AIR FORCE ACADEMY — He’s not hard to miss on a roster, but Saj El-Amin’s name stands out on a different Air Force roster this season.
Anyone who has watched Falcons basketball the last couple of years would be familiar with him playing guard. But as he begins his senior year, El-Amin is giving football a try.
He is trying to work his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame into football shape as a receiver, and he knows getting playing time will be a longshot.
“I thought about trying football for a couple of years,” said El-Amin, who played in high school in Florida. “Some of my friends and classmates encouraged me to try it, and I said ‘Why not?’ “
The last time he was on a football field was five years ago at Dunedin High in Florida.
One of the problems is relearning how to take contact.
On the plus side, good hands are required to catch a basketball and a football. He’s cramming during Air Force’s practices to learn the offense and the pass routes. Air Force receivers also have to block.
After the football season, El-Amin plans to return to the basketball team, where he has played in 29 games over three seasons.
“You’d love to have two years with him,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “He has some upside. He has a phenomenal attitude, he’s a tough nut and a great team player. He’s trying to reacquire how to play football, and there’s a tough learning curve involved.”
Changing thermometer.
Calhoun uses temperature to rate sophomore linemen Chase Darden and Blake Dowd, both trying to make the two-deep depth chart.
Dowd (6-feet-5, 285 pounds) and Darden (6-3, 235) have the potential to provide size to the line in the future.
“Once in a while their play is at 32 degrees,” Calhoun said. “Then it’ll jump to 150 degrees. They have ability, but ability doesn’t do anything for anybody if it’s not consistent.”
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
