice, honor and courage paired together with innovation and technological advancement make up the lifeblood of the United States Naval Academy. Similar concepts unite when Navy straps up the Nike Pro Combat system of dress on December 10th in their attempt to beat Army for the 10th-consecutive season”

The Navy uniforms feature their classic slogan “Don’t Tread on Me” prominently in many areas of the outfit. The anchor symbol is also a feature displayed in many places, none more prominent than on the sides of the helmet and with the interlocking gloves.

These uniforms are elegant and unique, with a blend of modern flash and timeless tradition. 

On the other side of the inter-service battle, the Navy Midshipmen will be staring down their Army Black Knight enemies.

Nike did not change too much on these classic uniforms and really stuck to tradition when they designed the Black Knight uniforms.

The most notable change is in the cleats and socks, which are desert-sand colored, just like the boots the troops serving right now are wearing.

The gloves on these lock together to form the classic Army "A" and the numbers are stenciled in the way much U.S. Army gear is labeled.

I cannot wait for December 10th to see these two teams battle it out in their awesome new uniforms and bring a new twist to one of the classic rivalries in the sport. 

Check out the full montage of the Pro Combat Unis for Army Here and Navy Here 

Follow @AlexPKay

The West Point home opener was held a day before the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and was themed "Salute to Heroes Day". The game day included distinguished guests, a huge American flag, patriotic music and, of course, a great battle of the gridiron. Decided in the last minute, San Diego State traveled over 2,000 miles to defeat the Cadets 23-20.

Among the special guests were policeman, fireman, emergency workers and soldiers who'd recently returned from service overseas.  Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani addressed the crowd of over 27,000 at halftime.  An Army Medal of Honor recipient was introduced and received a standing ovation.  Before the start of the game, Army running back Jon Crucitti carried out on to the field a flag first flown at Ground Zero provided by New York City first responders.    

After an immense amount of rain from two recent storms, the game was played on a beautiful late summer day at Michie Stadium.  West Point came back from an early 14-0 deficit with two drives of 71 and 82 yards; both culminating in scores by quarterback Trent Steelman. 

In the second half, after an 80-yard drive by the Aztecs, Steelman scored his third touchdown of the day with a 17-yard run to tie the game at 20.  A 42-yard field goal by the Aztecs Abelardo gave SDSU a 23-20 lead. A late West Point drive ended on downs and they were just out of range for a field goal attempt.

During the postgame press conference, coach Ellerson was disappointed about the outcome, but was very positive over the improvements his team had made since the opening week loss to Northern Illinois.

"We competed for 60 minutes. We grew so much as competitors from week one to week two. I don't know how good we are, but we are a tough, tough football team. We've got to be a better football team," Ellerson said.

"This is going to have a happy ending if we continue to grow, if we just keep getting better. If this football team will keep believing in itself and battling like that, it'll have a chance to win every week. Beating (San Diego State) would have been every bit as big as beating SMU in the bowl game."

The Black Knights rebuilt offensive line showed fight and maturity in supporting the Cadets to 403 yards of rushing offense. At times in the second quarter, it seemed that West Point's o-line was pushing back the San Diego State defensive backs three or four yards off the line of scrimmage. I asked Ellerson about the improvement in the offensive line.

"We're changing plays as they're changing defenses. The play stays on the blocking changes. To have that all going on and to play as impressively as they did bodes well for us. I'm not sure we're knocking anybody way out of there, but we absolutely were playing aggressively. We were coming out of our shoes and we executed our offense. We're not going to be the biggest bunch, but we're going to be athletic," Ellerson said.

Steelman had his best day in college, running the football for 157 yards on 21 carries. The junior from Bowling Green Kentucky looked aggressive in hitting holes in the Aztec defense, often right behind his center Will Wilson. 

He commented on the strong running game Army demonstrated on the day, generating 403 rushing yards.  

“As a whole, that’s what we pride ourselves on. That’s what the triple option is all about—running the ball. When you have the guys putting forth the effort, our slot backs, our wide receivers are doing their jobs, even when they’re not expecting the ball every time like in a regular offense," Steelman said.

