NCAA Football Preview - Army Black Knights

Aug 16, 2011 - 2:16 PM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - 2010 SEASON IN REVIEW: The Black Knights are coming off a 7-6 finish and a bowl victory, marking the program's winningest season since 1996. Behind a ground game that would finish eighth in the country (251.6 ypc), Army jumped out to a 3-1 start with road wins over Eastern Michigan and Duke, and a shutout victory over North Texas. The lone loss was a tough 31-28 setback to Hawaii in week two. In fact, each of the team's first three losses came by seven points or less, including a 42-35 loss to Temple on October 2, and a 23-20 overtime defeat at Rutgers two weeks later.

The Rutgers game was Army's first road loss after winning each of its first three contests on opposing gridirons. The Black Knights rebounded by winning two of their next three outings, although they dropped a 42-22 decision to fellow academy Air Force on November 6. They lost some momentum down the stretch, falling to Notre Dame (27-3) and once again to Navy (31-17), their ninth straight setback to the Midshipmen. However, the Black Knights' seven victories were enough to earn an invite to the Armed Forces Bowl, where they claimed a 16-14 win against a SMU squad that was playing in its own backyard. It also marked Army's first bowl victory in 25 years, sending the Black Knights into the offseason with some new-found confidence.

2011 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Head coach Rich Ellerson's triple-option offense is alive and well at West Point. His Black Knights welcome back six starters from last season's squad that ranked eighth in the nation in rushing offense (251.6 ypg) and became Army's highest-scoring unit since 1996 with 26.6 ppg. Among the returnees are last year's top two rushers in junior quarterback Trent Steelman and junior fullback Jared Hassin. Steelman is entering his third year as the starter, and he says he is fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery (non-throwing shoulder) that kept him out of spring practice. Steelman has started 25 straight games and is among the program's winningest quarterbacks with 12 victories under his belt. Last year, he ran for 721 yards and 11 scores while also throwing for 995 and another seven TDs, although he seemed to break down at the end of the season.

"Trent hasn't missed a beat," coach Ellerson said two weeks into preseason camp. "He looks like a guy that has 25 starts under his belt, which he does. He is throwing the ball better, I think that's obvious. You see a bunch of guys who have been playing together for a number of years, and they anticipate each other very well. That confidence in one another and all of those repetitions are starting to pay off."

In the backfield, Hassin became only the second sophomore in school history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards, as he ran for 1,1013 yards (5.3 ypc) and nine TDs. He was responsible for seven of the offense's 17 rushing plays of at least 20 yards, as the Black Knights improved their rushing totals across the board from 2009. However, this year he and Steelman will be working behind a rebuilt offensive line. Just one starter, junior guard Frank Allen, returns from a front-five that opened up plenty of holes in the running game and kept Steelman off his back. At wideout, seniors Davyd Brooks and Austin Barr return after combining for 24 starts.

DEFENSE: There figures to be plenty of new faces in coach Ellerson's double- eagle flex defense as the Black Knights must replace last year's leading tackler (LB Stephen Anderson), as well as the program's all-time leader in tackles for loss and sacks (DE Josh McNary). Also gone are a three-year starter at nose tackle (Mike Gann) and both of last year's starting safeties, one of whom ranks second on the school's all-time interceptions list.

Despite the departures, the linebacking corps remains one of the team's strengths. Senior captain Steven Erzinger has started the last 25 games at the rover position, where he finished with 76 tackles (4.5 TFL) and five pass breakups a year ago. With Anderson no longer around, Erzinger will be asked to take on more of a leadership role for Army's young defense. Senior linebacker Andrew Rodriguez started all 12 games in 2009 and posted a team-high 85 tackles, but a back injury forced him to miss all of 2010. He is now back along with junior linebacker Nate Combs, who returns after suffering a season- ending knee injury in last year's opener at Eastern Michigan.

Senior defensive backs Josh Jackson (33 tackles, INT) and Antuan Aaron (27 tackles) headline a secondary that will be breaking in two new safeties. Up front, junior bandit Jarett Mackey made quite an impact last year, his first as a starter, finishing fourth on the team in total tackles (47), fourth in tackles for loss (6.5) and second in sacks (4.0). However, the rest of the defensive line is short on experience. Senior tackle Chad Littlejohn was asked how Army can overcome its size disadvantage along the defensive line.

"Speed, baby, speed," Littlejohn said. "That's what it's all about. We don't have to have the biggest guys. We're going to beat teams with speed and we're going to beat teams with technique."

SPECIAL TEAMS: Fortunately for the Black Knights, kicker Alex Carlton is back after finishing the season with 11 consecutive field goals. He already ranks third in Army history with 33 field goals. At punter, the battle is between Kolin Walk and Chris Boldt, neither of whom has ever played in a collegiate game. The return game, however, is in good hands with Josh Jackson back in the fold after averaging 7.3 yards on 18 punt returns, and 20.1 yards on 26 kick returns.

OUTLOOK: Coming off a solid season with a few key players back in the mix, the Black Knights are facing something they haven't dealt with in quite some time -- increased expectations. However, half of last year's starting unit has moved on, and coach Ellerson dialed up the intensity in the spring and summer camps to keep the focus level up. Fortunately for the Black Knights, their two biggest offensive stars return in Steelman and Hassin, which should help keep that option game in gear. On the other hand, the defense was hit hard by graduation, and that may show up on the scoreboard early on. Another tough back end of the schedule looms, as Army will close out the regular season against Air Force, Rutgers, Temple and Navy. In all likelihood, the new-look defense will determine whether the Black Knights win enough games to go bowling once again.