B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

What a breakthrough year for the Falcons. The way you played down the stretch was probably rewarding I bet, because it seems like you settled into a groove there and really knew how to approach each game (or two, if you want to add the missing Colorado State contest). Glad to see it cumulate in a conference championship and bowl win over a Power 5 school.

Lot of key departures on the offensive side of the ball, particularly with Larrier and Taylor. I feel Mann will give you at least 75% of the production Taylor did, but quarterback will be interesting. Will that insta-commit four-star be given the reins right away?

[FlackoMars]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Brown should have worked a little harder to earn those 200 catches if he really wanted them. Nice win over Cal, I think that was big moment for the program.

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

What a breakthrough year for the Falcons. The way you played down the stretch was probably rewarding I bet, because it seems like you settled into a groove there and really knew how to approach each game (or two, if you want to add the missing Colorado State contest). Glad to see it cumulate in a conference championship and bowl win over a Power 5 school.

Lot of key departures on the offensive side of the ball, particularly with Larrier and Taylor. I feel Mann will give you at least 75% of the production Taylor did, but quarterback will be interesting. Will that insta-commit four-star be given the reins right away?

We were definitely playing our best football at the end of the season. I'd have to look back, but we do seem to get on a nice roll after the first four or five games most seasons. The year that we missed a bowl game was a glaring exception. Blount will be in the hunt for the starter's job. We will most likely be going with a freshman. (I say that knowing what I'm doing, because this point in the dynasty took place in early March, but I'm trying to put myself into the mindset I had in the moment to give you a timely answer.)

Brown should have worked a little harder to earn those 200 catches if he really wanted them. Nice win over Cal, I think that was big moment for the program.

The thing about my offense is you never know who is going to have a big game receiving. I do throw to my slot guys a lot, but that could be two or three different guys, depending on who gets open, what down-and-distances we find ourselves in, etc. When I was playing the game, I think I forgot all about his quest for 200. I could have lined him up on the outside and thrown him a few bubble screens once we got a lead, but winning the game was the priority.

[BDawg35]

DEARLY DEPARTED FOLLOWING 2022



Zachary Larrier, QB
OVR: 95
Career stats: 630-for-930, 6,934 yards, 41 TD, 25 int.; 214 carries, 660 yards, 11 TD

Haaziq Daniels, QB
OVR: 91
Career stats: 47-for-67, 436 yards, 4 TD, 1 int.; 15 carries, 27 yards, 0 TD

David Chapeau, K
OVR: 90
Career stats: 60-for-71 FG, 57 long, 175-for-175 extra points, 226 touchbacks in 268 kickoffs

Graham Lakin, C
OVR: 88
Career stats: 16 pancakes, 2 sacks

Trey Taylor, HB
OVR: 85
Career stats: 710 carries, 3,717 yards, 61 TD; 134 catches, 917 yards, 7 TD

Luc Sturbelle, WR
OVR: 84
Career stats: 96 catches, 1,282 yards, 4 TD; 25 carries, 97 yards, 0 TD; 165 KR, 4,119 yards (25.0), 0 TD; 61 PR, 639 yards (10.5), 0 TD

Ryan Keating, OT
OVR: 81
Career stats: 12 pancakes, 3 sacks

Hayden Isenhart, DT
OVR: 81
Career stats: 44 tackles, 18 TFL, 12 sacks

Jalen Mergerson, FS
OVR: 80
Career stats: 225 tackles, 8 TFL, 5 interceptions, 9 deflections, 2 FF, 4 FR

Eian Castonguay, CB
OVR: 79
Career stats: 99 tackles, 11 TFL, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 7 deflections

Jeff Porter, DE
OVR: 78
Career stats: 73 tackles, 30 TFL, 8 sacks, 2 deflections, 1 FR

Hunter Williams, WR
OVR: 78
Career stats: 146 catches, 2,012 yards, 16 TD; 3 KR, 84 yards (28.0), 0 TD; 30 PR, 344 yards (11.5), 0 TD

Demetris Dorceus, DE
OVR: 77
Career stats: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks

Isaiah Nunez, OLB
OVR: 77
Career stats: 98 tackles, 23 TFL, 10 sacks, 2 FF

Trent Brown, WR
OVR: 76
Career stats: 196 catches, 2,520 yards, 9 TD

Dave Weatherford, SS
OVR: 76
Career stats: 66 tackles, 14 TFL, 4 sacks, 5 interceptions, 1 deflection

Sean Lee, DE
OVR: 72
Career stats: 8 tackles, 2 TFL

[RyanLeaf16]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Congrats on the bowl win! Hell of a career for Trey Taylor. Sucks that you couldn't get a couple of extra passes Brown's way, but at the end of the day 196 career receptions coming out of college isn't a number to turn your nose up at. Great career for him as well!

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Congrats on the bowl win! Hell of a career for Trey Taylor. Sucks that you couldn't get a couple of extra passes Brown's way, but at the end of the day 196 career receptions coming out of college isn't a number to turn your nose up at. Great career for him as well!

Some of the numbers my receivers have near the end of their careers surprise me. I don't really feature a receiver, so they're not setting the school records that pop up in the game like my running backs and quarterbacks have. Cameron Everts wound up with a ton of catches by the end of his career, but wound up short of my all-time record, something I didn't know until he was done playing. I definitely would've risked losing a game to force-feed him the ball to get that record had I known about it.

[BDawg35]

AIR FORCE CLASS OF 2023 RECRUITING



Future quarterback should be found
in Air Force's No. 11 recruiting class

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Let the quarterback battle begin.

Air Force coach B-Dawg has indicated that the Falcons’ starting quarterback in 2023 will come from his 2023 recruiting class, which is ranked 11th nationally.

But which freshman will be given the keys to the car?

Either Brandon Blount or Chad Rice will be the name you’ll be hearing a lot about over the next four seasons, assuming whichever one wins the starting job doesn’t relinquish the reins at some point.

Blount was an insta-commit during the regular season. The Lander, Wyo. native is the eighth-ranked quarterback in the nation and 76 OVR. He has 89 THP, 86 THA and 79 SPD.

What has made things interesting is the addition of Rice as the Falcons’ only offseason recruit. Rice is an 81 OVR athlete who could excel at quarterback or receiver. Rice has 88 SPD, 90 THP, 80 THA, 79 CTH, 86 route running and 53 TAK.

“In Rice, we either have a speedy mobile quarterback who is a threat with his arm or a guy who could be cash money in the bank as a slot receiver,” B-Dawg said. “I’m leaning heavily toward putting him at quarterback, because you don’t find quarterbacks that fast every day.”

Rice was a late addition to the recruiting board who had the Falcons No. 1 on his list going into the offseason. Air Force was up 2,025 points on Florida. With nobody else on their recruiting board, the Falcons were able to throw all 15,000 of their points at Rice.

