Inside Army Football Blog

The Tennessee Titans opened their rookie mini-camp Friday.

Here’s what head coach Mike Munchak said about fullback and 2009 West Point graduate Collin Mooney:  “We brought him in a week or so ago to work out.  We wanted to bring in a fullback to compete, and he had a great workout.  He ran about a 4.6 (40-yard dash)—right in that area.  Obviously he’s very strong. You can tell by looking at him how strong he is.  We didn’t know how flexible he’d be, but we threw a lot of balls to him and he did a great job redirecting and catching a lot of passes.

“He’s a smart kid.  You’re just excited to have guys like that on your team—‘yes, sir; no, sir’—and he’s going to be fun to watch.  He’s a guy that can hopefully come in and create competition, a guy that can help us on special teams and push for the fullback spot.”

Sounds encouraging for Mooney, who signed a three-year contract with the Titans last week.

For more on Army football, follow me on Twitter @salinterdonato

Stephen Anderson, Army’s two-year football captain, is still in denial.

One of Anderson’s teammates had his  life taken away far too early.

Mario Hill, a two-year starting cornerback and 2010 West Point graduate, died in a single-car accident early Saturday (May 5) morning in Lexington, Ky.

“I was just tweeting with him the other day,” Anderson told Army senior Bill Prosko, who passed along the sad news Saturday afternoon.

“It was a hard thing to take in because Mario is a brother (to me),” Anderson said. “He was one of those guys, who made people around him feel better. It was not just on the field but more importantly off the field. He had that ability to impact others in a positive way. Not just positive sometimes, but always. I don’t ever, ever remember recalling a time when I heard any negative influence coming from Mario. It feels surreal just talking about it. I feel like I’m just describing how he is and realistically how he was.  It’s hard.”

Anderson said Hill, 25, never let the rigors of West Point get to him. He was always positive.

“That’s the one thing that I’m always going to remember about him,” Anderson said. “He had his bad days but in his bad days he seemed happier than most people in their good days…Possibly God wanted to take him. God works in mysterious ways and I know Mario is definitely going to be knocking on the Golden Gates. When we had down times as a team, that’s one of the things he was able to do is make us realize that it’s fun being out here with everybody.”

Collin Mooney, a former Army fullback and 2009 graduate, will always remember Hill’s infectious smile.

“He always had a great attitude,” Mooney said. “He was a hard worker and he also had a playful side. He was a really great character guy. He had the charisma and people wanted to be around him.”

Hill started 24 straight games (2008-09) for Army. He made 67 tackles, knocked down 14 passes and had two interceptions.

Anderson said Hill was medically discharged from the Army after his graduation because of a heart murmur.

Army’s 2012 season opener on Sept. 8 at San Diego State will kick off at 7:30 p.m. EST, the Mountain West announced Thursday.

The game, which will be played at Qualcomm Stadium, will air on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus).

Army had eight fumbles in a 23-20 loss to San Diego State 23-20 at West Point last year.

The Orlando Sentinel’s countdown of the 120 FBS teams is underway.

The Sentinel ranks teams from 120 to No. 1.

Army came in at No. 103, which could be a little high.

The Black Knights return more offensive talent and just as much defensive experience as Navy and Air Force. Yet, Army is the the first service-academy team to be ranked.

Maybe, last year’s 3-9 season has the national media thinking this will be the same Army team of the past, sans the 2010 Military Bowl champion season.

The Sentinel cites an inexperienced defensive line and “several key road games” as possible reasons for the ranking.

The defense, as a whole, should be more flexible and deeper than last season. Though inexperienced, the combination of  sophomore Bobby Kough and freshman Richard Glover has the potential to be a solid combination inside. The return of junior defensive end Jarrett Mackey will help the team on and off the field.

Army has four road games, five if you count the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. The season opener at San Diego State is Army’s toughest game on the road. The Black Knights nearly beat a San Diego State team with NFL draft picks Ryan Lindley and Ronnie Hillman last season at Michie Stadium. Army fumbled eight times in a 23-20 loss.

Army has winnable games at Wake Forest and Eastern Michigan. Rutgers is a toss-up on the road.

Rankings in early May are fun and good blog fodder. Ultimately, Army has to prove itself on the field, starting in September.

