AIR FORCE ACADEMY — As a clue to how the Air Force secondary will perform this season, Falcons safety Jon Davis believes it is all a matter of trust.
“We trust that we’ll have backside help if we need it,” Davis said. “If we’re playing as a team and with confidence, I think we can be pretty decent. As long as we trust each other, it allows us to play with more confidence.”
A 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore, Davis was welcomed to the season when AFA coach Troy Calhoun said before preseason camp that he couldn’t wait to see how Davis had matured as a player after he received limited playing time as a freshman.
“Last year I wasn’t playing as fast as I could have,” Davis said. “I was at the right place at the right time and had a couple of interceptions. But I wasn’t playing with as much confidence.”
Davis switched to safety last year after playing cornerback at the Air Force Prep School in 2007.
Air Force’s secondary usually gets tested in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons surrendered 2,599 yards, 131 first downs and 15 touchdowns through the air in an 8-5 season last year.
“I’m not going to give up against anybody,” Davis said. “I’m willing to step up against anybody in the league.”
Although parts of Air Force’s secondary will be young and inexperienced, senior Chris Thomas, a preseason all-MWC choice, junior Reggie Rembert and sophomore Anthony Wright will provide experience.
Rembert has practiced with the Falcons but remains sidelined for games while awaiting release from suspension for breaking unspecified academy rules.
“We’ll have a better idea of our secondary after we play about four games,” Calhoun said. “I think about how swift receivers get on top of the defenders. Once you get few games under your belt, you tend to get more assertive.”
Footnotes.
Calhoun isn’t planning to ease off in practices next week before the Falcons open Sept. 5 at home against Nicholls State. “Especially this year, we have to keep playing,” Calhoun said. “We don’t have one coach or one player in our program that can miss preparation and be effective.” . . . Junior Savier Stephens has returned to practice and is back in the mix at tailback. He joins sophomore Asher Clark, junior Jared Tew and freshman Darius Jones in the hunt for playing time. . . . Calhoun’s goal in punt coverage puts some pressure on punter Brandon Geyer achieving good hang time. Calhoun calls it ambitious, but he’s looking to keep the opponents’ punt returns under an average of 5 yards.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