"They take pride in how they perform when they don’t have the ball. That’s what we have to have. The stats speak for themselves. There’s not much else to say. Just look at the rushing yards and you’ll see how hard we played.”

 The game took its toll on Steelman coming out of the game twice in the fourth quarter, the second time reaching for his right shoulder.  

Going into the game I had been concerned that the new Black Knight no-huddle offense might be a distraction, but it seemed, at times, to confuse the Aztec defense. After each play, Steelman would lead the offense right back to the line of scrimmage.  He then had the option to run a play or look to the bench for instructions provided as symbols on cards. I asked the Army signal caller if he was getting more comfortable with this new strategy.

“It’s picked up a ton since NIU. It gives us an opportunity to kind of see what the defense is going to bring and what adjustments they are going to make. At the same time, it doesn’t allow them to substitute in," Steelman said.

Steelman believes this style allows for the Black Knights' to establish a productive rhythm on offense. "We take pride in our time of possession, controlling the ball and keeping our defense off the field to let them rest. We’re speeding up the tempo, slowing it down, speeding it up, slowing it down. It really throws off the rhythm of the defense and that’s when we can exploit them.”

Next week, Army will have another tough home game against 2-0 Northwestern, who defeated   Eastern Illinois this week with backup quarterback Kain Colter running for 109 yards and throwing for 104 yards more.

Ken Kraetzer conducts the West Point Radio Report every Tuesday evening at 5:30 EST from New Rochelle, NY based WVOX 1460 and WVOX.com.  Reach Ken on kgk914@aol.com.

West Point head coach Rich Ellerson and his Black Knights have the prospect of facing the second of three straight 2010 bowl winning teams to open the season. 

They host the San Diego State Aztecs at Michie Stadium on Saturday. San Diego State won the Poinsettia Bowl on its home field last year defeating Navy 35-14. 

Last week the Aztecs started the season looking strong in a  49-21 win over Cal Poly.

Senior quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for 203 yards and four touchdown passes on 15-of-27 attempts.

Two of those TDs were caught by 6'2" 210-pound sophomore wide receiver Dylan Denso. 

On the ground 5'9" 190-pound sophomore Ronnie Hillman averaged 6.8 yards per carry, gaining 189 yards on 28 attempts. 

Another ground threat for the Aztecs is junior Walter Kazee who had 82 yards in the opener. 

The Aztec offensive line is big and experienced with junior center Alec Johnson, senior guard Emilo Rivera, junior guard Nik Embernate, senior tackle Tommie Draheim and senior tackle Kurtis Gunther.

Gunther, at right guard, stands 6' 8" and projects to play on Sundays next year. 

The size of the offensive line will present a real challenge to the West Point defensive front which averages 232 pounds.  

The Aztec defense was led in the opener by senior linebacker Miles Burris and freshman linebacker Jake Fely, both of whom were involved in six tackles. 

Burris recorded the lone Aztec sack on the day. 

First year Aztec head coach Rocky Long served as the defensive coordinator of the team the past two years. 

He served as head coach for the bowl game before being named the official new head coach in January. 

Long was the head coach at New Mexico for 11 years and five bowl game appearances.

Like Army, San Diego State's program has been on the upswing in recent years.

Their 9-4 record in 2010 was their first winning season in 12 years and the Poinsettia Bowl victory was their first postseason win since 1969. 

Coach Ellerson at his weekly news conference talked about needing to see improvement from his young team not just "game to game but play to play" in order to compete with teams coming up on their schedule. 

The Black Knights are coming off a 49-26 loss at Northern Illinois on opening night of the season.

They start a two-game home stand Saturday against San Diego State followed by a visit from Northwestern the following week.

On offense the Black Knights gained 303 yards on the ground against NIU but surprisingly only 18 yards came from junior Jared Hassin, the 1,000 yard rushing fullback from 2010. 

Trent Steelman could not find room to break free on the day gaining a net 37 yards on 17 attempts. 