Sullivan Award winner Andrew Rodriguez was one of as one of five Army seniors named to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society Wednesday.

Players honored must have a 3.2 grade-point average of better and complete their eligibility.

Rodriguez, who named the  nation’s top amateur athlete in March, entered the spring semester ranked third in his class with a 4.12 GPA. He won the Campbell Trophy last December as the college football’s top scholar athlete.

Kicker Alex Carlton, quarterback Max Jenkins, linebacker/defensive end Chad Littlejohn and tackle Mike McDermott were also named to the Hampshire Honor Society.

Army’s five inductees is the most that the team has had in the National Football Foundation’s five-year program. Army had a combined four inductees in the previous three years.

Collin Mooney signed with Tennessee Titans today, the former Army fullback said in a text message to the Times Herald-Record.

Mooney, who rushed for an academy-record 1,339 yards in 2008, received interest from the Packers last spring but the NFL didn’t have a collective-bargaining agreement with the owners at the time. He worked out with the Vikings and Saints in the spring of 2009.

Tennessee lists one fullback Quinn Johnson, a four-year pro from LSU. ,

Johnson played in four games for the Titans last season, making one start. Ahmard Hall, who made seven starts in 2011, is an unrestricted free agent.

Mooney, who turned 26 last month, has served three years of active duty. He will apply for his early release from active duty, the Titans website has reported.

The Titans cut fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou, a one-year pro out of California, to make room for Mooney on their roster.

Army announced Thursday that all seven of its home games in 2012 will kick off at noon.

All of the action is scheduled to air on CBS Sports Network. The seven home games are the most at Michie Stadium since 1994 and include  Boston College on Oct. 6 and Air Force on Nov. 3. Army also hosts Northern Illinois (Sept.15), Stony Brook (Sept. 29), Kent State (Oct. 13), Ball State (Oct. 27) and Temple (Nov. 17).

No word on the announcing team. Gary Thorne and Randy Cross called the games last season.

Times for Army’s four roads games (San Diego State, Wake Forest, Eastern Michigan and Rutgers) have yet to be announced.

Record-setting California wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky’s first Division I scholarship offer has come from Army, the Santa Clarita Valley Signal reports.

Wolitarsky caught 75 passes for 1,628 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior at Canyon High School, where he owns school records in receiving yards (3,869) and touchdowns (39), according to the Signal.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver, a three-star recruit by Rivals, is  677 yards from breaking former Giant and current Rams wide receiver Steve Smith’s state career record.

Army’s recruiting for the 2012 class continues.

Malcolm Hudson, a 5-foot-11, 235-pound defensive end from Hernando High in Brookville, Fla., committed to West Point last week, according to goblackknights.com.

Hudson, an all-area first-team pick by The Tampa Bay Times, had 55 tackles, three sacks and forced three fumbles as a senior.

Army coach Rich Ellerson is reverting back to the captain system of 2010 for the upcoming season.

Ellerson said junior defensive end Jarrett Mackey, who was named legacy captain by the 2011 senior class, will be joined by game captains (different members of  2012 senior class)  for the first seven or eight weeks.

“My mindset going in is our seniors are going to serve in leadership roles then we will chose captains down the stretch once we’d had a chance to go around the block a few times,” Ellerson said. “Inevitably, we are going to be looking at the last four or five games, at that point in time, the challenge will be clear. ‘This is what we have to do.  These are the challenges the team faces. This is the challenge that the schedule presents. Now, that we’ve been at this for a while, who are the guys that we want to lead us downthe stretch.’”

Ellerson said he has, “an extraordinary senior class and we need to give those guys an opportunity to all fulfill a leadership responsibility. The entire class does. That’s the nature of the institution.”

Last season, Steve Erzinger was named the legacy captain. The team picked two season-long captains (Max Jenkins and Andrew Rodriguez) in the preseason to join Erzinger.

Army’s 2012 25-member, senior class includes three-year starting quarterback Tretn Steelman, cornerback Josh Jackson, a two-year starter, slotback Malcolm Brown and Frank Allen, another two-year starter.

