Army football: Black Knights are positive headed into tough opening stretch

Army has the makings of a team to reach a bowl game for the third year in a row, repeating the first-time feat of the 2016-18 clubs, but that’s not first and foremost of the minds of the players.

“I would say winning the CIC Trophy,’’ said All-American defensive end Andre Carter II, “and go undefeated.’’

A December loss to Navy still stings and spoiled Army’s bid to reclaim the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy — the Black Knights had beaten Air Force in overtime a month earlier but did not complete the mission. At least Army headed into the long offseason with a last-second Armed Forces Bowl win over Missouri to complete a 9-4 season.

As always, there was turnover from the lineup, with 28 seniors graduating, including a handful of NFL camp prospects, but the Black Knights return a veteran lineup without many glaring holes.

It appears head coach Jeff Monken plans to utilize multiple quarterbacks once again, with often-used Tyhier Tyler and Cade Ballard as the likely top two signal callers, along with past starter Jemel Jones and promising sophomore Bryson Daily. Tyler is adept at running the triple-option offense. Ballard, a two-time all-Tennessee quarterback, is the stronger passer, but has not seen much action since starting and winning two games for Army in 2020.

“Tyhier’s got a little more experience than Cade,’’ Monken said, “but we’re going to play both of them. Whether one starts, the other one’s going to play early.’’

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Running backs Tyrell Robinson and JaKobi Buchanan (who has yet to post a negative-yardage run in his career), along with Tyler, ran for 1,599 yards as Army ranked second in the nation in rushing at 286 yards per game and led the country with 46 rushing touchdowns. Depth on the offensive line has the coaches talking about shuttling in as many as 10-12 players. The defensive line and secondary return the most experience as the linebacking corps undergoes a rebuild.

The player drawing the most attention is the 6-foot-7, 260-pound Carter. He is being touted as a first-round NFL draft pick, coming off a season where he ranked No. 2 nationally with 15½ sacks. He was a third-team AP All-American in 2021, and is listed as a second-team preseason pick on several prominent listings. He is also a Watch List candidate for five major awards.

“I really try to tune that stuff out,’’ Carter said. “I really try to stay focused on this team and doing what I need to do to get my best effort for the team.’’

Army faces a challenging first half of the schedule. The first test comes Saturday when Army opens at high-powered Coastal Carolina, a Sun Belt team that has won 11 games in each of the past two seasons — the Black Knights are a 2½-point underdog for the 7 p.m. contest (ESPN+, WBNR 1260-AM, WLNA 1420-AM, WGHQ (920-AM, 92.5-FM).

The Black Knights then return for three of their six home contests at venerable Michie Stadium, staring down 12-win Texas San Antonio, 10-win Division I-AA quarterfinalist Villanova and bowl winner Georgia State. The tough stretch concludes with a Oct. 8 game at Wake Forest, a bowl-winning Demon Deacons team that put up 70 points on Army in a wild shootout last season, though the playing status of their prized quarterback, Sam Hartman, remains in question.

“I think it’s been a great offseason and I think it’s been a good camp,’’ said Monken, headed into his ninth season. His next victory, No. 59, would place him second all-time at West Point. “From a mental standpoint I think our guys are focused and ready. We’ve got good leadership and I think they are mentally tough.’’

As for facing Coastal Carolina for the first time, the Chanticleers are coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons – only Alabama (26) and Louisiana (23) have more wins the past two years. Coastal runs a spread option on offense. In 2021, Coastal ranked fifth in the nation at 40.9 points per game, sixth with 228.8 yards and fifth in total yards 494.7.

Quarterback Grayson McCall – the two-time Sun Belt Conference player of the year - passed for 2,873 yards and 27 touchdowns. Braydon Bennett (636 yards) and Reese White (515) are the leading returning rushers.

“They’re fun to watch,’’ Monken said, “but it’s not going to be fun to try to defend.

“It’s going to be a huge test for us and a great challenge to start the season,’’ he added.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

Army schedule

• Sept. 3 – at Coastal Carolina (11-2), 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

• Sept. 10 – Texas San Antonio (12-2), noon (CBSSN)

• Sept. 17 – Villanova (10-3), noon (CBSSN)

• Oct. 1 – Georgia State (8-5), noon (CBSSN)

• Oct. 8 – at Wake Forest (11-3), TBD (an ESPN network)

• Oct. 15 – Colgate (5-6), noon (CBSSN)

• Oct. 22 – Louisiana-Monroe (4-8), noon (CBSSN)

• Nov. 5 – vs. Air Force* (10-3), 11:30 a.m. (CBS)

• Nov. 12 – at Troy (5-7), 3:30 p.m. (TV TBD)

• Nov. 19 – Connecticut (1-11), noon (CBSSN)

• Nov. 26 – at Massachusetts (1-11), noon (ESPN3 or ESPN+)

• Dec. 10 – vs. Navy** (4-8), 3 p.m. (CBS)

* at Arlington, Texas

** at Philadelphia

Opening lineup

Army two-deep roster for season opener at Coastal Carolina (subject to change)

Offense

• QB – No. 2 Tyhier Tyler; No. 18 Cade Ballard

• RB – No. 32 Tyson Riley; No. 33 Jakobi Buchanan

• Slot – No. 21 Tyrell Robinson; No. 22 Miles Stewart

• Slot – No. 3 Ay’Jaun Marshall; No. 8 Braheam Murphy

• TE – No. 88 Josh Lingenfelter; No. 89 Blane Cleaver

• LT – No. 77 Jordyn Law; No. 75 David Hayward

• LG – No. 68 Jackson Filipowicz; No. 66 Aidan Gaines

• C – No. 57 Connor Bishop; No. 60 Connor Finucane

• RG – No. 60 Connor Finucane; No. 59 Will Jeffcoat

• RT – No. 78 Shayne Buckingham; No. 74 Simon Dellinger

Defense

• DL – No. 97 Kwabena Bonsu; No. 99 Chris Frey

• NT – No. 92 Isaiah Filisi; No. 93 Tyler Komorowski

• DL – No. 44 Nathaniel Smith; No. 52 Austin Hill

• OLB – No. 34 Andre Carter; No. 38 Fabrice Voyne

• OLB – No. 7 Jimmy Ciarlo; No. 23 Chance Keith

• ILB – No. 31 Leo Lowin; No. 54 Camden O’Gara

• ILB – No. 46 Kalvyn Crummie; No. 36 Peyton Hampton

• CB – No. 4 Jabari Moore; No. 2 Bo Nicholas-Paul

• CB – No. 10 Cameron Jones; No. 17 Isaiah Moore

• SS – No. 20 Marquel Broughton; No. 26 Quindrelin Hammonds

• FS – No. 6 D’Andre Tobias; No. 37 Max DiDomenico

Special teams

• P – No. 90 Billy Boehlke; No. 94 Cole Talley

• K – No. 94 Cole Talley or No. 15 Quinn Maretzki

• LS – No. 50 Ryan Aguilar; No. 52 Austin Hill

• KR – No. 21 Tyrell Robinson

• PR – No. 21 Tyrell Robinson

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football is positive headed into Coastal Carolina opener