Junior Malcolm Brown had the most success of ten Black Knights rushing the ball during the game with a net 92 yards on just nine attempts. 

Freshman Trenton Turrentine did well in his first varsity outing contributing 68 yards on 11 carries. 

Northern Illinois took away the Army inside running game early on. Said Ellerson about the success the Army slot backs had running to the outside:

"When you run the option, they decide where the ball goes a little bit and we were getting the ball pitched. Frankly, there should have been more there. If we block the perimeter a little bit better and if we run a little bit better, there's more there. They were going to make it hard to put the ball in the fullback's hands."

The Black Knights implemented a no huddle offense with the players reading cards held up by coaches on the sideline.

Steelman would then read the defense over center with the option to audible. 

"Trent (Steelman) didn't play a great game. There's no other way to say it," said Ellerson.

"He was good, not great, on his reads. He was involved in three turnovers and that's atypical play for him. He has a much higher standard and higher expectations for himself. Having said that, he does an awful lot of good things. We just have to be able to do that without the negative to be competitive on the field with a Northern Illinois or San Diego State."

On defense the Black Knights are coming off a game in which they gave up big numbers in terms of yards and points, especially in the second quarter.  Army was playing a number of young players, notably Reggie Nesbit at middle linebacker and Holt Zalneraitis at defensive end.

A highlight of the defense was the play of senior outside linebacker Steve Erzinger, who had 21 tackles on the day, 3.5 of them for loss. 

Coach Ellerson responded to my question about the play of the defense and Steve Erzinger,

"We're doing some re-tooling a little bit because of the nature of some of the guys who got banged up up front," said Ellerson.

"Obviously, Steve's right in the middle of things. He's that calming influence that will keep those guys in the moment. He handles things remarkably well. As productive as he is, he can still be better. He can still be more correct. There are some things he's extraordinarily good at. There are some other things that he's going to be challenged at. He needs to play better. He's a stabilizing influence with that group, and that's going to continue to be a challenge because we're going to stay young and maybe get a little younger."

So Saturday looks like a major challenge for the Black Knights. The San Diego State offensive line outweighs the West Point defensive front by 60 pounds a man. 

The Aztecs have a balanced attack, running and passing the ball. The Cadets have a young defense that is still learning. They would be happy to hold SDST to 20 points.

On offense, the Black Knights need to keep working to find a way to spring Jared Hassin loose. 

Their outside running game shows potential with Malcolm Brown and the young Trenton Turrentine providing a steady threat. 

On the passing game, Steelman has new favorite receivers in Jared MacFarland and Davyd Brooks.  The Black Knights should be able to score. 

My concern is the no huddle offense could be a distraction if used the entire game. 

The faster play tends to lengthen the game at a time West Point wants to minimize the number of times its young defense is on the field.

If the Black Knights can play a perfect game in terms of special teams and winning the turnover battle, they can be competitive in this contest. 

I keep remembering back to last year's home owner when Hawaii came in to Michie Stadium with a huge offensive line. 

They surged to a big lead but the Cadets came back to take a third quarter lead, 28-21.

Then there is the home crowd and the Corps of Cadets waiting for the slightest reason to get excited over their team. I'll go for the Cadets to win 27-24.  

Army had a disappointing start to its season with a 49-26 loss at Northern Illinois that was not really even that close. 

The highlight of the night for Army fans may have been the play of several young players who have been placed in key roles because of the graduation losses to the offensive line and across the defense.

On offense, junior quarterback Trent Steelman was not getting much time to start his option plays and was not getting far when he ran, with 37 yards to show for 17 carries. 

Junior Malcolm Brown gave Army the best running performance of the night with 92 yards on nine carries. 

Starting fullback Jared Hassin had a frustrating time getting into the flow of the game, with just 16 yards on seven attempts. 

Sophomore Raymond Maples was more productive, gaining 25 yards on five carries. 

The surprise contribution came from freshman running back Trenton Turrentine, who contributed 68 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown in his first varsity game.

