Talent hunt for Army center spot runs deep during spring football drills
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WEST POINT – There is a noticeable difference with Army’s move to a shotgun style ball exchange but while the focus tends to gravitate to the quarterback and pitch men the starting point remains front and center.
The Black Knights have been testing out nearly a dozen candidates for center during spring drills – it’s not as though Army is holding open auditions to fill the big void left by Connor Bishop, but the coaches want safety in numbers for the grueling job.
“It’s a work in progress,’’ said new offensive coordinator Drew Thatcher. “We're trying to work as many guys at center as possible, just to develop some depth because it's so new for those guys.’’
While the center position has certain requirements and a specific skillset, those candidates have to work within the five-man framework up front so it’s not unusual to see a guard or tackle slide over to center for continuity purposes rather than throwing in an untested backup.
“Basically we have everybody snapping in warmups,’’ Thatcher said, “and then as we go we’ll see who our best guys are and they’re going to start getting more reps.
“We’re trying to develop as many guys as possible because it’s a long season,’’ added Thatcher. Ideally, you like to have three legitimate centers ready for a road game with roster limitations but having additional candidates at the ready. “If all heck breaks loose, you know a guy that’s done it at least a few times in practice can get you through,’’ he said.
“We’re trying to find a way to get the best five players on the field at the same time,’’ head coach Jeff Monken said. “The under-center snap is a skill for both the center and the quarterback. To do that exchange, not everybody can handle that, not everybody can handle putting the ball where it needs to be, in stepping where they have to in this system.’’
Monken believes “it’s not as hard to play center as it was probably in the last system’’ where there were more snaps under center rather than the expected shotgun snaps still within the framework of the existing wishbone principles.
Rising senior Jackson Filipowicz has played center and other offensive line positions during his career. He says “it’s really cool’’ to have 10 athletes experimenting with the position.
“In previous years we’ve kind of been pretty restricted in terms of who can play center because it was such a specific skillset,’’ he said. “Now it’s definitely more of a general skillset so we want as many people to be able to snap as possible. That means that we can shift in and out of the line more and the best five are going to play, which I think is really what helps us as a team.’’
The under-center snap is not going away, Filipowicz said, but the shotgun snap is going to take up 95 percent of the exchanges.
Spring drills started only recently but the new offense and snapping responsibilities have been worked on since Thatcher’s arrival in January.
“It’s an understanding that this is really different,’’ Filipowicz said. “So I think it’s just flipping that mindset for us. By the time the season starts I’ve got no doubt that we’ll all be ready to go with that.’’
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army West Point NCAA college football center position shotgun