His signing gives Air Force 18 players in the Class of 2023, which nicely offsets 18 graduates. The Falcons have two five-star recruits in Rice and 80 OVR strong safety DeAndre McCollum.

“We have had great results with our safeties in our 4-2-5 defense,” B-Dawg said. “McCollum could put up beastly numbers in his career.”

Another intriguing recruit is 69 OVR halfback Marion Benjamin of Fairway, Kan. Not coincidentally, Kansas is where former Air Force speedster Kadin Remsberg hailed from. Benjamin could eventually be subbed into packages in a Remsberg role as a 92 SPD halfback who could get mismatches on deep balls.

AIR FORCE RECRUITING CLASS OF 2023
KYLE STEGALL, K-6, 5-10, 173, Durango, Colo., 82 OVR
CHAD RICE, ATH-14, 6-1, 191, Welch, W. Va., 81 OVR
DeANDRE McCOLLUM, SS-2, 6-3, 189, Arvada, Colo., 80 OVR
BRIAN BROWN, ATH-19, 6-1, 196, Sedona, Ariz., 78 OVR
BRANDON BLOUNT, QB-8, 5-11, 193, Lander, Wyo., 76 OVR
JOSH KING, TE-4, 6-2, 227, North Highlands, Calif., 72 OVR
MARION BENJAMIN, HB-16, 5-10, 198, Fairway, Kan., 69 OVR
JEFF GALLAGHER, OG-37, 6-5, 330, Darlington, S.C., 69 OVR
PHILLIP NICHOLAS, C-34, 6-2, 291, Colorado Springs, Colo., 69 OVR
J.B. WHITE, WR-43, 6-0, 200, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 69 OVR
LARRY CRUZ, DT-45, 6-0, 310, East Cleveland, Ohio, 68 OVR
KEVIN LEONARD, SS-57, 5-11, 198, Nogales, Ariz., 68 OVR
SCOTT McKENZIE, CB-47, 6-0, 194, Ken Caryl, Colo., 67 OVR
DANNY RUSH, SS-32, 6-6, 209, Tarpon Springs, Fla., 67 OVR
BEN CHARLES, WR-28, 6-1, 210, Waveland, Miss., 67 OVR
MATT KEYES, OG-56, 6-3, 299, Fort Benning South, Ga., 66 OVR
WILLIE ANDREWS, DT-51, 6-2, 291, Okolona, Ky., 66 OVR


TOP 2023 RECRUITING CLASSES
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. The U
4. Oklahoma
5. Penn State
6. Minnesota
7. Auburn
8. Tennessee
9. Notre Dame
10. Northwestern
11. AIR FORCE
32. Army
49. Boy-Z State
52. Fresno State
59. UNLV
60. Colorado State
71. San Diego State
77. Hawaii
98. Nevada
102. New Mexico
107. Navy
112. San Jose State
115. Wyoming
120. Utah State

[BDawg35]

AIR FORCE 2023 POSITION CHANGES/PROGRESSION



Chad Rice, 81 OVR ATH to 81 OVR QB
Brian Brown, 78 OVR ATH to 78 OVR WR
Josh Watson 73 OVR RT to 73 OVR LT
Jeff Gallagher 69 OVR RG to 68 OVR LT
Joe Talley 50 OVR LT to 49 OVR LG
Matt Keyes 62 OVR RG to 61 OVR RT
Victor Dukes 59 OVR RE to 59 OVR LE
Jason Prince 60 OVR ROLB to 60 OVR LOLB
Frank Sharp 60 OVR SS to 59 OVR FS

+6
Fabrizio Pinton, P, Sr., 95 OVR
Mark Monroe, CB, Jr., 91 OVR
Halatoa Tai, FS, Sr., 80 OVR
Brad Tremblay, FB, Jr., 79 OVR
Patrick Dowdell, DT, Jr., 79 OVR
Cole Ridgeway, C, Sr., 78 OVR
Tommy Brandt, OG, Sr., 76 OVR
Paul Kenney, DT, rSoph., 71 OVR
Craig Hunt, MLB, rJr., 71 OVR
Alan Richards, CB, rFr., 69 OVR
Austin Parks, OG, Soph., 66 OVR

+5
Jared Mann, HB, Soph., 85 OVR
Nate Wilson, SS, rSr., 85 OVR
Josh Green, DT, rSr., 83 OVR
Cameron Everts, WR, Sr., 82 OVR
Quinton Sanders, DE, Sr., 82 OVR
Ben Brittain, QB, rJr., 80 OVR
Jason Pratt, DE, Soph., 79 OVR
Timmy Griffin, TE, Sr., 79 OVR
Josh Watson, OT, Soph., 78 OVR
Kevin Moyer, QB, rSoph., 77 OVR
Adam Karas, OG, Sr., 77 OVR
Kaiser Camrbra-Cho, CB, Sr., 77 OVR
Cole Palmer, OLB, Sr., 76 OVR
Marcus McConnell, WR, Sr., 76 OVR
Matt Howard, HB, Jr., 75 OVR
David Whitfield, OLB, rSr., 75 OVR
Michael Freeman, HB, rSoph., 74 OVR
Nathan Hoffman, OT, Sr., 74 OVR
Tim Mangum, DE, Jr., 73 OVR
Phil Riggs, CB, rSoph., 73 OVR
Kory Williams, MLB, rJr., 72 OVR
Jason McGill, MLB, Soph., 71 OVR
Nick Lindsey, FS, rFr., 71 OVR
Clarence Johnson, DE, rSoph., 71 OVR
Alex Hemphill, DE, rSoph., 71 OVR
Matt Payne, OLB, Soph., 68 OVR
Mark Fine, OG, Soph., 67 OVR
Jason Prince, OLB, rSoph., 65 OVR
Nate Allen, OT, Soph., 64 OVR
Victor Dukes, DE, rFr., 64 OVR
Matt Humphrey, FS, rSoph., 64 OVR
Joe Talley, OG, rFr., 54 OVR

+4
Ryan Sampson, WR, rSoph., 80 OVR
Kyle White, FB, Sr., 76 OVR
Jon McMahan, TE, Sr., 75 OVR
Jayden Goodwin, CB, Sr., 74 OVR
Daniel Andrews, OLB, Soph., 73 OVR
Chris Holt, OT, Jr., 70 OVR
Grant Hayden, OLB, rFr., 69 OVR
Brent Avery, MLB, rSoph., 69 OVR
William Davis, CB, rFr., 67 OVR
Frank Sharp, FS, Soph., 63 OVR

[BDawg35]

2024 AIR FORCE SEASON PREVIEW




CHAD RICE

QUARTERBACKS
Brandon Blount was a great catch on the recruiting trail for Air Force, considering he was the No. 8 quarterback in the Class of 2023. But when athlete Chad Rice came in at 81 OVR when he was converted to quarterback, the writing was on the wall. It helps that Rice has an 88-79 advantage in SPD, giving him a key edge. Blount has an 86-80 THA advantage, but everyone knows that SPD kills. Rice could get a chance to rewrite the school record books if he stays healthy and doesn’t screw up the next four years.