“Jarrett, of course, is the chairmen of the board, we are going to have rotating responsibilities through those first game weeks,” Ellerson said. “Those guys will know going into the summer what the schedule is.”

Just about to provide my take when I received the official post-spring depth chart.

Quick/DE: Zach Watts, Jr. or Jarrett Mackey, Jr.; Colin Linkul, Fr.
Noteable: Mackey, the team’s legacy captain, sat out the spring rehabbing from a torn ACL. Doesn’t look like Watts will move back to linebacker, which he played as a sophomore, in the fall. Linkul is a pass-rushing specialist. Could see Mackey moving inside on passing downs.

LT: Bobby Kough, Soph.; Shane Finnane, Soph.
Noteable: Kough impressed coaches in his first football since he practiced in the 2010 season. He’s a slightly smaller version of former nose guard Mike Gann. Incoming Army freshmen from Army Prep could fill up the depth behind Kough and Finnane

RT: Richard Glover, Soph.; Joe Drummond, Fr. or Mike Ugenyi, Fr.
Noteable: Glover may have had the best camp of any defensive lineman. He’s slimmed down from 270 pounds and will team with Kough to form an athletic tandem in the middle. Drummond missed the spring recovering from shoulder surgery but coaches love his upside. Ugenyi’s brother, Victor, was a three-year starting defensive lineman at West Point. If Ugenyi continues to progress, he’ll be valuable player for Army in 2012.

Bandit: Nate Combs, Jr.; Corey Watts, Soph. or Jacob Drozd, Fr.
Noteable: Combs missed spring practice due to injury. Watts played defensive end last season. Drozd was moved from defensive tackle and will find a way on the field in the fall. Coach Ellerson said, “He’s an extraordinary athlete. We don’t have a better athlete on the football team at any position. He’s something else. He’s really comfortable in that part of the game. That mix in between tackles is where he’s just at home. He is a little bit light (220 pounds) for it and that’s where the bandit position allows for that.” Sophomore Colby Miller and freshmen Julian Holloway and Jim Forgrave provide more depth here.

WHIP LB: Holt Zalneraitis, Soph.; Kyle Maxwell, Soph. or Derek Sanchez, Fr.
Noteable: Ellerson thinks Zalneraitis will excel playing in a more natural position this fall. Zalneraitis started at defensive tackle last season. This could be flex position where players could line up in a three-point stance or standing. Sanchez is a player to watch. He has a good motor and is athletic.

MLB: Geoff Bacon, Fr. or Zach Williams, Soph.; C.J. Shelley, Jr. or Mike Cermak, Fr.
Noteable: Bacon finished the 2011 season as a starter and may be Army’s quickest defender. Williams and Shelley are all-out effort guys, who will push Bacon. Cermak saw some action in 2011 and is a  solid tackler.

Rover: Justin Trimble, Soph.; Thomas Holloway, Soph.
Noteable: If Trimble can stay healthy, he can be a big-time playmaker for the defense. Holloway, a starter at free safety last season, will challenge Trimble for playing time in the fall.

Boundary Corner: Waverly Washington, Jr. or Tyler Dickson, Soph.; Justin Allen, Jr.
Noteable: A position that needs to improve if Army is going to take the next step in 2012. It could be Dickson’s job to lose. He started five games at free safety.

Field Coner: Josh Jackson, Jr.; Marcus Avery, Fr. or Lamar Johnson-Harris, Fr.
Noteable: Jackson is a two-year starter and one of the defense’s leaders. Avery, who was banged up in the spring, is Army’s tallest cornerback (6-foot-1) and a good athlete. Johnson-Harris started nine games in 2011.

SS: Hayden Pierce, Fr.; Lyle Beloney, Soph.
Noteable: Army strength and conditioning coaches are trying to put more size on Pierce’s 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame. Pierce is solid in coverage and could develop into a strong hitter.

FS: Ty Shrader, Jr.; Kyler Martin, Jr.
Noteable: Shrader saw limited action on defense in 2011. Coaches love Shrader’s moxy. Co-defensive coordinator Payam Saadat says Shrader carries himself like a, “four-year starter.” Martin started the last five games of 2011 and played well. He’s versatile enough to play linebacker.

For more on Army football, follow me on Twitter @salinterdonato