Army 2012 Recruiting

Army Black Knights 2012 ... Head Coach: Rich Ellerson

Army Black Knights

2011 Record: 3-7

Sep. 3 at Northern Illinois L 49-26
Sep. 10 San Diego State L 23-20
Sep. 17 Northwestern W 21-14
Sep. 24 at Ball State L 48-21
Oct. 1 Tulane W 45-6
Oct. 8 at Miami Univ. L 35-28
Oct. 15 OPEN DATE
Oct. 22 at Vanderbilt L 44-21
Oct. 29 Fordham W 55-0
Nov. 5 at Air Force L 24-14
Nov. 12 Rutgers (in NYC) L 27-12
Nov. 19 at Temple
Nov. 26 OPEN DATE
Dec. 3 OPEN DATE
Dec. 10 Navy (in Landover)

2010 CFN Prediction: 5-7
2010 Record: 6-6

Sept. 4 at Eastern Mich W 31-27
Sept. 11 Hawaii L 31-28
Sept. 18 North Texas W 24-0
Sept. 25 at Duke W 35-21
Oct. 2 Temple L 42-35
Oct. 9 at Tulane W 41-23
Oct. 16 at Rutgers L 23-20 OT
Oct. 23 OPEN DATE
Oct. 30 VMI W 29-7
Nov. 6 Air Force L 42-22
Nov. 13 at Kent St W 45-28
Nov. 20 No. Dame (in NYC) L 27-3
Nov. 27 OPEN DATE
Dec. 4 OPEN DATE
Dec. 11 Navy (in Phil.) L 31-17
ARMED FORCES BOWL
Dec. 30 SMU W 16-14
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class 

Top 5 Army Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Tevin Long
5-10, 172, Scout.com two-star quarterback.

2. S Gervon Simon
5-11, 175, Scout.com 192nd ranked, two-star safety.

3. RB Jevon Elmore
5-10, 170, Scout.com two-star running back.

4. RB Jay Roberson
6-2, 200, Scout.com two-star running back.

5. DT Todd Blatnik
6-2, 282, Scout.com two-star defensive tackle.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Is head coach Rich Ellerson doing anything to help the woeful passing game? He’s getting a few receiver prospects, but the class will mostly revolve around a defense that needs bigger and better bodies up front. Defensive tackle will be a big key to the class, while the secondary get an influx of prospects with the idea to become faster and more athletic in the back seven as soon as possible.

Team Concerns For 2012: More of a passing game is a must, but that’s going to be a problem with starting receivers Austin Barr and Davyd Brooks done. The backfield is loaded and the line is strong in the interior, but tackles Robert Kava and Mike McDermott are gone. The defense gets nine starters back, but hitting machine Steven Erzinger is gone from the secondary.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: This should be the year Rich Ellerson’s program takes a huge step forward. The Knights beat just one FBS team over the final two months of the season, but they have enough talent back to get back to a 2010 level and go bowling. QB Trent Steelman has to stay healthy to lead the nation’s leading rushing attack, and all the parts are back including bruising FB Jared Hassin. The line loses both tackles, but the interior returns intact. The passing game was the worst in America, but it’ll still hurt to lose receivers Austin Barr and Davyd Brooks. The defense only loses two starters – end Andrew Rodriguez and big-hitting rover Steve Enzinger. Geoffrey Bacon and Nate Combs are built like safeties, but they have to do more at linebacker, while 260-poundtackle A.J. Mackey represents the bulk up front.

Nov. 12 Rutgers 27 … Army 12
CFN Analysis: Aaron Santiago did a decent job, but the offense isn’t the same without an injured Trent Steelman. Santiago completed 6-of-15 passes for 77 yards, but he had to work hard against the Rutgers defense with 72 yards on 30 carries. … Larry Dixon ran nine times for 93 yards and a score, pulling the team within won in the fourth, but Alex Carlton missed the extra point and that was it. … The defense did a strong job against the Rutgers ground game. The defensive front that struggled at times got into the backfield and held firm until the final moments. Army had its chances to win, but it didn’t take advantage of its opportunities. Now the Knights are guaranteed of a losing season. … With Temple and Navy to close, the run defense will get hammered hard, so Santiago and the Army attack has to control the clock for over 35 minutes like it did against Rutgers. 