JARED MANN

RUNNING BACKS
With 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Trey Taylor out of the picture, sophomore Jared Mann gets the opportunity to take over at running back after some impressive performances as the No. 2 man last year. Mann ran 95 times for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman, making freshman All-America. Mann is a power back, so he won’t be much of a threat in the passing game. True freshman Marion Benjamin is the fastest back on the team with 92 SPD, so he may be worked into some packages in a manner similar to how Kadin Remsberg was used early in this dynasty.


CAMERON EVERTS

WIDE RECEIVERS
Although Cameron Everts is the team’s top-rated receiver at 82 OVR, he is too valuable as a possession receiver to go to the outside, where B-Dawg doesn’t have nearly as much success. Everts will be fed the rock early and often in the slot to move the chains. He caught 67 passes for 812 yards and five touchdowns last year, dropping only six passes. Ryan Sampson, who is 80 OVR, will play outside and will get a much larger role after catching 11 passes for 107 yards as a freshman. Brian Brown, a 78 OVR freshman, could see plenty of action right away.


JON McMAHAN

TIGHT ENDS
Senior Jon McMahan, who is 75 OVR, will get the starting nod over true freshman Josh King, who is 72 OVR. McMahan will need to develop better hands after dropping seven passes last year while catching 28 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Tight ends are rarely the target in B-Dawg’s offense. When called upon, it’s usually in critical move-the-chains situations, so there will be a short leash on McMahan if the dropsies continue.


JOSH WATSON

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
The offensive line is suspect, with 78 OVR sophomore Josh Watson the highest-rated player. Watson was moved to the key left tackle position after allowing 12 sacks and getting only two pancakes at right tackle last year. Most of the sacks B-Dawg allows are from the right side, so Watson isn’t being held totally responsible. The other starters are 77 OVR left guard Adam Karas, 78 OVR center Cole Ridgeway, 74 OVR right tackle Nathan Hoffman and 76 OVR right guard Tommy Brandt.


QUINTON SANDERS

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Senior defensive end Quinton Sanders is 82 OVR and should hit double digits in sacks after getting seven last year. Senior defensive tackle Josh Green is the highest-rated player on the line at 83 OVR. Green had four sacks last year, but could approach the numbers Hayden Isenhart (nine sacks) had from the interior line last year. Jason Pratt (79 OVR) starts at right end and Patrick Dowdell (79 OVR) is the other defensive tackle.


DAVID WHITFIELD

LINEBACKERS
Nobody jumps out from this group, but B-Dawg has had players rated under 80 OVR do some decent things at linebacker in this dynasty. David Whitfield is a 76 OVR senior outside linebacker who led the team with 19 tackles for losses last year. The middle will be manned by 72 OVR Kory Williams, who had only seven tackles last season, but did have a pick.


MARK MONROE

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Much will be expected from junior cornerback Mark Monroe, who is 91 OVR. The Falcons were a little disappointed he had only two interceptions and seven deflections last year, so those numbers must increase if he’s to live up to his rating. Strong safety Nate Wilson, who is 85 OVR, had created much damage in the Falcons’ 4-2-5 defense. He had a team-high 95 tackles last season, including 11 for losses.


FABRIZIO PINTON

SPECIAL TEAMS
B-Dawg will be breaking in a new kicker in 82 OVR freshman Kyle Stegall. If his distance isn’t acceptable, it’s possible 95 OVR punter Fabrizio Pinton could do double duty. Pinton averaged 41.2 yards per punt last year, getting only five of 34 inside the 20.

2023 AIR FORCE FOOTBALL ROSTER
#	OFFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	OVR
3	Chad Rice	QB	6-1	191	Fr.	81
15	Ben Brittain	QB	6-1	231	rJr.	80
9	Brandon Blount	QB	5-11	193	Fr.	79
6	Kevin Moyer	QB	6-5	241	rSo.	77
5	Jared Mann	HB	5-9	210	So.	85
20	Matt Howard	HB	6-1	206	Jr.	75
43	Michael Freeman	HB	6-0	236	rSo.	74
39	Marion Benjamin	HB	5-10	198	Fr.	69
35	Brad Tremblay	FB	6-2	260	Jr.	80
41	Kyle White	FB	6-2	245	Sr.	76
1	Cameron Everts	WR	6-2	206	Sr.	82
80	Ryan Sampson	WR	6-3	217	rSo.	80
85	Brian Brown	WR	6-1	196	Fr.	78
82	Marcus McConnell	WR	6-6	228	Sr.	76
86	J.B. White	WR	6-0	200	Fr.	69
81	Ben Charles	WR	6-1	210	Fr.	67
84	Timmy Griffin	TE	6-0	244	Sr.	79
33	Jon McMahan	TE	6-7	260	Sr.	75
87	Josh King	TE	6-2	227	Fr.	72
69	Josh Watson	LT	6-8	271	So.	78
70	Jeff Gallagher	LT	6-5	330	Fr.	68
76	Nate Allen	LT	6-4	280	So.	64
68	Nathan Hoffman	RT	6-4	298	Sr.	74
73	Chris Holt	RT	6-5	279	Jr.	70
74	Matt Keyes	RT	6-3	299	Fr.	61
75	Adam Karas	LG	6-3	268	Sr.	77
77	Austin Parks	LG	6-4	264	So.	66
61	Joe Talley	LG	6-6	288	rFr.	54
79	Tommy Brandt	RG	6-1	304	Sr.	76
63	Mark Fine	RG	6-5	275	So.	68
65	Cole Ridgeway	C	6-5	319	Sr.	78
67	Phillip Nicholas	C	6-2	291	Fr.	68
#	DEFENSE	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	OVR
97	Quinton Sanders	LE	5-11	247	Sr.	82
98	Clarence Johnson	LE	6-2	245	rSo.	71
91	Victor Dukes	LE	6-4	259	rFr.	64
64	Jason Pratt	RE	6-5	252	So.	79
62	Tim Mangum	RE	6-1	229	Jr.	73
94	Alex Hemphill	RE	6-3	248	rSo.	71
53	Josh Green	DT	6-0	231	rSr.	83
99	Patrick Dowdell	DT	6-3	277	Jr.	79
92	Paul Kenney	DT	6-1	273	rSo.	71
90	Willie Andrews	DT	6-2	291	Fr.	66
95	Larry Cruz	DT	6-0	310	Fr.	66
52	Cole Palmer	LOLB	6-4	228	Sr.	76
58	Matt Payne	LOLB	6-4	234	So	68
55	Jason Prince	LOLB	6-0	218	rSo.	65
51	David Whitfield	ROLB	6-4	238	rSr.	76
4	Daniel Andrews	ROLB	6-1	235	So.	73
59	Grant Hayden	ROLB	6-4	2225	rFr.	69
56	Kory Williams	MLB	6-2	253	rJr.	72
54	Craig Hunt	MLB	6-5	233	rJr.	71
2	Jason McGill	MLB	6-2	239	So.	71
57	Brent Avery	MLB	6-2	258	rSo.	69
29	Mark Monroe	CB	5-10	167	Jr.	91
21	Kaiser Cambra-Cho	CB	6-2	186	Sr.	77
18	Jayden Goodwin	CB	6-0	164	Sr.	74
36	Phil Riggs	CB	6-0	184	rSo.	74
30	Alan Richards	CB	6-0	174	rFr.	70
37	William Davis	CB	6-1	177	rFr.	68
46	Scott McKenzie	CB	6-0	194	Fr.	67
28	Halatoa Tai	FS	6-1	199	Sr.	80
38	Nick Lindsey	FS	6-0	215	rFr.	71
42	Matt Humphrey	FS	6-1	219	rSo.	64
22	Frank Sharp	FS	6-1	177	So.	63
47	Nate Wilson	SS	6-2	208	rSr.	85
7	DeAndre McCollum	SS	6-3	189	Fr.	80
48	Kevin Leonard	SS	5-11	198	Fr.	68
25	Danny Rush	SS	6-6	209	Fr.	67
13	Kyle Stegall	K	5-10	173	Fr.	82
10	Fabrizio Pinton	P	6-3	227	Sr.	95

