By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer
COLORADO SPRINGS - Don’t tell new Air Force Academy head coach Troy Calhoun that Saturday’s season-opener against South Carolina State is an easy game.
Through hours of gametape, the Bulldogs have more than grabbed the attention and respect of the former Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. The level of respect Calhoun has for the SCSU football program was made evident during Tuesday’s teleconferences when he all but declared the Bulldogs "had no weaknesses" and were the type of forminable opponent AFA needed for its opener at Falcon Stadium.
"I think they’re a talented football team," he said. "They’ve got very good size. They’ve got experience. They’ve got a quality quarterback (Cleveland McCoy). They’ve got a darn good back (Will Ford) and just defensively, look at the front people. I think they do a terrific job. You’re looking at a football program that was outstanding on offense last year. They led (the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) in, I believe, total offense and rushing offense, and just look at their overall unit. This is a team that’s won 16 games the last two years and so it will be one stiff challenge."
The Falcons have gone in the opposite direction of SCSU, losing 15 games the past two seasons. After three straight losing seasons, longtime head coach Fisher DeBerry retired and the Air Force Academy selected Calhoun, a 1989 graduate, to help turn around the team’s fortunes.
He inherited a team which returns only four starters on offense, including senior quarterback Shaun Carney (618 rushing yards, eight TDs, 83 of 137 passing, 1,192 yards, 12 TDs), former halfback turned z-wide receiver Chad Hall, two-year letterman center Blaine Guenther and tight end Travis Dekker, who’s expected to play a larger role in the more pro-set offense.
Calhoun said expect Carney to operate more out of the shotgun and to throw 10-12 more passes per game. Carney needs 890 passing yards to become the school’s all-time passing yardage leader and 832 yards to set a new school record for total yards.
"He’s a guy that I think can be a dual-threat player," Calhoun said about Carney.
The defense returns five seniors, including leading tackler Drew Fowler (123 total tackles, two sacks), although as many as seven freshman could see significant playing time. The key for AFA against a mobile quarterback like McCoy, according to Calhoun, is being "disciplined", "hard-nosed", "tough" and "assignment-sound".
"He’s a guy with good size," Calhoun said. "He throws an excellent ball. I think anytime you’ve got a guy that’s got mobility then as a defense, when you look at it from that perspective, it’s something that you’ve got to take into consideration just because all of a sudden, a play breaks down, he tucks it under his arm and it can be one of the better plays that an offense has that day. He makes you be extremely disciplined. Assignment-wise, just make sure you’re dead on the nose. He’s one good football player."
Special teams was the one bright spot last season for Air Force Academy as it led Division I-A in kickoff coverage, a category SCSU was number-one in for Division I-AA. When asked about the rule change which moves the kickoff from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line, Calhoun was more than receptive.
"I like the rule," Calhoun said. "I think they’re varying opinions on whether it should remain at the 35 or the 30, but it does have a way of injecting even more activity and action into the game. Because of that, that’s where it helps you to have a guy perhaps who has a little more powerful leg because we play games at altitude and if he can pin an opponent back, he still can hit the end zone and they’re starting at the 20 and you’re bringing your returns out to around the 35-yard line and that happens consistently throughout the game, it could have a cumulative effect on the field position standpoint and ultimately, the outcome of the game."
Perhaps one reason for Calhoun’s approval is the kick return potential of freshman Reggie Rembert, who had a 95-yard touchdown return in a recent scrimmage. He also has a place-kicker in junior Ryan Harrison who booted a 62-yarder during the same scrimmage.
Although the Falcons also open conference play the following week against Utah, Calhoun plans to have them more than prepared to face SCSU before an expected crowd of 40,000 or more in Colorado Springs for "Parents Weekend."
"In terms of a first game, I think you’ve got to play this one," he said. "You’ve got to use every bullet you’ve got to win the opener and with the kind of challenge we’ll face in South Carolina State, that’s the only approach that we can take."
