Falcon football set for season kickoff

  • Published
  • By Troy Garnhart
  • Director of Athletic Communications
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Air Force head football coach Troy Calhoun's philosophy is that he likes competition at every position. 

How much so? 

The coaching staff moved starting tailback Asher Clark, a recruited quarterback, back to his original position to evaluate him during spring drills. Clark was moved to tailback during fall drills last year and became the starter at mid-season. 

"We never really had a chance to fully evaluate him at quarterback last fall and I want him to get a spring practice under his belt at quarterback and see his development. We need to develop some depth at the position," Coach Calhoun said. 

Clark finished second on the team in rushing with 588 yards and five touchdowns. Minor knee surgery cut his spring short, so he'll open fall drills at quarterback. The procedure was fully successful and Clark is expected back at full speed. Halfback Chad Hall had the same procedure prior to his All-American senior campaign in 2007. 

Quarterback Tim Jefferson missed most of spring drills to concentrate on his academics and participated in only a handful of practices. The 2008 Mountain West Conference freshman of the year showed improvement and is expected to be back under center this fall. 

Jefferson hit 44 of 80 passes for 655 yards and five touchdowns a year ago. He also rushed for 387 yards and three touchdowns and started the last eight games of the season. He won his first five starts and proved the program has a bright future at the position. 

Junior Ben Cochran and sophomore Connor Dietz received significant action at quarterback throughout the spring. Both will add depth at the position and greatly benefited from the additional spring work. 

"We did a lot of work with these guys throughout the spring," Calhoun said. "The work Dietz and Cochran received will be beneficial for us. We need to develop depth there." 

Perhaps the strength of the Falcon offense, however, could be the offensive line. Seniors Nick Charles (guard) and Chris Campbell (tackle) return to anchor the group. Both were all-conference performers a year ago, with Charles earning second-team honors. 

Seniors Ryan Gonzales (tackle), Peter Lusk (guard) and Michael Hampton (center) will fill out the starting offensive line. Juniors Chase Darden and Tyler Schonsheck and sophomores A.J. Wallerstein, Jeffrey Benson and Michael Hester should help provide depth. The coaches also had players play multiple line positions during the spring to help with depth. 

"We've been pretty fortunate the last two years in regards to injuries," Calhoun said. "We need to develop depth at every position to help us if we take our turn with injuries." 

The receiver position seems to have plenty of depth and talent returning. Junior Kevin Fogler and senior Josh Cousins will compete at one receiver position while junior Kyle Halderman and sophomore Jonathan Warzeka will duel at the other. The tight end position will be manned by Sean Quintana, who played a few games there last season out of need. He's made the transition from wide receiver full time now. Junior Chaz Demerath will also compete for time at the position. Senior Anthony Hemphill could also become a factor at wide receiver. 

Cousins led the Falcons in receiving a year ago with 16 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Halderman finished third on the team with 12 catches for 266 yards and a team-high three touchdown catches. He also averaged a team-best 22.2 yards per catch. Halderman also had 36 carries for 350 yards and a score while averaging 9.7 yards per carry. Fogler added 11 catches for 214 yards. 

The tailback position will feature Clark, along with junior Savier Stephens, who had 236 yards and two touchdowns as a reserve last year. Fullback Jared Tew, the team's Armed Forces Bowl most valuable player with a career-high 149 yards rushing and two touchdowns, spent the spring at tailback and demonstrated he can play both positions. Junior Ryan Southworth will be the other fullback. 

The defensive line was hit hardest by graduation, as first-team all-MWC performer Jake Paulson and Ryan Kemp are gone. Senior Ben Garland returns and brings with him 39 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks from last season. He'll be joined by senior Myles Morales and junior Rick Ricketts, who saw action in every game last year and proved to be a valuable asset. Ricketts had 28 total tackles and 2.5 for loss. Juniors Wylie Wikstrom and Bradley Connor and sophomore Ryan Gardner will all provide depth.

It's this group that caught the coach's eye during the spring. 

"I'm looking forward to seeing what Wikstrom and Morales can do in the fall," Calhoun said. "They both need to get bigger and stronger, but I think they can do it and help us a good bit." 

Juniors Ken Lamendola and Andre Morris, Jr., along with senior Justin Moore, are returning starters at linebacker. Lamendola finished third in the conference in tackles last year with 118 and added 4.5 for loss and three sacks. He became one of just a handful of sophomores in school history to hit the 100-tackle mark. 

Senior John Falgout and sophomores Jordan Waiwaiole and Austin Demmel, along with junior Braylon Gurnell round out the linebacker corps. The secondary could be one of the most talented groups on the field for the Falcons. Led by senior Chris Thomas, who recorded a second straight 100-plus tackle season in 2008, the group may be one of the best in recent years. Thomas added 9.0 tackles for loss, led the conference with four fumble recoveries, forced two fumbles and had an interception. 

Junior Reggie Rembert returns, along with his 66 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and team-best three interceptions. Rembert will also be a key return man for the Falcons. He was among the league leaders a year ago in punt returns with a 12.8-yard average. 

Sophomores Jon Davis and Anthony Wright are the likely other starters after receiving valuable playing time last year. Wright started 10 games last year at corner and recorded 43 total tackles. He sealed the Houston win with a fourth-quarter pick. Davis stepped up in the spring and has become a big play guy. Sophomores P.J. Adeji-Paul and Phil Ofili, along with juniors Elliott Battle and Jon Ashley, will provide depth. 

The kicking game may be the most taxing to replace, as two-year starter Ryan Harrison is lost to graduation. Harrison handled all the kicking duties, including kickoffs, field goals, extra points and punts. Harrison kicked a school-record 24 field goals last year after tying the old record of 19 the year before. He was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza National Place Kicker Award. Senior Brandon Geyer has the lead to replace Harrison as the starting punter. He showed his talents briefly last year, replacing Harrison for nine punts and recorded a 48.9 average. He'll have competition from junior Keil Bartholomew. 

The place-kicking duties will be a battle between junior Zach Bell and sophomore Garrett Jack. Both showed flashes in the spring. Sophomore Colton Reid and Southworth will compete to be the deep snapper. 

"Every position is open," Calhoun said. "You have to have that at an Academy because you can't ever stop working to improve. We need to keep things as competitive as possible and keep our edge. We need to have a fire about us. This spring was hands-down the most expansive since we've been here. We can never relax and just be vanilla."