Steelman completed 5 of 11 passes for 86 yards, with 6'5" sophomore starting wideout Jared McFarlin making four receptions for the Black Knights.  Steelman was intercepted by the Huskies' Rashaan Melvin at the Army 48, setting up a 19-yard Chandler Harnish touchdown pass to Nathan Palmer early in the second quarter. 

Senior Max Jenkins came in late and had two completions and an 11-yard touchdown pass to McFarlin. 

On offense, the Black Knights went without a huddle, looking at the sidelines before each snap for instructions held up on cards for them to see.  Steelman then had a chance to change the play at the line of scrimmage. 

The Black Knights showed the "Wishbone" formation, with a fullback up front (usually Hassin), with Brown, Maples, or sophomore Jon Crucitti at slot backs behind and on either side. On most plays they played with two wideouts, McFarland and Davyd Brooks. 

The challenge was on defense, where the Black Knights showed little ability to curtail Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, who threw a career high five touchdowns and ran for one more.  Harnish completed 12 of 19 passes for 195 yards and ran for 80 yards on the night. 

Army outside linebacker senior Steve Erzinger was all over the field, contributing to 21 tackles, five solo and a sack.  Sophomore Reggie Nesbit held his own; the 190-pound middle linebacker was involved in 12 tackles and three solos. 

Special teams were sloppy, with Kolin Walk's first punt blocked and run back for a touchdown to provide NIU their first points.  After the opening Army touchdown, senior placekicker Alex Carlton missed the extra point, and Army chased the missed point by going for two points on the three touchdowns they scored in the fourth quarter.

Coach Rich Ellerson spoke on WABC to Army broadcaster Tony Marino after the game. The coach accepted responsibility for the team's performance, indicating the veterans were not quite ready to play:

"That's on me, I had all spring and summer to get these guys ready to the edge and be prepared and we weren't either.  We talk about being precise and poised, and we were not either. We knew we were going to have some young guys that might do some interesting things, but that wasn't the issue, really.  It was those guys we talked about that we would need to lean on, to our veteran leadership.  I didn't have those guys ready to block, ready to tackle, and ready to protect that punt... and that's on me."

One of the most experienced defensive lineman on the team, junior Jarrett Mackey, was injured and in street clothes by the end of the game.  Mackey plays the "Quick" position that the now-graduated Josh McNary had utilized to mount a strong pass rush in recent years. Coach Ellerson commented about this injury, "That's a hard one."

Marino tried to find out from Coach Ellerson the positives that emerged from the game. "The good news is we had a lot of guys play. The bad news is the reason we had a lot guys play is because we had a lot of guys banged up.  We have so much to work on, it is hard to get excited about anything."

Ellerson appreciated the effort of his players and the fourth quarter effort that produced three touchdowns. "In spite of the injuries, in spite of getting our nose bloodied, we kept trying to play, trying to get better.  We kept competing, that means the guys like to play.  Start with that, we like to play.  We know what it is like to play well.  I don't want to take anything away from Northern Illinois, that's a great football team. We didn't give them a great game.  We didn't bring our best stuff and that's on me."

On planning for a very tough opponent next Saturday at Michie Stadium, the San Diego State Aztecs,  Coach Ellerson commented:

"First we have got to fill some holes, and then we are playing a team, San Diego State is a very gifted team.  They have been working now on the option for eight-nine straight months and they have a head coach who knows that inside out and backwards. So offensively, it is going to be a real challenge. Defensively, we are going to need to retool a little bit.and come up with something we can do and do effectively and play ourselves on the edge."

Coach Ellerson has a real challenge on his hands over the next two weeks.  San Diego State comes into Michie Stadium after a decisive 35-14 win over Navy in last season's Poinsettia Bowl, and Saturday's win at Qualcomm Stadium 49-21 over Ellerson's old team, Cal Poly. 

Army will then host a Northwestern team that defeated Boston College 24-17 Saturday on the road, with back-up quarterback Kain Colter replacing the injured Dan Persa. 

