Return to Pointer View home page August 26,  2005

Black Knights' offense looks to improve on 2004 

Story and photos by Eric S. Bartelt
Assistant Editor 

Year two of the Bobby Ross era at Army begins Sept. 10 at Boston College and to improve upon a 2-9 record from a year ago the offense must rely heavily on an unproven group of offensive linemen.

Last year’s senior laden offensive line helped propel senior running back Carlton Jones to 1,269 yards rushing and a school-record 17 touchdown runs.

This year’s Black Knights’ squad has only one returning starter, senior center Pete Bier, and he is making a big transition by moving from guard to center. However, Bier believes there won’t be a drop off in his or the line’s play.

“I’m extremely confident, especially with the guys we have around me along the line,” Bier said. “Knowing (our) abilities, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be fine and we’ll be able to kick any line that is put in front of us.”

Bier is excited about the added responsibilities of being “quarterback” of the line as the new center; however, it’s a responsibility he did have in high school.

“I’m looking forward to (playing center) because a little extra pressure doesn’t hurt anything, in fact, it will probably keep me a

 little sharper on my game,” Bier said. “It’s been a smooth transition, but there’s still a lot more work that I need to get done.

“It’s a little different playing center in college (than in high school) because there’s a lot more calls that I have to make,” Bier added.

Junior offensive tackle Jonathan Connon is the only other linemen that saw field action previously and Ross recognizes the line is behind where it was at this time in last year’s training camp.

“We’re very young and inexperienced, but I think it’ll be a line that grows and gets better,” Ross said. “(The line) has potential. We’ve just got to continue to work hard on the things that we need to get better at.”

Two players whose successes are contingent on the strong play of the line are Jones and senior quarterback Zac Dahman, and they both see early promise in the new group of blockers.

“I feel comfortable with them in front of me and we still have a couple of weeks before the first game,” Jones said.

Dahman, who passed for nine touchdowns last year, added, “They’re doing a great job, but as an offense we still have to improve on some of our techniques and polish up our plays…but (the line) has gotten a lot better since they started spring ball.”

Dahman has been the starter at quarterback for most of the last three years and his experience has a calming affect on the line.

“He understands the offense really well and as a center I try to understand it almost as well as he does,” Bier explained. “Trying to understand (my center responsibilities) is pretty new to me, but (Dahman’s) confidence and ability is a great booster in my mind.”

Dahman has spent the last three years fending off the often-injured Reggie Nevels for the starting job, but now the job is solidly his going into the season.

The departure of Chase Laws helped established Dahman’s reign at the position, and Ross has expressed his pleasure with Dahman and the other quarterbacks during training camp.

“I’ve been very pleased with Zac. He’s had a very good camp,” Ross said. “He’s making great decisions. He’s given us a chance at a good play every time we go to the line of scrimmage.

“His timing is good, his awareness is very good and he’s had a good camp as have the other quarterbacks,” Ross added. “(Sophomore) David Pevoto has developed and (senior) Connor Crehan has done a very good job in the number three spot -- (Crehan’s) probably throwing the ball better than he’s ever thrown it.”

Pevoto has taken his promotion to number two in stride and is focused on the job at hand.

“I’m getting a little more reps than I did before, but (having Laws out of the equation) doesn’t change my mindset at all,” Pevoto said. “Every day I come out here the same way, I come out here ready to play.

“I try to come out as focused as I can and leave everything such as schoolwork, friends or whatever in the locker room and come out here and just play football,” Pevoto added.

The offense will have to replace the talents of graduated wide receiver Aaron Alexander and transfer fullback Tielor Robinson. Jones, who was complemented by Robinson in the backfield last year, sees sophomore fullback Mike Viti as a strong replacement to Robinson.

“He’s a man-child out there, he works out hard and he’s a great blocker and receiver,” Jones said. “We’re going to miss Tielor’s (talents), but Mike’s going to do better than what Tielor did because he works harder and is more determined…the fullback position is going to be a plus for us.”

The wide receiver position, even with the loss of Alexander, has a solid bunch of players starting with senior Jacob Murphy and sophomore Jeremy Trimble. It’s probably the deepest, most talented position on the team and the team may go deep periodically against opposing defenses.

“We like to do the short-passing game and run the ball, but I believe I have more of a speed advantage over Aaron,” Murphy said. “I think we’ll air it out once in a while (to keep defenses honest).”

Injuries have plagued the receiver position, especially last year with Alexander (shoulder), junior Bruce Brown (knee) and Murphy (collar bone/shoulder) all missing time due to their pains.

Murphy is coming back from a broken collar bone and had surgery two months ago to relieve the problem in his shoulder and collar bone area.

“It feels great right now. I still can’t bench as much as I would like too on my right shoulder, but it’s coming along pretty well,” Murphy said.

As the season approaches, Murphy highly anticipates great things ahead for the offense and the team as a whole and the first goal is to beat Boston College.

“I just can’t wait. It’s right there -- I can almost taste it,” Murphy said. “I’m just ready to play.”