One of the perks of making a bowl game is the extra practices for a team’s younger players.
For Air Force, its chances of getting back to a bowl game in 2012 rest heavily on the backups who are getting that extra practice time.
The Falcons’ list of graduating seniors reads like a who’s who of the Troy Calhoun era. Eight offensive starters will be gone: quarterback Tim Jefferson, tailback Asher Clark, receivers Jonathan Warzeka and Zack Kauth, tight end Josh Freeman and offensive linemen Jeff Benson, A.J. Wallerstein and Kevin Whitt.
On defense, the Falcons will lose three starting defensive backs (Anthony Wright, Jon Davis and Josh Hall), three starting linebackers (Patrick Hennessey, Jordan Waiwaiole and Brady Amack) and all three defensive linemen from the season opener (Ryan Gardner, Zach Payne and Ben Kopacka, along with top defensive end backup Harry Kehs).
That’s 17 starters departing, including many players who will live on in multiple top-10 lists inside the Air Force history book.
The extra practices the Falcons will be holding before Wednesday’s Military Bowl, in- cluding the ones at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., during the past few days, might be just as vital to next season as they are to the final game of this year, against Toledo.
“Taking it day by day and knowing we have to step up is a big thing,” sophomore cornerback Chris Miller said.
Falcons coaches have always been aware of the value of the extra practices to the backups and younger players, giving them more repetitions before the most intense part of the game preparation starts. Air Force has complicated schemes on each side of the ball, and with those 17 senior starters getting a majority of the practice repetitions during the season, the younger players need all the extra practice time they can get.
“Practices always help,” said Miller, who began the year as a starter but fell behind Hall when he had a severe ankle injury. “We could have been home right now if we hadn’t made a bowl game, but I feel like all these practices are going to help for next year.”
The players who will be stepping into starting roles next year are eager to make a name for themselves. Some, like quarterback Connor Dietz and receiver Mikel Hunter, are already well known for their work in backup roles. Others, like linebacker Austin Niklas, who will start the Military Bowl because of an injury to Waiwaiole, have flashed a lot of promise. Other positions, such as who will fill Clark’s spot at tailback, appear wide open going into the offseason.
There will be relatively anonymous players promoted to the starting lineup before September, and their goal is to become as well known as the departing seniors.
“Every year we have a bunch of great players graduate,” sophomore safety Anthony Wooding said. “You find other people to come up and make plays.”