ESPN3 color analyst Bob Chmiel talked during the game about the way to stop an option team: up the middle, before the play gets going. The Black Knights will need to find a way to open holes up the middle for Steelman and Hassin to run between the guards, and to get the ball to the fast slotbacks to run around the outside.  Perhaps that will be the key: finding ways to open up the middle through more outside plays or even short passes to the backs and receivers. 

On defense, the Black Knights need to make their "Double Eagle Flex" work effectively against the run while playing a relatively small defensive line and corps of linebackers against upcoming teams with very large offensive lines. 

Perhaps the coaches should break out the tape of last year's game against Hawaii, an opponent with an offensive line the size of an NFL team.  In that game at Michie Stadium, Army was down 21-0 and came back with four straight touchdowns to take the lead in the third quarter 28-21.

Ken Kraetzer covers West Point Football and Iona basketball for WVOX radio in New Rochelle, NY.  Listen to the West Point Football Report Tuesday nights at 5:30 p.m. on WVOX.com during the season.  Contact him on kgk914@aol.com

The Black Knights start their season Saturday night about an hour west of Chicago at DeKalb, Illinois. They are facing a very good Northern Illinois team.. 

The Huskies, from the Mid-America Conference, come off an 11-3 season in which they defeated Fresno State 40-17 in the Humanitarian Bowl.  Former head coach Jerry Kill who left the team after the MAC Championship game to take the head coaching job at Minnesota, is replaced by Dave Doeren previously the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin.  Senior quarterback Chandler Harnish is coming off a phenomenal junior year in which he threw for 2,530 yards, 21 touchdowns and rushed for 836 yards.  

We had a chance this week to participate in head coach Rich Ellerson's weekly Tuesday press conference. The third year coach of the Black Knights is very excited to see how a core of veteran players led by quarterback Trent Steelman, fullback Jared Hassin and linebacker Steve Erzinger can perform surrounded by a new offensive line and a rebuilt defense.

With spring practice that started in mid-February, and a long month of August training camp, the Black Knights are like every other college football team in America, anxious to start the season.

"We're anxious to play. It's been a long preseason. It's been a long time leading up to this. We'll have another full practice this afternoon and then start tapering. We want to make sure that we take a fresh, healthy outfit to Northern Illinois," said coach Ellerson at his Tuesday press conference.

The third year coach also described the start of the season as a tough opening assignment.

"This is the most difficult opening game since I've been here. We're playing an opponent that is as good or better than anybody we faced last year. They've got an awful lot of people back on offense who were tremendously productive.  And yet there's still some uncertainty going in to face an opponent that has a new head coach," said Ellerson.

An asset for any football team is to go into the season with an established veteran quarterback and that is what West Point has in Trent Steelman.  The Bowling Green, Kentucky native has mastered the option offense, can accelerate to the outside, run for crucial yards up the middle and when needed make the key pass.  He scored 11 touchdowns himself in 2010 and threw for seven more with only three interceptions on the year.  

 "Well, we have some things going for us offensively. Trent has 25 starts going into his junior year in this style of play. To have that kind of experience in this offense, to have that kind of physical resiliency is really remarkable," said Ellerson.

In addition to having an experienced signal caller, the Black Knights have 2010's 1013 yard gainer Jared Hassin at fullback.  Hassin is a strong physical runner who often is asked to test the middle of the opponent's defense but has the speed to break big gainers.  By mid-season last year, Hassin was becoming a favorite for Steelman to throw to coming out of the backfield. 

"He was really productive last year in really his first football in a couple of years. The relationship between the quarterback and the fullback in this offense is really important, and these guys have been around the block completely together. We should benefit from that," Ellerson said.

We have watched Black Knight sophomore wide receiver Jared McFarlin mature into a potential playmaker right in front of our eyes during the last two scrimmages.  The local native of Monroe, NY can make the quick out catch keeping his feet in bounds or go deep and catch the long ball.  At 6'5" he can grab the ball over the heads of many opposing backs.

"We're proud of Jared. Last year was a chance for him to try to get caught up physically, going through the rigors of his plebe year at West Point and Camp Buckner over the summer."