COLORADO SPRINGS - Don’t tell new Air Force Academy head coach Troy Calhoun that Saturday’s season-opener against South Carolina State is an easy game.
Through hours of gametape, the Bulldogs have more than grabbed the attention and respect of the former Houston Texans’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. The level of respect Calhoun has for the SCSU football program was made evident during Tuesday’s teleconferences when he all but declared the Bulldogs "had no weaknesses" and were the type of forminable opponent AFA needed for its opener at Falcon Stadium.
"I think they’re a talented football team," he said. "They’ve got very good size. They’ve got experience. They’ve got a quality quarterback (Cleveland McCoy). They’ve got a darn good back (Will Ford) and just defensively, look at the front people. I think they do a terrific job. You’re looking at a football program that was outstanding on offense last year. They led (the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) in, I believe, total offense and rushing offense, and just look at their overall unit. This is a team that’s won 16 games the last two years and so it will be one stiff challenge."
The Falcons have gone in the opposite direction of SCSU, losing 15 games the past two seasons. After three straight losing seasons, longtime head coach Fisher DeBerry retired and the Air Force Academy selected Calhoun, a 1989 graduate, to help turn around the team’s fortunes.
He inherited a team which returns only four starters on offense, including senior quarterback Shaun Carney (618 rushing yards, eight TDs, 83 of 137 passing, 1,192 yards, 12 TDs), former halfback turned z-wide receiver Chad Hall, two-year letterman center Blaine Guenther and tight end Travis Dekker, who’s expected to play a larger role in the more pro-set offense.
Calhoun said expect Carney to operate more out of the shotgun and to throw 10-12 more passes per game. Carney needs 890 passing yards to become the school’s all-time passing yardage leader and 832 yards to set a new school record for total yards.
"He’s a guy that I think can be a dual-threat player," Calhoun said about Carney.
The defense returns five seniors, including leading tackler Drew Fowler (123 total tackles, two sacks), although as many as seven freshman could see significant playing time. The key for AFA against a mobile quarterback like McCoy, according to Calhoun, is being "disciplined", "hard-nosed", "tough" and "assignment-sound".
"He’s a guy with good size," Calhoun said. "He throws an excellent ball. I think anytime you’ve got a guy that’s got mobility then as a defense, when you look at it from that perspective, it’s something that you’ve got to take into consideration just because all of a sudden, a play breaks down, he tucks it under his arm and it can be one of the better plays that an offense has that day. He makes you be extremely disciplined. Assignment-wise, just make sure you’re dead on the nose. He’s one good football player."
Special teams was the one bright spot last season for Air Force Academy as it led Division I-A in kickoff coverage, a category SCSU was number-one in for Division I-AA. When asked about the rule change which moves the kickoff from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line, Calhoun was more than receptive.
"I like the rule," Calhoun said. "I think they’re varying opinions on whether it should remain at the 35 or the 30, but it does have a way of injecting even more activity and action into the game. Because of that, that’s where it helps you to have a guy perhaps who has a little more powerful leg because we play games at altitude and if he can pin an opponent back, he still can hit the end zone and they’re starting at the 20 and you’re bringing your returns out to around the 35-yard line and that happens consistently throughout the game, it could have a cumulative effect on the field position standpoint and ultimately, the outcome of the game."
Perhaps one reason for Calhoun’s approval is the kick return potential of freshman Reggie Rembert, who had a 95-yard touchdown return in a recent scrimmage. He also has a place-kicker in junior Ryan Harrison who booted a 62-yarder during the same scrimmage.
Although the Falcons also open conference play the following week against Utah, Calhoun plans to have them more than prepared to face SCSU before an expected crowd of 40,000 or more in Colorado Springs for "Parents Weekend."
"In terms of a first game, I think you’ve got to play this one," he said. "You’ve got to use every bullet you’ve got to win the opener and with the kind of challenge we’ll face in South Carolina State, that’s the only approach that we can take."
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