2023 Air Force football schedule

Note: Air Force’s ratings are: 81 OVR, 81 offense, 82 defense; B- OVR, B- offense, B- defense, A special teams

AUG. 26 — at MICHIGAN STATE
Ratings: 95 OVR, 99 offense, 93 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 2

SEPT. 2 — KANSAS
Ratings: 81 OVR, 77 offense, 85 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 105

SEPT. 16 — NEVADA
Ratings: 77 OVR, 77 offense, 78 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 122

SEPT. 23 — at UNLV
Ratings: 75 OVR, 75 offense, 78 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 61

SEPT. 30 — NAVY
Ratings: 84 OVR, 83 offense, 87 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 77

OCT. 7 — at UTAH STATE
Ratings: 79 OVR, 83 offense, 78 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 96

OCT. 14 — at SAN DIEGO STATE
Ratings: 84 OVR, 88 offense, 82 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 56

OCT. 28 — at ARMY WEST POINT
Ratings: 81 OVR, 81 offense, 82 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 112

NOV. 4 — NEW MEXICO
Ratings: 83 OVR, 83 offense, 83 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 99

NOV. 11 — COLORADO STATE
Ratings: 81 OVR, 81 offense, 80 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 103

NOV. 18 — at WYOMING
Ratings: 75 OVR, 75 offense, 76 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 115

NOV. 25 — BOY-Z STATE
Ratings: 84 OVR, 84 offense, 85 defense
Preseason ranking: No. 41

[BDawg35]

2023 PRESEASON AWARDS, RECRUITING BOARD


Michigan State’s Brandon Wright is the 2023 preseason favorite to win the
Heisman Trophy.



1. BRANDON WRIGHT, HB, Michigan State, rSr.
Ratings: 96 OVR, 85 SPD, 98 ACC, 99 BTK, 90 CAR
2022 stats: 270 carries, 1,666 yards, 17 TD; 15 catches, 195 yards, 4 TD

2. DAVID ARNOLD, QB, Florida State, rSr.
Ratings: 97 OVR, 92 SPD, 84 AWR, 89 THP, 92 THA
2022 stats: 197-for-353, 2,665 yards, 29 TD, 7 int.; 169 carries, 766 yards, 11 TD

3. DAVON DIXON, HB, UCLA, Sr.
Ratings: 98 OVR, 90 SPD, 99 ACC, 95 BTK, 94 CAR
2022 stats: 202 carries, 1,235 yards, 13 TD; 34 catches, 461 yards, 6 TD

4. BO NIX, QB, Auburn, rSr.
Ratings: 99 OVR, 94 SPD, 84 AWR, 89 THP, 96 THA
2022 stats: 161-for-287, 2,173 yards, 32 TD, 8 int.; 173 carries, 742 yards, 7 TD

5. JOE SMITH, HB, Texas A&M, rSr.
Ratings: 93 OVR, 99 SPD, 99 ACC, 89 BTK, 73 CAR
2022 stats: 248 carries, 1,621 yards, 10 TD; 22 catches, 341 yards, 6 TD




FIRST TEAM
SS, Nate Wilson, Air Force, rSr., 85 OVR

SECOND TEAM
CB, Mark Monroe, Air Force, Jr., 91 OVR




2023 PRESEASON

FIRST TEAM
DE, Quinton Sanders, Air Force, Sr., 82 OVR
DT, Josh Green, Air Force, rSr., 83 OVR
OLB, David Whitfield, Air Force, rSr., 75 OVR
CB, Mark Monroe, Air Force, Jr., 91 OVR
FS, Haltoa Tai, Air Force, Sr., 80 OVR
SS, Nate Wilson, Air Force, rSr., 85 OVR

SECOND TEAM
WR, Cameron Everts, Air Force, Sr., 82 OVR




2023
1. Notre Dame
2. Michigan State
3. Iowa
4. Auburn
5. LSU
6. The U
7. UCLA
8. Virginia Tech
9. Alabama
10. Florida
11. Oklahoma
12. Penn State
13. Stanford
14. USC
15. Texas
16. Clemson
17. Nebraska
18. Texas Christian
19. Michigan
20. Washington
21. Mississippi
22. Arizona
23. Rutgers
24. Ohio State
25. Texas A&M
26. Georgia
27. Florida State
28. North Carolina State
29. Mississippi State
30. Indiana
31. Minnesota
32. Cincinnati
33. Utah
34. Tennessee
35. Boston College
36. Kentucky
37. Oklahoma State
38. California
39. Maryland
40. Ohio
41. Boy-Z State
42. Oregon
43. AIR FORCE
44. Houston
45. Illinois
46. South Carolina
47. Wisconsin
48. Vanderbilt
49. Baylor
50. Tulane
51. South Alabama
52. Texas State
53. Missouri
54. Marshall
55. Northern Illinois
56. San Diego State
57. Purdue
58. Kansas State
59. Texas Tech
60. West Virginia
61. UNLV
62. Virginia
63. Connecticut
64. Miami (Ohio)
65. Toledo
66. Arizona State
67. Brigham Young
68. Southern Miss
69. Northwestern
70. Fresno State
71. South Florida
72. Central Michigan
73. Syracuse
74. Middle Tennessee State
75. Iowa State
76. Arkansas State
77. Navy
78. Memphis
79. Eastern Michigan
80. Washington State
81. North Carolina
82. Alabama-Birmingham
83. Western Michigan
84. Georgia Tech
85. Bowling Green
86. Florida Atlantic
87. Colorado
88. Ball State
89. San Jose State
90. Oregon State
91. Pittsburgh
92. Georgia State
93. Tulsa
94. Duke
95. Old Dominion
96. Utah State
97. Southern Methodist
98. Louisville
99. New Mexico
100. Hawai
101. Arkansas
102. North Texas
103. Colorado State
104. Troy
105. Kansas
106. Louisiana-Monroe
107. Florida International
108. Rice
109. Central Florida
110. Western Kentucky
111. Louisiana Tech
112. Army
113. Texas-San Antonio
114. Wake Forest
115. Wyoming
116. Kent State
117. East Carolina
118. Akron
119. Temple
120. Louisiana
121. Buffalo
122. Nevada
123. Massachusetts
124. New Mexico State
125. Idaho
126. Texas-El Paso





