College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Army season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Army Schedule Analysis
– Army Black Knights Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 9-3 overall
Head Coach: Jeff Monken, 8th year, 49-39
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 66
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 99
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 89
Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The Army offense was the Army offense. It ran a lot, finished fourth in the nation averaging 273 rushing yards per game, it was third in passing yards per completion, it never hit the 100-yard mark passing, and it seemed to hold on to the ball for forever.
It’s Army, so usually there’s a ton of turnover – but not this year. There’s no super-senior factor happening, but the offense still gets back seven starters and should be every bit as effective, but …
– The offensive line has to replace a few parts. That’s normal for all of the service academies to have a constant turnover and new guys ready to step into roles, but there’s just enough experience around junior C Noah Knapp to to be okay. It’ll get the job done to find the creases for the lightning fast backfield.
Longtime fullback Sandon McCoy is done, but 6-3, 235-pound Cade Barnard is a good blocker who can occasionally bring the thump as a runner. Jakobi Buchanan is a 260-pound blaster who finished second on the team with 474 yards and six scores – he’ll eat up some of the ten touchdowns of McCoy’s lost production. Throw in 255-pound Anthony Adkins, and power won’t be a problem.
Tyrell Robinson is a 5-9, 180-pound speedster who ripped off seven yards per carry, and AJ Howard is a good veteran who needs the ball more. However …
– It’s Army, so the quarterback is going to run and run some more. Tyhier Tyler is a former slotback who led the team with 578 yards with five scores, all coming in the final seven games of the season. Forget about him as a passer – he hit just 2-of-4 throws for 53 yards – but the 5-8, 185-pounder can handle the workload. Senior Christian Anderson is a better passer, but he’s not the speedster that Tyler is.
For what it’s worth, wide receivers Michael Roberts and Reikan Donaldson are back along with tight end Chris Cameron, but the three combined for just 14 catches. RB Tyrell Robinson led the team with 117 receiving yards and two scores.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Army Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Defense
4. Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– Helped by the offense that kept the ball for over 34 minutes to keep everyone on the other side fresh, the Army D was No. 1 in the nation in yards allowed, giving up 275 yards and 27 points per game. There might be several missed starters, but a slew of the top tacklers are back.
– Jon Rhattigan is gone from the linebacking corps, but 240-pound Arik Smith tied for the team lead with 78 stops in the middle and 230-pound Daryan McDonald will work as the main guy on the outside in the team’s Apache position. Malkelm Morrison is only 5-10 and 190 pounds, but he works as an outside linebacker – he came up with 33 tackles.
The defensive front loses 300-pounder Nick Stokes from the nose, but 6-3, 280-pound Nolan Cockrill has size at one tackle and can get behind the line. The D will generate pressure from a variety of spots, but it’s going to miss the ends, primarily Amadeo West. 6-5, 270-pound Ryan Duran can work inside or out, and 6-5, 265-pound Andre Carter will work in a hybrid position.
– Just about everyone is back to a solid secondary, starting with the corner combination of Jamari Moore and Cameron Jones who combined for five picks. Cedrick Cunningham is a good-sized veteran safety who finished third o the team with 70 tackles, and Marquel Broughton came up with 67 – safety will be among the team’s biggest strengths.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Army Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Army Black Knights Offensive Player
RB Tyrell Robinson, Soph.
QB Tyhier Tyler is the one who makes it all go, and three big fullbacks could all be in the mix for the top offensive honor, but Robinson is the dangerous home run hitter.
He’s only 5-9 and 180 pounds, and he’s not going to run over anyone, but he’s a flash whenever he gets the ball in his hands. He averaged seven yards per pop on his 424 yards and caught six passes for 117 yards and two scores. Also a return man, he’s a weapon no matter how he gets the ball.
2. QB Tyhier Tyler, Jr.
3. FB Jakobi Buchanan, Jr.
4. RB Anthony Adkins, Jr.
5. FB Cade Bernard, Sr.
Best Army Black Knights Defensive Player
LB Arik Smith, Sr.
Jon Rhattigan got most of the attention as the team’s all-around statistical superstar linebacker, but the 6-0, 240-pound Smith did a ton of cleaning up on the inside. The two tied for the team lead with 78 tackles, and Smith was able to make a slew of big plays behind the line, too, with 3.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss. He also came up with a pick.