Nov. 5 at Air Force 24 … Army 14

Oct. 29 at Army 55 … Fordham 0  

Oct. 22 at Vanderbilt 44 … Army 21
CFN Analysis: Army will never win when it gets outgained on the ground. The Knights were beaten up by the Vanderbilt offensive line and they lost control from the start, only holding on to the ball for 25:45 and failing to hang on to the ball with too many missed third down conversions and three fumbles. The passing game wasn’t even a thought completing 1-of-6 throws among three players, and the 270 yards on the ground weren’t nearly enough. Punter Chris Boldt had a terrific day, and Geoffrey Bacon was all over the field making 13 tackles with a tackle for loss and a 70-yard pick six, but it was still a blowout loss. Fordham is up next to get back on track, but unless the ground game starts rolling again, it’ll be tough to win three of the final four games to get to a bowl. 

Oct. 8 at Miami University 35 … Army 28
CFN Analysis: Finally, Don Treadwell got his first win as the RedHawk head coach, and with a bad Kent State team up next and with Buffalo and Akron coming up soon, there’s a chance to throw the poor start to the season in the trash and go on a nice run. Zac Dysert was brilliant, and he had to be with the defense having problems getting off the field. Army’s passing game was fantastic – Army doesn’t have a passing game – but MU was able to take advantage of the mistakes and rally for a big comeback after getting down 28-14 in the third. Finally, the punting game wasn’t a disaster, with Zac Murphy averaging 43 yards per boot, but it remains a huge concern.  

Oct. 1 at Army 45 … Tulane 6
CFN Analysis: After clunking against Ball State, Army needed to turn things around in a big hurry to get back into the bowl hunt. The Knights couldn’t have come up with a stronger performance with one of its best defensive games so far after struggling so much in the first month. Trent Steelman connected on all three of his passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, and the ground game pounded out a game-controlling 353 yards and five scores. Now it’s about consistency with three road games in the next four with a date at Miami University up next. A loss could mean big trouble with Vanderbilt and Air Force coming up soon. 
 
Sept. 24 at Ball State 48 … Army 21
CFN Analysis: Army ran for 402 yards and the combination of Jared Hassin and Raymond Maples was fantastic, but the great play of the ground game was negated by a defense that couldn’t come up with a stop and couldn’t get off the field. Army didn’t lose because of the passing game, but Trent Steelman and Max Jenkins combining to miss on all four pass attempts with a pick is unacceptable. Now at 1-3, it’s freak out time needing to win five of the final eight games to get to a bowl, and that’s hardly a given with five road games left to deal with. This was the game the Knights needed to have, and they didn’t get it.  

Sept. 17 at Army 21 … Northwestern 14
CFN Analysis: The Army running game was nearly perfect and the Knights finally have something to show for all the production so far. The passing game was miserable, with Trent Steelman completing just one of seven passes for six yards, but it didn’t matter since the ground game held on to the ball for over 40 minutes. Steve Erzinger continues to be the star and the playmaker for the improving defense making eight tackles with a sack to keep the Wildcat running game under wraps. Now it’s time to go on a run with Ball State and Tulane up next.

Sept. 10 San Diego State 23 … Army 20
CFN Analysis: Trent Steelman is running the Army attack to near perfection, rolling against the Aztecs for 403 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, accounting for 157 yards and three touchdowns on his own. Not enough long drives turned into points, and while the Knights held on to the ball for over 42 minutes and converted third down play after third down play, it wasn’t nearly enough. The offense tried to play catch-up after getting down 14-0 early, and while the defense did a decent job over the final three quarters, the offense couldn’t come through in the final moments. Now it’s time to worry with Northwestern up next, and while 0-3 would be daunting, the schedule eases up. The turnover margin has to be better, and it would be nice if Steelman could connect on a pass once in a while. 

Sept. 3 at Northern Illinois 49 … Army 26
CFN Analysis: The NIU running game was business as usual with Jasmin Hopkins taking over the job left by Chad Spann and running for 138 yards on 14 carries. As good as the ground game was, this was the Chandler Harnish show completing 12-of-19 passes for 195 yards and five scores with a pick, while running 11 times for 80 yards and a score. The passing production was spread around with five different players catching touchdown passes. The run defense struggled against the great Army ground game, but the Huskies got up so big so fast that it didn’t matter. If Harnish can stay this good, and if the offense can roll like this against a good team like Army, who should end up in a bowl, then Kansas is in big trouble next week.