Air Force Class of 2024 recruiting targets

Richard Robinson, P-2, 6-4, 219, Old Jefferson, La., 83 OVR (9)
Adam Shelby, ATH-4, 6-2, 173, Concord, Calif., 79 OVR (1)
Billy Toth, WR-3, 6-1, 189, New Hope, N.C., 78 OVR (10)
Joe Lewis, C-1, 6-0, 296, Waynesboro, Pa., 78 OVR (6)
Nelson Baker, TE-1, 6-6, 247, Newport Hills, Wash., 78 OVR (5)
Donald Overstreet, WR-4, 6-2, 194, Madison, Wis., 77 OVR (6)
Blake Williams, C-2, 6-1, 282, Delray Beach, Fla., 76 OVR (7)
Brandon Whitaker, ATH-11, 6-2, 185, Arvada, Colo., 75 OVR (7)
Scott Hall, WR-11, 6-2, 213, Forestville, Ohio, 75 OVR (9)
Ashton Hogan, DT-8, 6-5, 247, San Diego, Calif., 75 OVR (7)
Reggie Bailey, DE-9, 6-4, 240, Gresham Park, Ga., 75 OVR (7)
Josh Walker, DE-7, 6-4, 24, Park Forest, Ill, 75 OVR (4)
Matt Jackson, P-6, 5-10, 210, Bay City, Mich., 75 OVR (5)
Chris Martin, DT-5, 6-3, 287, Ely, Nev., 74 OVR (5)
Lamar Hunter, WR-34, 5-11, 193, Southside, Ala., 74 OVR (3)
Jeremy Fagan, ATH-25, 6-0, 216, Gunnison, Colo., 73 OVR (6)
Jason Holley, TE-19, 6-8, 267, Mandeville, La., 73 OVR (6)
Will Grimes, OG-32, 6-3, 322, Watertown, S.D., 73 OVR (2)
Matt Powers, MLB-19, 6-0, 249, Aspen, Colo., 71 OVR (6)
Chris Roberson, WR-30, 6-0, 182, Severn, Md., 71 OVR (4)
Paul Williams, C-11, 6-2, 292, Roosevelt, Utah, 71 OVR (8)
Brian Harris, FB-11, 6-1, 247, Moss Bluff, La., 71 OVR (5)
Scott Fitzpatrick, CB-20, 6-1, 178, Castle Rock, Colo., 70 OVR (5)
Shaun Miller, DE-31, 6-5, 253, Boca Raton, Fla., 69 OVR (6)
Tim Garcia, C-8, 6-3, 277, North Bend, Ore., 69 OVR (6)
Kevin Britt, FB-13, 6-0, 231, Edmond, Okla., 69 OVR (7)
Maurice Olsen, CB-55, 5-9, 165, Wewoka, Okla., 68 OVR (3)
James Cabral, WR-49, 5-10, 166, McAlester, Okla., 68 OVR (4)
Brendan Johnson, DT-21, 6-4, 262, LaPorte, Texas, 67 OVR (7)
Chris Jones, C-29, 6-6, 290, Glenwood Springs, Colo., 67 OVR (1)
Jonathan Bailey, OG-33, 6-0, 299, Panthersville, Ga., 67 OVR (3)
Justin Larkin, TE-27, 6-6, 275, Richland Hills, Texas, 66 OVR (5)
Gene Morales, OT-9, 6-4, 297, Longwood, Fla., 66 OVR (5)
Brian Harvey, FB-14, 6-1, 245, Elroy, N.C., 65 OVR (5)
Jeff Prater, OT-29, 6-3, 300, Fort Scott, Kan., 62 OVR (3)

AIR FORCE RECRUITING BREAKDOWN
Top school: 16 players
Top 3: 51 players
Top 5: 75 players
Top 10: 84 players
Needs: 1 FB, 1 WR, 1 TE, 1 C, 1 P

[BDawg35]

2023 SEASON, GAME 1


Jared Mann had three 1-yard touchdown runs for Air Force.


Michigan State's Chris Jones takes a punt 56 yards to the house as punter Fabrizio Pinton (10) whiffs on a tackle.

The kid is a'ight
Freshman quarterback sparkles in debut,
leads Falcons past No. 2 Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — It seemed like a foolhardy game plan, having a true freshman chucking the rock all over the field in the crib of the defending national champion.

But remember this: It's only foolish if it doesn't work.

Chad Rice apparently isn't an average freshman, which has Air Force football fans imagining glorious possibilities, especially after his debut was a 27-20 victory over second-ranked Michigan State on Aug. 26, 2023.

Rice went 24-for-33 for 259 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown pass, but he didn't throw an interception, something even B-Dawg's most experienced quarterbacks have had trouble avoiding. He did it against a defense rated 93 OVR.

"We're winning a natty during Chad Rice's career," B-Dawg said. "You can take that to the bank. What he did today on the road against one of the best teams in the country was incredible."

Rice needed zero time to get acclimated to big-time college football, going 17-for-20 for 178 yards in the first half, leading the Falcons to a stunning 24-0 halftime lead. On the first big third-down conversion of his career, he hit tight end Jon McMahan with a 21-yard pass on third-and-18 on the opening series of the game.

Sophomore running back Jared Mann had three 1-yard touchdown runs in the first half and freshman Kyle Stegall kicked his first career field goal, giving the Falcons a 24-0 lead at the break.

"It was stunned silence at Spartan Stadium," B-Dawg said. "Heck, even I was stunned. I came into this game hoping to keep it close, but with that feeling in the back of my mind that we could get rolled."

By halftime, Air Force outgained Michigan State 274-19, had an 17-0 advantage in first downs and had a 14:36 to 3:24 advantage in time of possession.

The performance by Air Force's defense was even more incredible than that of its quarterback.

Michigan State has an offense that is rated 99 OVR and has the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite in running back Brandon Wright. However, the Spartans didn't score an offensive point until there was 5:48 left in the game. The Falcons held Wright to 25 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.

