AIR FORCE ACADEMY — After another preseason of moving from room to room, Asher Clark feels right at home again.
“It is settling for me,” Clark said as he moves into his sophomore season as Air Force’s starting tailback. “I have a constant position in practice, and I can focus on that for the game.”
For the second August in a row, Clark has spent his preseason dividing time between meeting rooms for quarterbacks and running backs. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun simplified things for Clark this week by naming sophomore Tim Jefferson the starting quarterback, Clark the starter at tailback and sophomore Connor Dietz the backup QB.
“I think being in a fight for a position makes you a better player, and time at quarterback is good in the aspect of knowing the offense,” Clark said. “But I’m more comfortable playing tailback, because I played that position in game situations before. I only have a preference because I’ve played running back in games.”
At 5-feet-8 and 185 pounds, Clark is a smaller version of Jefferson, who stepped in last fall as the starting quarterback in the sixth game. The 6-0, 200-pound Jefferson has size more typical of a quarterback.
But Calhoun doesn’t minimize Clark’s value to the Falcons.
“The more we have Asher Clark on the field regardless of the position, the better chance we have of winning the football game,” Calhoun said. “He brings a lot of fire to our team.”
Clark started the last eight games of 2008 at tailback after practicing at both positions for the first month of the season. He went on to be the team’s second-best rusher with 588 yards, and his five rushing touchdowns were the most by a running back.
His best game was in a 38-17 victory over Colorado State in which he rushed for 136 yards on 16 carries and scored on runs of 41 and 45 yards.
“I think Coach Calhoun’s comments are more of a compliment than adding any pressure on me,” Clark said. “In high school, I was one of the smallest players. I’ve always had to make plays bigger than myself.”
Even though Clark is the starting tailback, Calhoun hasn’t eliminated the possibility the sophomore could play QB when the Falcons want a change of pace.
“Quarterback isn’t something that I can let completely go,” Clark said. “But it’s secondary right now. My focus is on running back.”
Clark and the Falcons open the season Saturday against Nicholls State, a Division I-AA team. They should win, but Clark isn’t taking anything for granted.
“They have athletes, we have athletes,” Clark said. “The main thing is to not get embarrassed. It’s not a no-win situation. We get a chance to play a game and see what we can do.”
Clark said the Falcons have talked about upsets and being on guard. One in particular was Appalachian State’s win in 2007 over Michigan.
“We saw what happened in that game,” Clark said. “We don’t want that to happen to us.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
Ready to kick off
Three questions for the Falcons heading into the season opener Saturday against Nicholls State.
1. How much has sophomore quarterback Tim Jefferson improved?
Note: Jefferson took over in Game 6 a year ago and showed poise beyond his years in leading AFA to a bowl game. He appears even better in fall camp.
2. Can sophomore kicker Erik Soderberg replace Ryan Harrison, who led the Falcons in scoring with 108 points?
Note: Soderberg won the kicking job in preseason practice, beating out freshman Daniel Compton. Now Soderberg needs to make them when they count.
3. Will the pass defense measure up?
Note: Antonio Robinson gives Nicholls State a big weapon at receiver against an AFA defense that a year ago got punctured by good passing teams.
