AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Swarm to the ball and hold on.
Air Force’s defensive unit has its orders for Saturday’s game at Army, and a look at Army’s depth chart at fullback explains why the coaching staff wants a lot of defenders in the vicinity of Army’s ball carriers.
Army senior Collin Mooney, the starter at 5-feet-10 and 247 pounds, leads the charge with 874 yards and six touchdowns on 146 carries. Junior Bryson Carl, second on the depth chart at 6-0 and 256 pounds, has 123 yards on 28 carries. And junior Geoffrey Hewitt (6-0, 268) is third on the depth chart.
“It’s unbelievable,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “I’m trying to think if I’ve ever seen anything close to that. They’re bigger than anybody we’ve got on defense.”
Only AFA defensive ends Ryan Kemp (255 pounds) and Jake Paulson (255) and nose tackle Ben Garland (275) would tip the scales about the same as the Army fullbacks.
“Their agility is good as well,” Calhoun said. “They’re hard to tackle. You think you have them stopped, but they keep moving downfield.”
Senior inside linebacker Brandon Reeves knows from previous days when Air Force ran the triple option what is in store for the Falcons’ defense.
“They’re going to try and eat up the clock,” Reeves said of the Black Knights. “We have to make big plays on third down and get them off the field.”
Secondary coach Charlton Warren isn’t saying the Falcons’ defensive scheme can ignore the pass, even though Army’s passing game ranks last in college football.
“We have to be disciplined on defense,” Warren said. “You have to dial back the emotion and play assignment football. I don’t know where Army found fullbacks like that. They’re quick, and they don’t have problems putting the ball on the ground. But we have some players who can play and put their face on the ball.”
Footnote.
In preparation for any wet weather at West Point, Calhoun had his players work with wet footballs for the first 50 minutes of practice.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