"Getting that big lead kind of took him out of the game," B-Dawg said. "If they fed him the rock enough, I'm sure he would've had some big gains."

Michigan State didn't get a first down until 19 seconds into the second half. The Spartans got on the board when Chris Jones took a punt 56 yards to the house with 6:42 left in the third quarter. It was the first kick or punt return in this dynasty by either the CPU or Air Force.

"Our mistake was punting it right to him," B-Dawg said. "I usually angle it, but I was afraid of shanking the punt and giving them a short field."

Linebacker Kory Williams stopped Wright on a 2-point run to keep it a three-possession game.

The Falcons had to settle for a 21-yard field goal on their next drive when Gerald Everett stopped Mann for a 1-yard loss on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line.

That was a nice stand for the Spartans, but not as big as the one the Falcons came up with near the end of the third quarter. Michigan State seemed to have a touchdown in the bag when it had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but defensive end Clarence Johnson tackled quarterback Payton Thorne for a 4-yard loss on an option keeper, then Air Force recovered a fumble pitch on second down with 45 seconds left in the third.

"It was pretty much game, set, match at that point," B-Dawg said. "We didn't need to score again. We could just work some clock."

The Spartans made things interesting by getting two fourth-quarter touchdowns, getting within seven points with 2:12 left in the game.

Air Force was able to get a first down, bleeding the Spartans' three timeouts, to run out the clock.


Kaiser Cambra-Cho picks off a pass.

AIR FORCE FALCONS at MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
Aug. 26, 2023	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Air Force Falcons (1-0)	7	17	3	0	27
#2 Michigan State Spartans (0-1)	0	0	6	14	20

Team Stats Comparison
	AFA	MSU
Total Offense	407	272
Rushing Yards	46-148	15-41
Passing Yards	259	231
First Downs	24	11
Punt Return Yards	16	56
Kick Return Yards	51	0
Total Yards	474	328
Turnovers	0	2
3rd Down Conversion	11-18	1-7
4th Down Conversion	0-0	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-3-2	2-1-0
Penalties	1-5	0-0
Possession Time	26:01	9:59

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AFA	MSU
4:57	(AFA) J. Mann 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AFA	MSU
8:59	(AFA) J. Mann 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	14	0
3:55	(AFA) K. Stegall 32 field goal	17	0
:24	(AFA) J. Mann 1 run (K. Stegall kick)	24	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AFA	MSU
6:42	(MSU) C. Jones 56 punt return (run failed)	24	6
2:43	(AFA) K. Stegall 21 field goal	27	6
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AFA	MSU
5:48	(MSU) B. Wright 9 run (J. Olsen kick)	27	13
2:12	(MSU) T. Lockett 29 pass from P. Thorne (J. Olsen kick)	27	20

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 24/33 259 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jared Mann 27 83 3.0 3 Marion Benjamin 10 35 3.5 0 Chad Rice 5 16 3.2 0 Brad Tremblay 3 14 4.7 0 Michael Freeman 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Cameron Everts 10 140 14.0 0 Jon McMahan 4 50 12.5 0 Brian Brown 3 39 13.0 0 Ryan Sampson 2 21 10.5 0 Marion Benjamin 2 7 3.5 0 Jared Mann 2 -4 -2.0 0 Marcus McConnell 1 6 6.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Ryan Sampson 1 0 Tommy Brandt 1 0 Timmy Griffin 1 0 Brad Tremblay 1 0 A.Karas/J.Watson 1/1 0/0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 9 0 0 0 David Whitfield 5 1 0 0 Josh Green 4 2 0 0 Nate Wilson 4 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 2 0 0 0 Kory Williams 1 1 0 0 Quinton Sanders 1 1 0 0 Ryan Sampson 1 0 0 0 Clarence Johnson 1 1 0 0 Cole Palmer 1 0 0 0 Kaiser Cambra-Cho 1 0 0 1 Phil Riggs 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 2/2 3/3 9 32 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Fabrizio Pinton 5 221 44.2 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Marion Benjamin 2 51 25.5 31 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Mark Monroe 3 16 5.3 9

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Payton Thorne 24/28 231 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Brandon Wright 10 25 2.5 1 Payton Thorne 5 16 3.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brandon Wright 8 64 8.0 0 Justin Johnson 6 43 7.1 0 Cade McDonald 5 44 8.8 0 Nick Hunter 3 28 9.3 0 Terry Lockett 1 29 29.0 1 Joe Maxwell 1 23 23.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK David Ortiz 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT John Griffin 12 0 0 0 Daniel Miles 9 2 0 0 Tate Hallock 9 0 0 0 Marcel Lewis 8 1 0 0 Chandler Greene 5 2 0 0 Chaz Johnson 5 1 0 0 Mike King 5 0 0 0 Michael Fletcher 4 0 0 0 Patrick Johnson 4 1 0 0 Torrell Williams 3 0 0 0 Demetrius Bowser 2 0 0 0 Evan Brunning 2 0 0 0 Gerald Everett 1 1 0 0 Keith Reynolds 1 0 0 0 Terry Lockett 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jack Olsen 0/0 2/2 2 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Jason Grant 4 178 44.5 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Chris Jones 2 56 28.0 56

[BDawg35]

2023 SEASON, GAME 2


Marcus McConnell caught seven passes for 103 yards and a touchdown against Kansas.

Career game for senior
Unheralded McConnell makes big catches
for Air Force in close victory over Kansas

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Air Force football opponents don't waste much time game-planning to stop senior receiver Marcus McConnell.

Why would they?

He had only nine catches last year for 76 yards and two touchdowns and had 23 catches for 291 yards and five touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Falcons.

Those are hardly Cameron Everts, Trent Brown or Kadin Remsberg numbers.

But maybe McConnell will have more of an impact in his final season at Air Force.

In the second game of his senior year, he had game-high totals of seven catches and 103 yards, scoring a touchdown in a 24-16 victory over Kansas on Sept. 2, 2023.

"I don't know if this is an aberration or if this is what we can expect out of Marcus all season," Air Force coach B-Dawg said. "Any receiver is capable of having a big day in our offense if that's what the defense keeps giving us. Marcus did make several big catches to move the chains for us. You like to see a senior do that."

McConnell's 2-yard catch from Chad Rice, one play after Jared Mann converted a run on fourth-and-one, gave Air Force a 10-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first half.

After Kansas quickly tied the game with two scores 65 seconds apart late in the half, McConnell caught a pass at the Kansas 6-yard line in the final seconds. B-Dawg thought he called timeout after the catch, but the clock expired without the chance to get one more snap.

"I needed to pay greater attention to the clock," B-Dawg said. "My fingers may have slipped and not hit the select button."

The Jayhawks made things extremely interesting in the second half, taking a 13-10 lead on a 49-yard field goal by Craig Goff with 5:56 left in the third quarter. Air Force countered with a 6-yard touchdown run by Mann.

