For Air Force football, Troy Calhoun believes every year requires resetting expectations

Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun doesn’t believe in momentum anymore. The path to success at a service academy has changed in an evolving sport.

“It’s a completely different roadmap that’s needed,” he said. “You realize you’re living off points in space rather than being cyclical. It’s moment by moment, because you’re dealing with some really unique circumstances that are a part of college athletics, especially playing in a major conference.”

That doesn’t sound like a coach coming off a 10-3 campaign with two 10-win seasons over the past three years, sandwiched around a 3-3 record in 2020. In 2021, a four-point loss to Utah State was the difference between a shared division title and a spot in the Mountain West championship game. But despite all the success Calhoun has had over 15 years, including 11 bowls and four 10-win seasons, he’s tried to tamper down the expectations for the 2022 squad.

“We’re going to begin all over,” Calhoun said. “Being at an academy, playing in a major conference, there’s no such thing as sustainability. Really, you go into this year with zero expectations.”

It’s not that Air Force doesn’t have returning experience to be excited about. On the contrary, the starting quarterback is back, the Mountain West’s leading rusher is back, the offensive line is experienced and the defense has only a few holes to fill. The situation looks much better now than it did at this point a year ago.

However, a few of those holes were left by some of the most dynamic players in program history, and several returning star players may not be 100 percent or even available when the season begins because of offseason surgeries. That may be where Calhoun’s cautious mindset comes from. Air Force also can’t fill roster holes with transfers. It can’t use NIL in recruiting. Service academies were already unique, and new rules meant to help schools actually put them at a greater disadvantage.

“In a very respectful way, you share behind thick walls and sealed doors that maybe how you fought in World War I, you need to do it a different way in the current landscape,” he said.

Troy Calhoun and Air Force beat Louisville in the First Responder Bowl. (Jerome Miron / USA Today)

Whether one buys into Calhoun’s concerns about his team or believes he just wants to stay under the radar, history shows Air Force football is always a threat in the Mountain West. Make no mistake, Calhoun likes the potential of his team by the end of the season. But with another difficult conference slate and a tricky nonconference schedule, there is not much time for the growing pains he seems to expect.

“I do love the vigor about our team,” Calhoun said. “We lost a lot of talented players, 29 seniors, some legitimate playmakers, and some guys coming back have injuries. And yet, I love the vigor of this group, they love to practice and lift, the commitment part. That’s really refreshing. We’ve just gotta get in there and get our noses bloodied, and they are going to get bloodied. That’s the reality of it.”

Offense

(Note: Air Force has not released a 2022 roster. Personnel notes are based on expected returns and/or comments from Calhoun)

On paper, there’s a lot to be excited about with the Air Force offense, which led the nation in rushing yards per game last season and improved from 94th in scoring to 47th. Again, the starting quarterback is back, the team’s leading rusher is back, and there is a lot of experience on the offensive line, unlike a year ago when five new starters were needed.

But what may look good on paper isn’t reality, and injuries could dramatically impact the offense early.

“Quite frankly, we might not really see what our capabilities are until maybe mid-November,” Calhoun said. “Not that guys can’t get back into action, but the training and the physicality that’s a must as a college football player, we won’t get to that point early in the season. We’ll have to be patient.”

It starts with senior quarterback Haaziq Daniels, who threw for 1,171 yards, ran for 736 yards (4.75 per carry) and totaled 18 touchdowns. His average of 11.5 yards per pass attempt would have been second nationally if he qualified with enough passes. But Daniels had major knee surgery in January, missed spring practice and is still working his way back. If healthy, he’s as dangerous a quarterback as the Falcons have had.

“What we do offensively, we ask a lot of our quarterbacks,” Calhoun said. “As a ball-handler, a passer, a runner, we’re going to ask him to be a complete player.”

If Daniels can’t play, there are a handful of options, including juniors Zachary Larrier (a Mountain West champion sprinter this spring), Ben Brittain, Jensen Jones, Cannon Turner and Jackson Darlington.

Elsewhere in the backfield, senior fullback Brad Roberts’ 1,357 rushing yards led the conference and his 13 rushing touchdowns were second, earning him first-team All-Mountain West honors. That came after a 2020 season in which he averaged 7.2 yards per rush. But he too has been sidelined after a major knee surgery in January, according to his head coach.

“If we can get into October and he gets back in the flow of playing football again (that would be ideal),” Calhoun said. “He’s not going to have as many rushing attempts as last year because of where he is physically.”

Other names to watch in the backfield include senior tailback DeAndre Hughes, who started six games and finished with 497 rushing yards (8.15 per carry), senior fullback Emmanuel Michel (427 yards, 5.85 per carry) and senior fullback Omar Fattah. There’s also the quick Larrier, if he’s not playing quarterback.

DeAndre Hughes had three runs of at least 50 yards last year. (Jerome Miron / USA Today)

The triple-option offense doesn’t include much passing, but Calhoun believes the graduation of wide receiver Brandon Lewis is a major loss, calling him the most dynamic receiver the Air Force has ever had. It’s not often a service academy receiver signs as a receiver with an NFL team. He had 21 catches for 619 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for half of the Falcons’ receiving yards, and he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans.

