Inside Army Football Blog

OK, so maybe it was the first day of spring practice.

Junior slotback Jameson Carter tripped and fell before he reached a blocking bag during a drill.

“Bag one, Carter nothing,” Army slotbacks coach Tucker Waugh said.

Maybe the slotbacks are a little faster but some of pitches from Army quarterback Trent Steelman were a little off.

Freshman Brian Cobbs, who was one of Army’s best special-teams cover guys towards the end of 2009, has moved to slotbacks where coaches hope to utilize his speed.

This is Steelman’s first spring practice – ever. He’s use to playing baseball in the spring. Steelman’s goal for this spring: “The main thing is developing that leadership, just having them rely on me and know I’ll be there when it’s time to make a big play,” Steelman said.

The entire team started practice by getting in a line and swinging back and forth, kinda like the NBA teams do before tipoff, and chanting something I couldn’t decipher.

“We are trying to come up with a pre-warmup type thing with a little attitude,” junior nose guard Mike Gann said. “Last year, we had the clap and we are trying to come up with something new this year. (Junior defensive end) Marcus Hilton is out there leading the charge. We are trying out some stuff while we are in here and no one can see us. When we get to gameday, we want to have something to light a fire under us.”

Gann didn’t mind the early start to spring football.

“Winter ball, spring ball,” Gann said. “Bring it on anytime as long as we are playing some football. We love to play this game. Being out here for the first time together as the 2010 team is just phenomenal.”

Quarterback rotation: Steelman remains the starter. Sophomore Max Jenkins is next in line to take snaps. Sophomores Taylor Hall and Jimmy Reitter are I guess competing for third-string. Freshman David Collins was moved to fullback.

Injury front: Junior middle linebacker Stephen Anderson (knee); junior defensive end Josh McNary (shoulder); junior quarterback Chip Bowden (knee) and senior tackle Jason Johnson are expected to miss the spring. Sophomore defensive tackle Broghan Carnes has his right arm in a sling and it doesn’t look like he’ll go. Freshman wide receiver George Jordan and sophomore offensive lineman Jason Rothamal and David Ford are injured and it’s uncertain how much time they will miss.

M.I.A.: Freshman Greg Cotton isn’t listed on the spring roster and is no longer with the team. Cotton, who started the 2009 season as a cornerback, was moved to slotback because of his speed but never saw a carry. Freshman Brad Gallik, who at one point last season was the No. 2 fullback, isn’t on the spring roster. Freshman defensive back Will Holder, junior safety Desmond Lamb, junior wide receiver Matt Vane and junior slotback Jamal Olatunde are also among the missing. Lamb was injured during the 2009 season.

“First-team” offensive line: Left tackle Anees Merzi, left guard Frank Allen, center Zach Peterson, right guard Mike Weich, right tackle Brad Kelly.

Sightings: Outgoing seniors Victor Ugenyi (defensive tackle) and Damion Hunter (wide receiver) were at practice. Think Ugenyi may be staying on as a graduate assistant. Adisa King, a linebacker in the late 1990’s, also watched practice.