Air Force Academy – It was a typical day on the Air Force football team Thursday for senior Adam Fitch.
He found himself playing a different position – again.
On the first day of the Falcons’ preseason practice, Fitch was moved back to quarterback after practicing all spring at halfback.
But an offseason injury to reserve junior quarterback Lucas Ewing in a pickup basketball game has Fitch back at quarterback, where he will back up sophomore starter Shaun Carney.
“Things started running through my mind immediately as to what we were going to do, because I’ve never had a football team with less than three quarterbacks for our preseason practices,” coach Fisher DeBerry said. “We felt like as a staff that we didn’t have any option but to move Adam back to quarterback.”
Carney has the starting assignment all but locked up, with Fitch now second on the depth chart. Sophomore Jim Ollis, who helped his cause with a good performance in the spring game, is listed on the third team.
Fitch took the change in stride, although he had beefed up to 205 pounds in order to play halfback. He now wants to lose 10-15 pounds to better fit the quarterback mold.
“This isn’t too out of the ordinary for me,” Fitch said. “I’ve been bounced around five different times since I entered the (AFA) Prep School. I was recruited to be a punter, but that lasted about three days. Then I played running back and quarterback at the Prep School. I was switched to halfback last spring, and now back to quarterback. It has been quite a roller-coaster ride.”
Fitch looked sharp in passing drills in his first workout Thursday.
“I felt right at home today,” Fitch said.
Fitch would have been well down the depth chart at halfback. Junior Justin Handley is listed as the starter at right halfback, and sophomore Chad Smith is first team at left halfback.
“It will be hard to find playing time,” Fitch said of backing up Carney. “But football isn’t a predictable game. It’s a rough sport, and Shaun could go down on any play. If that happens, I’m the next guy to go in. You need three quarterbacks to go into a season.”
Footnotes
Ewing had knee surgery Monday. DeBerry said he thought Ewing could be back early in the season. The Falcons open Sept. 3 against Washington in Seattle and play San Diego State the following week at Falcon Stadium. … Sophomore tight end Travis Dekker joined Ewing on the injured list. He suffered a broken bone in his foot while weight training and could be lost for the first half of the season. … Athletic director Hans Mueh addressed the situation surrounding sophomore linebacker Marcus Brown, who faces disciplinary action because of a possible honor code violation. Mueh said Brown’s case is in the hands of superintendent Lt. Gen. John Rosa and a decision is expected in the next few days. Brown’s only chance to play football this season at Air Force is if he is exonerated of the charges.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
