Air Force Academy – Chad Hall has a way of disguising what probably has been the most noted position change in new Air Force coach Troy Calhoun’s offensive game plan.
After leading the Falcons in rushing (784 yards) as a halfback last year, fourth best in the Mountain West Conference, Hall is playing wide receiver in his senior season. But Hall maintains that looks can be deceiving.
“In a way, I’m still a halfback,” said Hall, who had 155 carries last season. “We have a bunch of motion plays. I’ll probably get the ball as much as last year. Opponents still have to prepare for the offense we had before. We still have it.
“It’s going to be real tough to prepare for us. Our defense already is sick of playing against us every day in practice.”
Air Force hosts South Carolina State on Sept. 1.
The key for Hall is the letter “Z” by his position. He’s the “Z” receiver, meaning he’s involved in motion before the snap and could be moving from the outside to line up in the backfield.
On the other side, the “X” receiver usually stays on the line.
“Personally, I’m running the ball and I’m also catching passes,” Hall said. “It’s fun for me. But overall, this is a great change for the team. We’ve got our best players on the field.”
Hall became convinced during preseason practice. He missed spring practice with an injury.
“Watching the new offense during the spring, I was excited about playing running back because of getting direct handoffs and stuff like that,” Hall said. “When they told me about the change, I was fine with it. We’re seniors now and we’re just trying to get some victories – however we can do that, it doesn’t matter. I’ll play right guard if they want me to.”
Hall isn’t the only Falcon getting ready for the season at a new position. Junior Keith Williams has moved from the defensive line and is starting at left tackle on offense. Senior Blaine Guenther has moved from tackle to center on the offensive line, and junior Hunter Altman has moved from strong safety to outside linebacker.
Brian Knorr, a holdover from last year’s coaching staff and Calhoun’s assistant head coach this year, said the position changes have been minimal in some ways because the team has a lot of seniors and, even though there are new systems on offense and defense, the coaches wanted to fit the players into a comfort zone as much as possible.
“We made enough changes in the system, and to make a lot of changes in positions could have compounded the job,” Knorr said. “We have smart players, but we don’t have the amount of practice time as some programs.”
Knorr said Williams and Altman faced the biggest tasks in adapting, with Altman moving closer to the line of scrimmage and Williams switching sides.
Altman had to add weight and is playing at 205 to 210 pounds.
“I was used to playing coverage, but now I’m playing against bigger players and rushing the quarterback more,” Altman said. “I’m doing a little bit of both safety and linebacker, but it’s a totally different defense. We show a lot of different fronts. We want to keep the offense thinking.”
Williams played tight end in high school in LaFayette, Ga. However, most of his time at Air Force has been on the defensive line.
“I’m enjoying offense,” Williams said. “Running plays are about the same on offense and defense because in both cases you’re attacking. But in pass blocking, you’re more patient, and that’s been a big adjustment for me.”
Guenther has played guard, tackle and now center. He believes the middle of the line is his best fit.
“I don’t have the leverage most tackles do because I’m 6-foot-2,” Guenther said. “At center, I’m not going one-on-one against a defensive end and maybe a nose guard at the same time. I’ll play where they want. I don’t care. They could put me at quarterback if they want.”
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
