Army West Point Athletics
Army Defense Looking To Make Plays
August 10, 2007 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. John Mumford has been coaching college football for 28 years, the last eight of them at West Point with the Army football team. So when he raves about the team speed and size of his defense, it’s easy to take notice.
Mumford, the Black Knights’ defense coordinator has been very pleased with his unit through eight days of preseason practice.
Twenty-two of Army’s 42 returning letterwinners are on defense and Mumford, as well as head coach Stan Brock, are counting on the experienced group.
“They are the face of our team right now, they are the veterans,” said Brock. “I think they are pretty proud of the fact we are leaning so heavily on them.”
Brock and his staff concluded their second two-a-day practice of preseason camp Friday and utilized the spacious Foley Athletic Center to do so. With rain falling most of the day, the team was in full pads in the morning session and concluded the evening in shoulder pads and helmets.
The team will run through “scrimmage-like conditions” Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m., inside Foley, the 77,000 square foot indoor facility that recently opened.
Friday was another opportunity for Mumford to run the defense through a variety of drills, focusing on the fundamentals and the intricacies of the playbook.
“We’re as good looking physically as we have since I’ve been here,” said Mumford. “We have really pretty good speed at all positions. I like the work ethic, their hustle is outstanding. We’re not quite hitting on all cylinders like I want us to be. And also, our running backs are giving us fits. We can’t get a clean shot on anyone and that’s a credit to the offense. They are pretty elusive and we are doing a lot of reaching on our tackles and that has got to get better. So far, we have almost all of our package in. For the veterans, they have done a good job of retention and our young guys seem to pick it up very well.”
Free safety Jordan Murray is among the six returning starters on defense and cited the need to force more turnovers as one of the keys to success.
“We’re all trying to make plays,” Murray said. “We want to be the best defense in the nation. We have the personnel to do that and guys have a winning attitude. We want to go out and play the next play. I think a big key of what we are focusing on is forcing turnovers as a defense and reducing them on offensive. Things like that will go a long way. We need to go out and make plays and have fun.”
Munford also praised the team speed as well as the example set by the returning players.
“Our unit speed is as good as it’s even been and I’m excited about that,” said Mumford. “We have good leaders in Caleb (Campbell) and Tony Fusco and Brandon Thompson is kind of a quite leader. They have good chemistry and they are a pretty tenacious group. I know they will hit people, we just have to improve.”
Sights and Sounds of Summer
Head coach Stan Brock serving as a defensive back during passing drills ... the outside linebackers doing push ups for not intercepting passes during a drill ... FB Colin Mooney making a diving catch to keep the backs from doing push ups ... QB David Pevoto connecting with Jeremy Trimble for a big gain off a screen pass ... QB Carson Williams calling an audible at the line of scrimmage and watching Justin Turner pick up big yards ... Mooney doing a nice job to stay in bounds off a Pevoto pass ... Trimble on the receiving end of a 30-yard scoring pass from Pevoto ... the defense forcing Williams and Pevoto to scramble when no one was open ... DB Sean Westphal breaking up a potential touchdown pass ... OT Mike Lemming helping spring RB Justin Turner for a big gain with a nice block ... DB Dennis Cooper returning an interception at least 60 yards to the end zone ... DE Ted Bentler intercepting a pass much to the delight of his teammates in white shirts.
Head Coach Stan Brock
“This morning we came out and got after it really well and this afternoon had a really concentrated effort and I am really happy with that. And we’re going to have a pretty good scrimmage tomorrow. This afternoon we came out in just helmets and soft pads. They understand, they know what is going on. Just because we take the pads off doesn’t mean you have a day off. Actually, the concentration goes up.”
Senior FS Jordan Murray
“Practices have gone really well. We have pretty much everything installed everybody feels real comfortable, going out there flying around and having fun. Today was a real good day, especially coming out in air pads. Even though the pads weren’t on, everyone came out focused.”
Defensive Coordinator John Mumford
“We’re getting a little better on our pass rush which we need to. With so few sacks last year, we got to get more out of the four-man rush. We are working hard on getting up field and getting in the quarterbacks’ face. On the run, we are kind of hit and miss. We’re not playing through blocks like I would like us to. I would like us to play through blocks, not run around them. We need to get more physical. It’s a talented group. They will be ready to go come Akron.”
(ref: standouts from camp)
“Probably the defensive lineman who jumps out is John Wright, in the running game and passing game. He has worked like a madman and had an outstanding camp.”
The Black Knights open their 118th season of intercollegiate competition on Sept. 1, when they battle Akron in the FirstMerit Patriot Bowl in Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets to all Army contests are currently on sale at the Army Ticket Office, via the telephone at 1-877 TIX-ARMY or online at www.goARMYsports.com.