Players expected to compete for targets include junior receivers Micah Davis (10 catches) and Dane Kinamon (nine catches). Kinamon also had 170 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. But others will have to emerge.

“They really haven’t played, so we’ve gotta dive headfirst right into the deep end,” Calhoun said. “We’ll find out.”

The offensive line should be a strength after entering last season as a major question. The Falcons finished with the second-fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (3.39) nationally. Three Week 1 starters from last year’s team are gone, but six players who started multiple games are back. That includes junior tackles Everett Smalley and Kaleb Holcomb, senior guard Isaac Cochran, junior guards Thor Paglialong and Wesley Ndago and junior center Luke Hallstrom.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we play as many as eight guys on the line,” Calhoun said. “We do have some depth there and it helps that some of those guys have been exposed to playing. They do have experience.”

Air Force runs a slightly different offense compared to the other service academies, mixing in other concepts with the triple-option, but you know what you’re going to get. Calhoun has been the head coach since 2007 and offensive coordinator Mike Thiessen has been in his role for nine years. There are pieces for success, but will the pieces be healthy enough? It could determine how the season plays out.

Key stat to know: Air Force averaged 22.7 yards per completion in 2021, which would have led the nation if it qualified in pass attempts.

Defense

The defensive situation is similar to the offense: There’s a lot of experience returning, but a few major losses among the group. That includes defensive coordinator John Rudzinski, who left for Virginia, and defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, who became a sixth-round pick by the New Orleans Saints after racking up 12.5 tackles for loss.

“He was one of the finest talents we’ve ever had in the history of the school as a defensive lineman,” Calhoun said of Jackson. “The attributes, the intangibles, the leadership qualities. We’ll have a good number of guys involved there. I can see us trying to play multiple guys throughout our entire defense, and that definitely includes the front.”

Under Rudzinski, the defense allowed fewer than 20 points per game each of the past three seasons and finished 34th nationally in yards per play allowed and 16th in yards per rush in 2021. Calhoun promoted inside linebackers coach Brian Knorr to replace him.

Among the three starting spots up front, senior defensive tackle Christopher Herrera is back after starting every game last season, recording 44 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Senior nose guard Kalawai’a Pescaia started the first eight games. Junior defensive end Jayden Thiergood filled Jackson’s starting spot at end when Jackson moved inside later in the season. Others who could be in the mix on the line include Payton Zdroik, Elijah Brockman and Kupono Blake.

Christopher Herrera finished third on the team with 7.5 TFLs. (Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)

Linebacker is the deepest group on the defense. Three of four starters are back, as inside linebacker Demonte Meeks is the only departure and one of two gone in the two-deep. Junior Camby Goff and senior Vince Sanford return as starters on the outside, while junior Alec Mock and senior TD Blackmon split starting time alongside Meeks on the inside. Sanford had a team-high 17 TFLs and 9.5 sacks last season and earned second-team All-MWC honors.

Along with Mock and Blackmon, others expected to be in the rotation on the inside include juniors Bo Richter and Johnathan Youngblood. Freshman Julian Williams could compete for time as well.

In the defensive backfield, gone are star cornerback Tre Bugg III and starting free safety Corvan Taylor.

“That might be as good a safety/corner we’ve ever had,” Calhoun said.

Junior strong safety Trey Taylor is back after starting the final 10 games and finishing with 62 tackles. Other safeties who could be in the rotation include sophomore Jalen Mergerson and junior Jayden Goodwin. At cornerback, senior Zion Kelly started the first six games last year, junior Michael Mack II started the next four and junior Eian Castonguay started the final three.

Calhoun likes the depth on defense, but he’s not yet sure how it’ll play out. Much like the rest of the team, he’s tried to keep expectations in check.

“I felt like we introduced our defense extensively in the spring, but we need to play games,” Calhoun said. “Ultimately, that ends up being the tell-tale of the guys that can play games, that can be durable and learn from mistakes. We’ve gotta get into August, we’ve gotta get into the season, and we probably won’t see what we have until much later in the fall.”

Key stat to know: The Falcons finished 19th in sacks per game and 67th in TFLs per game in 2021, up from 117th and 125th in 2020, respectively.

Special teams

Both of Air Force’s specialist roles could have starting battles into preseason camp, as both spots had two different starters a year ago. At kicker, sophomore Matthew Dapore made eight of 10 field-goal attempts as a freshman, while junior Anthony Rodriguez made three of six. At punter, sophomore Carson Bay booted just 15 punts, while Charles Bein punted 25 times but entered the transfer portal after the season. More names could get in the mix there.

“I think we’re going to have some pretty healthy battles,” Calhoun said.

The return spots were a mix of starters as well, including six different players on kick returns and three players on punt returns. Returning players who returned kicks include receivers Davis and Kinamon and running backs Fattah and Owen Burk. Larrier could be in the rotation here as well.