"He's still trying to catch up a little bit physically, but we think he's a guy who has the potential to change the equation on the perimeter for us, in time," Ellerson said.

One of the big questions going into the season has been the rebuilt offensive line.  I asked the Coach if it was bit easier to implement new linemen into the option type offense?

"I don't know that, to be honest. What helps us, I think, is the fact that we've been consistent. They're doing the same things as juniors as they were being introduced to as freshmen, and that helps a guy. When you do the same thing in practice, you value the same things in the offseason. What drives you crazy and sets you back is when the system changes on you, so I think that consistency should help this bunch. I think that's probably universal, though. I don't think that's unique to us," said Ellerson.

On defense the Black Knights lost key starters through out the unit that helped win its first Bowl Game win in 25 years.  Their defensive system is called the Double Eagle Flex, which focuses on controlling the line of scrimmage and getting big plays from the linebackers and safeties. 

I asked the Coach if this style of defense makes it easier for new players to be productive? 

"I do think it's an advantage, but basically we just think it's a fun defense to play in. We think we can get guys dialed in relatively early on. We can get their eyes and feet where they belong and allow them to play, as opposed to struggling to be right, or struggling to get their eyes and feet where they belong. We feel like the defense lends itself to that. " Ellerson said.

He continued by saying a team gets better over the season.

"That comfort within the system allows you to grow and become more situationally present. You get to study your opponent. We're not doing all those things as well as we will do them in time, but in terms of being able to go out there and be right with our eyes and feet and play hard and have fun, I think we've set our guys up for success in that regard."

On special teams the Black Knights should be in good shape led by senior placekicker Alex Carleton who has been booting 40 plus yard field goals in the scrimmages one after the other.  I asked the Coach if he would continue his practice of using key defensive starters to anchor the kickoff coverage team?

"There's so much field position in play when you're kicking the ball off or punting the ball. We'll use our best people," Ellerson said.

Ball control has been a trademark for coach Ellerson.  When asked about the need to keep the ball in the hands of his veteran offensive core, the Head Coach pointed the change in college football that he is preparing his team for.

"There's something happening in college football and I think it will become evident maybe this year with the success that we saw at Oregon with their style of play and the way they attack the clock. They're trying to get the ball snapped 90 times a game. What we're hearing is that Northern Illinois is trying to do something along those lines, and I don't think they're the lone rangers. They're a lot of teams out there that are trying to snap the ball more and more to where the tempo of the game starts feeling rugby-esque. That can be especially challenging for a young defense."

The Army coach likes to talk about the advantages that the military training the players receive at West Point is an asset that can help them on the field.  The fact that the team won all five road games in 2010 at true campus sites could be an example of the focus on mission the players are taught.  So how does a faster speed of play favor the Cadets?

"That's where I think the game is moving toward us a little bit at the academy. What we think an athlete looks like, how we think he should be conditioned, how he should handle fatigue and adversity, all those things should play to our strengths in time. We'll just have to see how this plays out, but I do think there's something interesting happening in the game, in general. The style of play is changing, and I think it's going to mean that we have to change what we value in our systems and what we expect from our players."

West Point coaches are commenting avidly about the young players that have been attracted into the program in recent years. One example is sophomore wide receiver, Jared McFarland.  But what about their impact for opening night of the season?

"He's not the only guy like that, but he's one of those guys that we're scratching our heads about. We have a bunch of guys in that category on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defensive side of the ball. We have high expectations for those guys. We believe in their athleticism. We know they're on the right path, we just need to find where on the path they really are against a quality opponent like we're going to face on Saturday," said Ellerson.

It could be that the Black Knights play a bunch of wide open games scoring methodically on offense carried by the running of Jared Hassin, the speed of several other young backs and the multi-dimensional play of Trent Steelman.

Perhaps, the defense will be a work in progress—maturing as the season unfolds. The first three games of the year against Northern Illinois, San Diego State and Northwestern will be real tests.  But the program now has a sense of confidence built off of the winning season and the bowl victory in 2010.  It should be a lot of fun to watch.