2. S Cedrick Cunningham, Sr.
3. CB Jabari Moore, Jr.
4. S Marquel Broughton, Jr.
5. LB Malkelm Morison, Sr.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Army Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Army Black Knights Biggest Key: Offense
Nitpicking time for a team that finished fourth in the nation in rushing, but … come up with a few more big plays on the ground.
Tearing off huge runs isn’t necessarily a key part of the overall plan. Grinding out long drives, owning third downs, and milking the clock works better for the defense and the style the team needs to do to win. However, a few more long rips wouldn’t hurt.
The 4.58 yards per carry were hardly bad, but they were the fewest since 2010 when the Knights averaged just under 4.5 yards per pop. There’s too much speed in the backfield to not do a wee bit more.
Army Black Knights Biggest Key: Defense
Third down stops. It isn’t all that hard in the overall formula for Army. Again, the offense has to crank out the clock, the defense has to get off the field as soon as possible, and the team always, always, always has to have control of the tempo.
So it’s hardly a stunner that there’s usually a problem when the Knight D can’t get enough third down stops.
It was good for the most part throughout last season, but it allowed West Virginia to connect on 50% of its third down tries, Tulane hit 46% of its chances, and Cincinnati worked at a 44% clip – those were the three losses.
Army was 6-0 when teams made 40% or fewer of their third down tries and is 20-1 in the last 21 games when doing that.
Army Black Knights Key Player To A Successful Season
DT Nolan Cockrill, Sr.
He’s not going to be an anchor on the nose, and it’s going to take a bit to find the right rotation to replace the big bodies on the inside, but the 6-3, 280-pound Cockrill has the experience, the size, and the production to be a leader on a front with several new parts.
Army Black Knights Key Game To The 2021 Season
Air Force, Nov. 6 (in Arlington)
The date at Wisconsin will be a big one for national respect, going to Liberty will be fun, and that game against Navy might get a little bit of attention, but the date with Air Force should be a turning point of some sort.
It’s possible the Knights can pull off the shocker against the Badgers or a week later against Wake Forest, but the Air Force game comes right after that.
Army won 10-7 last year and three of the last four in the series.
2020 Army Black Knights Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Army 100 – Opponents 41
– Red Zone Scores: Army 90% – Opponents 65%
– Time of Possession: Army 34:08 – Opponents 25:45
NEXT: Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Army Black Knights College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Jeff Monken has built up Army to create a terrific system that keeps on working.
It took a few years to get up to speed, but now he’s on a run of four winning seasons and four bowl appearance in five seasons, and best of all, he’s starting to get more and more players who fit. The stability should be there for a while.
Army almost always had to go with undersized players and work in a rotation to keep everyone fresh and productive, but now there’s real size on the lines. No, there aren’t a slew of Alabama-level 325-pound space-eaters, but it’s not like they’re lining up 245-pound try-hard defensive tackles, either.
The formula is set. Quick guys in the backfield to go along with sledgehammer fullbacks behind big linemen who can move. That’s the offense, run, repeat. The other side’s job isn’t to get behind the line and be disruptive; it’s to simply get off the field and not give up a whole ton of big plays.
Toughness is obviously never a problem with this program, and it certainly doesn’t get intimidated against the big guys on the slate. But even with everything in place to be one of Monken’s best teams yet, this year won’t be a breeze.
Set The Army Black Knights Regular Season Win Total At … 8
He’s got the guys in place to not only build off of last year’s nine-win campaign, but be even better. The question is whether or not that’s enough to get past a slew of dangerous teams that also like to control the clock and the tempo.
Yeah, Army pushed West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl, and it held its own against Cincinnati, but it also lost those two games along with the road trip to Tulane. The 10-7 win over Air Force and the phenomenal 28-27 battle with Georgia Southern were the two best wins, and they were at home.
Army will be away from Michie for a dangerous opener at Georgia State. It has to go away to deal with defending MAC champion Ball State, Wisconsin, Air Force, Liberty, and Navy. None of those are layups.
Home dates against Wake Forest and WKU won’t be pushovers, either.
But there are a slew of winnable games, and again, Monken has a team in place to hold up in the tougher ones.
Beat Navy and Air Force, win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy again, come up with another winning season, go to a bowl game, win it – unlike last year – and have a whole lot of fun doing it the Army way.
Monken has the machine in motion to do that.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Army Schedule Analysis
