Welcome back! It’s good to have you.
Army Football 2025 is upon us, and we here at As For Football are on a mission to get you ready for the upcoming season. Today we’re diving (and keeping, and pitching) into the offense this week. So get your triple option caps on, and let’s talk some good ole fashioned football!
Quarterback
This is the most open a QB battle has seemed to be since the 2020/2021 years when the quartet of Anderson, Jones, Laws, and Tyler traded starts for two seasons.
Put plain and simple, there is no quarterback on the roster that is a proven, under center threat. Dewayne Coleman is the senior and has some actual game experience. But Coleman didn’t get a single drive all year that wasn’t in the second half and up by at least 3 scores. The lone exception was the Air Force game, but that game was almost exclusively called from the shotgun.
The other options seem to be junior Cale Hellums, who got limited snaps last year, and sophomore Ethan Washington. It’s also worth noting that in replacing a 6 foot-220 pound QB, Washington is both the tallest and heaviest of this year’s options at 6’1″ and 205.
UPDATE: Since this writing, Coach Monken said that Coleman has begun to separate himself from the pack in a recent interview
Fullback
The expectation is that senior Hayden Reed will be the feature back. But 240 pound Jake Rendina is bound to see action as well. It’s a powerful two punch combo that should make up for the loss of Kanye Udoh’s speed.
Brady Mott and Briggs Bartosh have also shown skill at the position in camp and could find themselves taking a set of downs to give Reed and a Rendina a break.
Slotback
Noah Short is the top returning yard-getter from last year’s team with 887 all-purpose yards.
Samari Howard and David Clerk return to play opposite Short with Llyod Benson making waves in camp. Short, though, has a proven receiving track record that the others lack. So expect Army to continue to be creative with him.
Tight End
If they throw to the TE’s — and it’s a big IF — they’ll throw to sophomore Tex Brannan. At 6’5”, 250 lbs., Brannan has the size to block while retaining the speed to get open in space. He’s also got good hands. If they prioritize blocking, however, look for cow TE Parker Polosky, who’s about the same size but more experienced in the ground side game in this particular offense. If we’re lucky, freshman Charles Daly might also conjure up the magic of his national champion-winning namesake.
Perhaps a better question is: How often Army will run 21 personnel sets (2 TEs, 1 RB) in lieu of the traditional flexbone? We’ll have to wait and see, but they have the personel to do a lot more with their tight ends this year.
Wide Receiver
Senior Liam Fortner and junior Kavon Pointer both return with 4 career receptions between them. Fortner looked electric during the Spring Game this year, and it probably doesn’t hurt that his brother is a starting inside linebacker and team captain.
Last year, just over half of receiving yards came in the hands of true wide receivers. With the loss of the top 2 wide receivers, though, and the rise of Noah Short, there may be a decrease in output from that group this year.
Offensive Line
The defending Joe Moore Award winning group is on a mission! Last year Army did something unprecedented in the Monken Era. They started the same five players in the same positions for all fourteen games.
From that group, only the pair of juniors, C Brady Small and RG Paolo Gennarelli, return this season. That leaves three starting spots open. Assuming Army goes for the size approach again this year, the upperclassmen “big boys” on the roster are seniors Braden Bartosh, Tanner Bivins, Will Jeffcoat, Ned Brady, and juniors Tyler Lee, Henry Appleton, Lane Parks, Teddy Williams, Kyle Kloska, and Jonah Zimmerman. That’s a lot to choose from!
Army doesn’t list a single upperclassman under 300 pounds on the roster this year. They must have started triple servings in Washington Hall!
Key Takeaways
1. Quarterback battle is anyone’s guess. Coleman probably has the best odds, but it shouldn’t shock anyone if it goes another way, especially once we get a few games into the season.
2. Receiving looks like a question mark. The team basically has one slotback in Noah Short that is a proven deep threat. But no one else across the three position groups – WR, TE, SB – is a known quantity. There’s plenty of potential, but that’s it. So it will be interesting to see where Coach Worley goes.
3. I cannot recall an offensive line with more depth at a service academy in my lifetime. Twelve upperclassmen above 300 is a whole new page in the Monken playbook.
Just 2 more weeks to Friday Night Lights!
Beat Tarleton State!
*Cover photo via Lynn Fern
