Monken: Question marks still remain for new Army offense following preseason camp
WEST POINT – Let the games begin.
Four weeks of preseason camp was considered an overall success by Army football head coach Jeff Monken but the unknown weighs heavily.
“I’m always hanging on by the seat of my pants,’’ Monken said following Saturday’s third and final preseason scrimmage at Michie Stadium. “I have no idea what it’s going to look like.’’
Perhaps it’s a bit of uncomfortable honesty coming from the 10th-year coach who has led the Black Knights to their greatest prolonged success in nearly five decades but is also trying to avoid a repeat of his first two seasons (2014-15) when Army failed to make a bowl game.
The players, on the other hand, exude confidence headed into next Saturday’s season opener at Louisiana-Monroe.
“We've been improving steadily each week,’’ said linebacker and co-captain Jimmy Ciarlo. “It's really fun to see everybody just get out on the field and give all their energy (toward) everything we've been working on.’’
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Army will roll out the first major change to its offense in two decades, merging its tried-and-true triple-option game with a shotgun-style approach, and doing so with unproven quarterback depth.
“The offense is a work in progress … we've never run it together in a game,’’ Monken said of coordinator Drew Thatcher’s new design. “So we're going to find out a lot next week. It's really hard to get those answers when we're in practice or when we practice against the defense or the scouts.’’
The offensive goals remain the same: run hard with veteran backs, behind a beefed-up front line and mix in some passing to a talented but under-utilized receiving corps. There will be motion and a variety of new formations to keep opposing defenses guessing.
Junior Bryson Daily – the only signal caller with any reserve experience – held on to his No. 1 projection, with sophomore Dewayne Coleman and freshman Larry Robinson tabbed as Nos. 2 and 3 in line. Whereas Monken was more prone to share quarterback duties the past two seasons – sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of design – he has declared that he’s back to being a one-QB guy but readily acknowledging his team has often turned to two or three quarterbacks as result of the pounding they take in the option game, a risk that’s still on the books.
“Bryson Daily has earned the starting position so he's the quarterback,’’ Monken said. “If we need to use another quarterback, we feel confident that we've got guys that can go in there and do it, but there's no design plan that we're going to play multiple quarterbacks.’’ Monken also said he’s confident Coleman and Robinson can step in at any time and lead the team.
Daily had a strong third scrimmage, running effectively while spotting receiving targets across the field. Playing the entire first half and directing a successful long-yardage two-minute drill in the third quarter, Daily found slotback Ay’Jaun Marshall for an early scoring play and hit wide receiver Isaiah Alston twice on two short fade routes to the corner of the end zone. Playing against a scout team defense set to mimic ULM, Daily found open receivers a handful of times, including a 29-yard gainer to tight end David Crossan.
“It went well,’’ senior Tyson Riley said. “It was good to see us go through what ULM is going to run and really execute.’’
“I think it was a step in the right direction, especially for the next weekend,’’ Marshall said. “We’ve just got to keep building it.’’
Dependable fullbacks Riley and Jakobi Buchanan have expanded their skillsets, the former lining up just off the line for blocking purposes and both taking some direct snaps with no quarterback present.
Although the scrimmage was mostly timed, the coaches still had input to set the ball where needed to fit their situational needs. The three-hour scrimmage was played under partly sunny skies, temperatures creeping over 80 degrees and before a smattering of interested fans.
There were two unsuccessful onsides kicks and a failed punt fake that got called back by penalty. Defensively, Elo Modozie returned a mid-field interception (from Mitch Bolden) for 35 yards; DeShontez Gray scooped and returned a Champ Harris fumble 3 yards for a score; and, Baylor Newsom returned a fumble 65 yards for a score.
“I really like our team,’’ Monken said. “We've got good leadership from within. They're tough and I think they'll play the game really hard and those are good qualities. When we've had teams that will battle and fight teams to the very end, we've managed to come up with some victories.’’
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football coach Jeff Monken eager to see new offense at work