Kansas had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Goff after getting first-and-goal. After two straight tackles for losses, the second of which temporarily sidelined starting quarterback Ian Schmidt, backup quarterback Joe Vandermeulen threw an incompletion on third down from the 10.

"Huge stand there," B-Dawg said. "A touchdown gives them the lead, and who knows how badly I panic after that?"

A 44-yard field goal attempt by freshman Kyle Stegall was short with 5:50 left in the game. After that, punter Fabrizio Pinton was subbed in to handle the kicking duties.

Defensive end Quinton Sanders tackled Anthony Murphy for a 3-yard loss on third-and-five with 4:41 remaining to get the ball back to Air Force.

McConnell wasn't done providing heroics in the passing game for the Falcons. He made a 22-yard catch on third-and-10 with 3:19 left and a 15-yarder after fighting off a jam at the line on third-and-eight with 2:07 to go. Those catches enabled the Falcons to milk more clock and tack on a 10-yard touchdown run by Mann with 22 seconds to go.

But did Air Force really want to score at that point? Kansas' only hope, besides a turnover, was to have the Falcons score and get the ball back for a shot at a touchdown and 2-point conversion.

Kansas got the ball with 18 seconds left at its own 23. Getting one final snap with five seconds left, Schmidt served up an interception to cornerback Mark Monroe to end the game. Schmidt started the game in robo-QB mode, going 14-for-15 before going 1-for-3 on the final drive.

While McConnell was stellar as a receiver, Brian Brown most certainly was not. He had three dropped passes without making a single catch. The rest of the team combined for one drop, that being by Everts who was hit as the ball arrived.

Highly touted freshman strong safety DeAndre McCollum was invisible in his college debut at Michigan State, but he made an impact with a team-high seven tackles, two of which were for losses.


Mark Monroe's interception ended the game.

KANSAS JAYHAWKS at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Sept. 2, 2023	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Kansas Jayhawks (0-1)	0	10	3	3	16
#18 Air Force Falcons (2-0)	3	7	7	7	24

Team Stats Comparison
	KU	AFA
Total Offense	285	481
Rushing Yards	35-123	42-202
Passing Yards	162	279
First Downs	16	28
Punt Return Yards	0	24
Kick Return Yards	20	59
Total Yards	305	564
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Conversion	5-11	11-16
4th Down Conversion	0-0	2-2
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1-0-1	5-3-1
Penalties	0-0	1-10
Possession Time	12:58	23:02

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		KU	AFA
2:55	(AFA) K. Stegall 25 field goal	0	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		KU	AFA
3:10	(AFA) M. McConnell 2 pass from C. Rice (K. Stegall kick)	0	10
1:25	(KU) C. Goff 46 field goal	3	10
:20	(KU) C. Jones 20 pass from I. Schmidt (C. Goff kick)	10	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		KU	AFA
5:56	(KU) C. Goff 49 field goal	13	10
2:11	(AFA) J. Mann 6 run (K. Stegall kick)	13	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		KU	AFA
8:58	(KU) C. Goff 27 field goal	16	17
:22	(AFA) J. Mann 10 run (F. Pinton kick)	16	24

KANSAS JAYHAWKS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ian Schmidt 15/18 162 1 1 Joe Vandermeulen 0/1 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Nick Maddox 12 77 6.4 0 Ian Schmidt 18 46 2.5 0 Anthony Murphy 4 1 0.2 0 Brian McCullough 1 -1 -1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Nick Maddox 5 33 6.6 0 Kyle Stephens 3 33 11.0 0 Caleb Jones 2 40 20.0 1 Phil Smith 2 35 17.5 0 Anthony Murphy 2 13 6.5 0 Rob Riley 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Tommy Huff 2 2 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Jerry Holmes 16 0 0 0 Sean Todd 8 0 0 1 Jeff Lane 6 1 0 0 Kyle Harrison 6 1 0 0 Brandon Terrell 6 1 0 0 Daniel Benson 5 0 0 0 Ernest Dobzinski 5 0 0 0 Adam Haas 4 1 0 0 Brian Dowdell 3 0 0 0 Kevin Martinez 3 0 0 0 Daniel Davis 1 0 0 0 Brandon Newman 1 0 0 0 James Coles 1 0 0 0 Chris Franklin 1 0 0 0 Jeff Cooper 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Craig Goff 3/3 1/1 10 49 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Danny Barnett 3 146 48.7 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Chris Franklin 1 20 20.0 20 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Chris Franklin 1 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 25/36 279 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jared Mann 28 123 4.3 2 Chad Rice 8 63 7.8 0 Marion Benjamin 3 14 4.7 0 Brad Tremblay 2 5 2.5 0 Michael Freeman 1 -3 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Marcus McConnell 7 103 14.7 1 Cameron Everts 6 52 8.6 0 Jon McMahan 5 52 10.4 0 Jared Mann 4 21 5.3 0 Ryan Sampson 3 51 17.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Josh Watson 1 0 Nathan Hoffman 1 0 Brad Tremblay 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 7 2 0 0 David Whitfield 6 2 0 0 Nate Wilson 5 3 0 0 Kaiser Cambra-Cho 5 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 4 0 0 1 Jayden Goodwin 4 1 0 0 Halatoa Tai 4 0 0 0 Quinton Sanders 4 2 0 0 Kory Williams 3 0 0 0 Josh Green 3 2 2 0 Daniel Andrews 2 0 0 0 Jason Pratt 2 2 0 0 Ryan Sampson 1 0 0 0 Tim Mangum 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kyle Stegall 1/2 2/2 5 25 Fabrizio Pinton 0/0 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Fabrizio Pinton 1 40 40.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Marion Benjamin 3 59 19.7 22 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Marion Benjamin 2 24 12.0 17

[BDawg35]

2023 SEASON, GAME 3


David Whitfield dislodges the football from Nevada quarterback Lawrence Gilbert.

Under-rated!
Whitfield playing well above his OVR,
makes big impact in win over Nevada

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — It doesn't take a gaudy OVR rating to play beastly football in the Mountain West Conference.

Take Air Force outside linebacker David Whitfield, for example.

You would hope that by the time a player is a fifth-year senior that he would have progressed to something higher than 76 OVR, but he was only 56 OVR when he was recruited.

That rating might not help him see the field in the SEC or Big Ten, but he can make things happen in the Mountain West.

Whitfield had six tackles, three for losses, two sacks and forced a fumble in 14th-ranked Air Force's 49-24 rout of Nevada on Sept. 16, 2023.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Whitfield is making an impact, because he had a team-high 19 tackles for losses last season while rated 70 OVR.

"We don't need five-star talent to get things done in this conference," Air Force coach B-Dawg said. "David is a prime example of that. The big schools didn't even give him a look when we recruited him. You sign a guy like that hoping that by his fourth and fifth year in the program he's at the bare minimum a useful player. He's certainly more than just useful."