Notably, Air Force’s five punts returned were the second-fewest in the country, despite the team finishing in the middle of the country in punts forced.

Opposing scouting report

Coaches who face Air Force always credit the creativity of the offense, which operates a bit differently than the other service academies.

“What makes them different is their willingness and ability to move out of the triple-option and run basic run-scheme plays,” one Mountain West defensive coordinator said. “That little bit of diversity makes it extremely hard for you to prepare for. There’s so much to prepare for, but then when they just break out or run zone or trap, coupled with all the other triple-option stuff is awesome.

“Their offensive coordinator (Mike Thiessen), he’s brilliant. He’s really, really good. … Their ability to mix basic run schemes with the triple-option makes it 10,000 times harder.”

Despite all the complicated runs, the pass game is dangerous. Air Force doesn’t throw much, but Daniels’ big-play passing ability is always on the minds of opposing coaches, as shown by the high averages per attempt and completion.

“Their quarterback, his ability to throw the ball was really good,” the coach said. “They only throw the ball when they want to score touchdowns, and they usually do.”

Air Force’s consistently solid defense makes things that much more difficult. Its ball-control option offense keeps the ball out of opponents’ hands, creating pressure to score when they actually have the possession. That’s a mental hurdle on top of everything else.

“Defensively, they’re good every year, which makes it even harder,” the coach said. “When you’re playing a triple-option offense, if their defense is good, that’s what makes a team very hard, and it’s already hard for your defense.”

How the Falcons recruited from 2019 to 2022

As is always the case, service academy recruiting is different from most schools. Players go to school primarily for military training. Recruiting class sizes are often more than 50 players, and they don’t officially join until the summer, when they go through military introduction training.

Air Force, Army and Navy also can’t take advantage of name, image and likeness rules. NIL is illegal for federal employees, and service academy members are federal employees.

“You’re trying to operate in a landscape that’s not necessarily congruent with being at a federal school,” Calhoun said. “There’s zero NIL, which is a factor in recruiting. The academic end of it, there aren’t that many guys that can come to the Air Force Academy.”

Calhoun said he hasn’t seen any major changes with Air Force’s recruiting yet, and given the consistent success of the program relative to low recruiting rankings, it’s just part of the deal.

It’s also worth noting Air Force is under an NCAA investigation for recruiting violations involving four former assistants during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020, as first reported by The Action Network. The group included former assistant Bill Sheridan, who recently resigned at Wisconsin after the news became public. Calhoun would not comment on the status of the investigation or its impact on the program.

In the transfer portal

The one-time transfer rule is another change that Air Force and the service academies find to be more detrimental than helpful. It’s almost impossible to add a transfer, given the military requirements, but they can easily lose players.

Air Force has had 21 players enter the portal since mid-2021, with most landing at other schools, according to Mountain West Connection. Because service academy players can’t redshirt, some were graduating seniors looking to use their extra season of eligibility because of the pandemic. And once again, there are no incoming transfers.

“To not be able to add a single player but still have guys that depart, it’s just a drastically different landscape now,” Calhoun said.

New DC Brian Knorr has also worked at Ohio, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Indiana and Arizona. (Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)

Impact of coaching changes

There are four new assistants on staff and one promotion. Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski took the same job at Virginia, so co-defensive coordinator Brian Knorr was promoted to the full coordinator role. He’s an Air Force graduate in his third stint on staff, this one since 2018.

The new assistants include defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow (from Miami-Ohio), safeties coach Nick Toth (formerly of Oregon), tight ends coach Marc Bacote (from Hampton) and Kentucky State head coach Charlie Jackson as defensive backs coach. Of the four, Toth and Jackson are former Air Force assistants, and Bacote’s father was in the Air Force for decades.

“They’ve fit in pretty seamlessly,” Calhoun said. All of those guys have some kind of background that helps. They’re proven, good teachers, good coaches.”

The new assistants fill spots left by some of the departing coaches under NCAA investigation, while former defensive backs coach Curome Cox also joined the Virginia staff.

Schedule

Date	Team	Site
Sept. 3	Home
Sept. 10	Home
Sept. 16	Away
Sept. 23	Home
Oct. 1	Home
Oct. 8	Away
Oct. 15	Away
Oct. 22	Home
Nov. 5	Arlington, Texas
Nov. 12	Home
Nov. 19	Home
Nov. 26	Away

Final assessment

Reading into Calhoun’s comments, he seems to believe this could be a dangerous team come late October or November, once recovering players are back and new starters have adjusted. But the schedule doesn’t allow for growing pains. This team could contend for a division championship in the final year of the Mountain West’s divisions if the pieces fall into place.

Every time outsiders have doubted Air Force football, Calhoun’s group has surprised everyone, as it did en route to 10 wins last season. What does it mean when the head coach is trying to keep those expectations low again? We’ll find out.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series previewing Power 5 and top Group of 5 teams for the 2022 college football season.

(Top photo of Brad Roberts and Haaziq Daniels: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)