Ken Kraetzer covers West Point Football and Iona basketball for WVOX radio in New Rochelle, NY.  Listen to the West Point Football Report Tuesday nights on WVOX.com during the season.  Contact him on kgk914@aol.com

The West Point Black Knights held their last full-speed scrimmage on Friday before their season opener next Saturday night at Northern Illinois.

The team conducted the practice indoors at the hanger-like Foley Center, a spirited two-hour workout which included drills by each specialty area, a mock game for the offense and defense, and a talk to the team by a distinguished alumnus.

The chief of staff of the Army and next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey, was on campus and was escorted into the Foley Center by West Point superintendent Lt. General David H. Huntoon Jr. 

General Dempsey came in smiling and addressed the team, seated on the indoor practice field. 

The 36-year veteran of the military encouraged the Black Knights in their game in December against Navy but emphasized, beyond football, appreciation that they had taken on the challenges at the Academy that will prepare them to serve as officers. 

The 1974 graduate of West Point described change going on in the Army and uncertainty about what the future will bring but emphasized the leadership the Army provides.

The Black Knights looked good going through their drills. 

Quarterbacks junior starter Trent Steelman, senior Max Jenkins, and freshman Angel Santiago worked side-by-side running plays and practising hand-offs. 

Wide receiver coach Andy Guyader had his receivers working through blocking drills.

Evident was the sense of organization as each group of players participated in drills in an organized way.

In the scrimmage itself, the first-team offense, directed by Trent Steelman, looked sharp.

One young player who continued to impress was sophomore wide receiver Jared McFarlin from Monroe, N.Y.  McFarlin at 6'5" demonstrated athletic ability and good hands in catching a long touchdown pass from Steelman. 

Look for sophomore Jonathan Crucitti from Salisbury, N.C., to see playing time in the backfield.

On the offensive line, receiving time with the first unit was center Michael Kime from Zionsville, Ind. 

At left guard, providing size at 275 pounds is Frank Allen from Palmyra, N.J., a hold-over from the 2010 line, and on the right side is Matt Villanti, at 278 pounds from Katy, Texas. 

At left tackle is Brad Kelley, at 255 pounds from Exeter, N.H., and at the right tackle spot is 6'6", 269-pound senior Mike McDermott from Stewartsville, N.J. McDermott played against Duke last year after having played in all 12 games as a sophomore in 2009. 

On defense senior captain Steve Erzinger from Houston, Texas,  played a regular shift at linebacker after siting out last week's scrimmage with a foot injury. 

Junior Zach Watts from Pittsburgh was getting time in at linebacker as was senior Chad Littlejohn from Katy, Texas.

Senior kicker Alex Carleton booted a 42-yard field goal, continuing to look sharp. 

Running backs Jonathan Crucitti and junior Brian Austin from Wexford, Penn., were back taking kicks.

Expecting to contribute to the Black Knights defensive line play is senior Broghan Carnes from St. Petersburg, Fla. Carnes has had to recover from a shoulder injury suffered a week before the start of the 2010 season that kept him out of the entire campaign. 

Broghan, who is active in regimental and company leadership roles at West Point, described his goals for the year: "Staying healthy, bonding with my brothers on the team, get[ing] victories under our belt, and having another successful season, just like we did last year."

Cadet Carnes said that the Black Knights defense has made adjustments this year.

"We are playing a two-tackle front with no permanent nose tackle like Mike Gann last year," said Carnes. "We have two down lineman and an end who will play some three technique.  We utilize our speed and technique and our reactions to the line's movement. It maximizes our ability to make tackles and fly around. We may not be big, but we are fast." 

The Black Knights will test themselves on Saturday night at Northern Illinois with a 7 PM EST start. Watch for a high-scoring game to start the season.

Ken Kraetzer conducts the "West Point Football Report" every Tuesday night at 5:30 PM EST during the season on WVOX radio, based in New Rochelle, N.Y., and heard on 1460 AM and nationally on WVOX.com. Contact Ken on kgk914@aol.com.