Army got the ground game moving with 303 yards and three touchdowns, and Steve Erzinger was in on seemingly every play with 21 tackles, but there were too many errors – turning it over three times, and too many problems in the secondary to keep up with NIU. The Knight ground game needs to control the clock and needs to control the action, it wasn’t able to do that early, and the results were ugly in the first half. The defense is going to be an issue all season long against the better passing teams, and next week’s comes a date with Ryan Lindley and San Diego State. Army has to control things from the start, or it’ll have to try to play catch-up again; this isn’t a team that can play catch-up. 

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Quarterbacks. Head coach Rich Ellerson is looking to upgrade the overall speed and talent level of the team across the board, so he brought in a bazillion quarterbacks and running backs to bring into the mix to move around into other spots. Of course many of these players will end up in the secondary or at receiver, but six quarterbacks and ten running backs were recruited, and in the strength-in-numbers situation, the hope will be that some stars emerge early on.

Five Army Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. OG David Evans
6-3, 270, Scout.com’s 100th ranked guard.

2. OG Bill Allen
6-1, 270, Scout.com’s 112th ranked guard.

3. DT Tala Atimalala
6-0, 265, Scout.com’s 119th ranked defensive tackle.

4. CB Duran Workman
6-1, 195, Scout.com’s 129th ranked cornerback. Had 53 tackles, including 6 1/2 for losses, and four interceptions last year.

5. CB Shaquille Tolbert
5-10, 167, Scout.com’s 180th ranked cornerback.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

QB Gino DeBartolo (Bradford HS) Kenosha, WI 6-2/205
QB Collin Downs (Camden Hills Regional H S) Rockport, ME 6-2/187
QB Addison Holstein (Lecanto HS) Lecanto, FL 6-2/185
QB Jonathan Lehman (East HS) Brookfield, WI 6-2/190
QB A.J. Schurr (Libertyville HS) Libertyville, IL 6-1/185
QB Kelvin White (East Pennsboro Area SHS) Enola, PA 6-3/212
RB Deandre Bell (Waller HS) Waller, TX 5-9/175
RB Miles Bennett (Jesuit HS) Tampa, FL 5-11/185
RB Tony Giovannelli (Glenwood HS) Chatham, IL 6-0/185
RB Ja'Quail Haskins (Killeen HS) Killeen, TX 5-8/170
RB Ross McDonald (Avon HS) Avon, CT 6-3/205
RB Logan Pearce (North Royalton HS) North Royalton, OH 6-1/195
RB Marcus Poling (Idaho Falls Senior HS) Idaho Falls, ID 6-0/185
RB Greg Rabb (University School Of Nova Sout) Fort Lauderdale, FL 6-0/217
RB Dwayne Randall (Linganore HS) Frederick, MD 6-1/205
RB Jared Rogers (Episcopal HS) Baton Rouge, LA 5-9/170
TE Justin Newman (Mountain View HS) Mesa, AZ 6-3/200
OL Brent Stout (Menomonie HS) Menomonie, WI 6-2/215
OG David Evans (Sauquoit Valley SHS) Sauquoit, NY 6-3/270
OG Bill Allen (Garden City HS) Garden City, NY 6-1/270
OG Nick Bennett (Eastern HS) Middletown, KY 6-2/276
OG Matt Hugenberg (Quincy Notre Dame HS) Quincy, IL 6-5/295
DT Tala Atimalala (Desert Pines HS) Las Vegas, NV 6-0/265
DE Dalton Mendenhall (Gov John Rogers HS) Puyallup, WA 6-3/230
DE Jalen Rosales (Berkeley HS) Berkeley, CA 6-3/235
DE Derek Sanchez (Bishop Manogue HS) Reno, NV 6-3/215
OLB James Kelly (Mountain Range HS) Westminster, CO 6-4/210
OLB Matt Giachinta (Paramus Catholic HS) Paramus, NJ 6-1/210
OLB Alex Meier (Anoka Sr.) Anoka, MN 6-2/200
OLB Dan Muenzer (Elgin HS) Elgin, IL 6-0/195/
MLB Jake Peterson (Northgate HS) Newnan, GA 6-2/225
S Kendal Frederick (R Nelson Snider HS) Fort Wayne, IN 6-0/180
S Matt Semelsberger (Urbana HS) Ijamsville, MD 6-2/205
CB Duran Workman (Geo Washington HS) Charleston, WV 6-1/195
CB Shaquille Tolbert (Russell County HS) Phenix City, AL 5-10.5/167