Nevada (1-2) kept this game interesting until about the midway mark of the second quarter, taking a 10-7 lead on Peter Griffin's only run of the game with 4:14 left in the first half.

The Falcons wrested control of the game quickly after that. After a 5-yard touchdown run by Marion Benjamin, cornerback Mark Monroe intecepted a pass on the first play of the next Nevada drive. That led to a 5-yard touchdown pass on third down from Chad Rice to running back Jared Mann with 2:22 to go in the half.

Air Force broke it open in the third quarter on touchdown passes from Rice to Cameron Everts and Ryan Sampson.

The Wolf Pack picked up two garbage touchdowns against the Falcons' backups in the fourth quarter.

Before the game, B-Dawg moved punter Fabrizio Pinton into the role of placekicker after freshman Kyle Stegall missed a makeable field goal last week. Pinton has 99 KPW and 92 KAC, while Stegall has 83 KPW and 83 KAC. Pinton kicked the final extra point last week and was 7-for-7 on PAT's against Nevada, but didn't get a field goal try because the Falcons were 7-for-7 in the red zone.

"The game doesn't know Pinton is a punter," B-Dawg said. "All it knows is that he has 99 KPW and 92 KAC."

The game was a redemption for freshman Brian Brown, who had four catches for 67 yards and no drops. He had three drops and no catches last week.



Marion Benjamin bowls over Philip Graham on his way to the end zone.

NEVADA WOLF PACK at AIR FORCE FALCONS
Sept. 16, 2023	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2)	3	7	0	14	24
#14 Air Force Falcons (3-0)	7	14	14	14	49

Team Stats Comparison
	NEV	AFA
Total Offense	425	477
Rushing Yards	19-104	41-160
Passing Yards	321	317
First Downs	22	29
Punt Return Yards	0	28
Kick Return Yards	23	16
Total Yards	448	521
Turnovers	2	1
3rd Down Conversion	5-12	10-13
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-3-0	7-7-0
Penalties	0-0	1-15
Possession Time	12:19	23:41

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		NEV	AFA
5:09	(AFA) J. Mann 3 run (F. Pinton kick)	0	7
3:36	(NEV) J. Payne 45 field goal	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		NEV	AFA
7:36	(NEV) P. Griffin 1 run (J. Payne kick)	10	7
4:14	(AFA) M. Benjamin 5 run (F. Pinton kick)	10	14
2:22	(AFA) J. Mann 5 pass from C. Rice (F. Pinton kick)	10	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		NEV	AFA
2:40	(AFA) C. Everts 7 pass from C. Rice (F. Pinton kick)	10	28
:00	(AFA) R. Sampson 10 pass from C. Rice (F. Pinton kick)	10	35
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		NEV	AFA
7:00	(AFA) B. Tremblay 1 run (F. Pinton kick)	10	42
5:43	(NEV) A. Mills 8 pass from L. Gilbert (J. Payne kick)	17	42
1:33	(AFA) M. Benjamin 3 run (F. Pinton kick)	17	49
:28	(NEV) K. James 9 pass from L. Gilbert (J. Payne kick)	24	49

Nevada Wolf Pack PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Lawrence Gilbert 41/50 321 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Austin Bell 9 59 6.5 0 Lawrence Gilbert 9 44 4.8 0 Peter Griffin 1 1 1.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Dwight Young 9 50 5.5 0 Kenneth James 7 82 11.7 1 DeMarcus Brewer 7 62 8.8 0 Austin Bell 6 20 3.3 0 Isaac Bentley 5 30 6.0 0 Peter Griffin 3 41 13.7 0 Matt Sullivan 2 21 10.5 0 Adam Mills 1 8 8.0 1 John Shaw 1 7 7.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Josh Lucas 1 1 Larry Johnson 1 0 Casey Gatewood 0 1 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT Philip Graham 8 1 0 1 Joey Allen 8 2 0 0 Scott Peterson 7 1 0 0 Erik Harris 7 1 0 0 Aaron White 7 1 0 0 Bryan Williams 5 0 0 0 Paul Kidd 5 2 1 0 Chad Harrell 4 0 0 0 Erik Minor 4 0 0 0 Ronnie Allen 4 0 0 0 Matt Washington 4 2 1 0 Casey Peterson 3 0 0 0 Charles Anderson 1 0 0 0 Rob Vinson 1 0 0 0 Eric Hayes 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jeff Payne 1/2 3/3 6 45 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Danny Moss 5 207 41.4 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Quincy Pierce 1 23 23.0 23 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Team 0 0 0.0 0

AIR FORCE FALCONS PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chad Rice 27/35 274 3 1 Ben Brittain 5/5 43 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jared Mann 25 133 5.3 1 Marion Benjamin 8 20 2.5 2 Chad Rice 5 10 2.0 0 Kyle White 1 1 1.0 0 Brad Tremblay 1 0 0.0 1 Ben Brittain 1 -4 -4.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Cameron Everts 9 96 10.6 1 Ryan Sampson 5 50 10.0 1 Jared Mann 5 41 8.2 1 Brian Brown 4 67 16.7 0 J.B. White 2 29 14.5 0 Marcus McConnell 2 12 6.0 0 Brad Tremblay 2 6 3.0 0 Ben Charles 1 12 12.0 0 Jon McMahan 1 5 5.0 0 Marion Benjamin 1 -1 -1.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Tommy Brandt 1 1 Jon McMahan 1 0 Josh Watson 1 0 Nathan Hoffman 1 1 Cole Ridgeway 1 0 DEFENSE TACK TFL SACK INT DeAndre McCollum 7 0 0 0 David Whitfield 6 3 2 0 Nate Wilson 6 2 0 0 Jayden Goodwin 5 1 0 0 Kaiser Cambra-Cho 4 1 0 0 Daniel Andrews 4 0 0 0 Mark Monroe 3 0 0 1 Nick Lindsey 3 0 0 0 Halatoa Tai 2 0 0 0 Kory Williams 2 0 0 0 Josh Green 2 1 1 0 Jason Pratt 2 1 0 0 Kevin Leonard 2 0 0 0 Quinton Sanders 1 0 0 0 Cole Palmer 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Fabrizio Pinton 0/0 7/7 7 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Fabrizio Pinton 3 121 40.3 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Marion Benjamin 1 15 15.0 15 Michael Freeman 1 1 1.0 1 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG LONG Marion Benjamin 2 22 11.0 11 DeAndre McCollum 1 6 6.0 6

[Maize08]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

What a win to start the year! Great to see Sparty go down at home. I'm excited to see what you can do with this freshman QB. He's clearly special and maybe a better passer than you expected.

[bh446066]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Adam Shelby looks like a promising recruit to go after!
Calling your shot, huh? Natty with Rice? Alright.....I'm watching