Army is progressing, right where coach Jeff Monken expected after two weeks

WEST POINT – With the season opener looming, Army football coach Jeff Monken believes his team is right where he expected it to be after two weeks of preseason camp and has no major concerns other than cleaning up some plays and keeping people healthy.

“I’d love for us to be ready to play a game this afternoon, but that's just not realistic,’’ Monken said. The season opener is Sept. 4 at Georgia State. “But I think we're moving along and we're improving.’’

The Black Knights conducted their second scrimmage Saturday under warm, sunny conditions before about 50 spectators at Michie Stadium.

“I guess there (were) a lot of mistakes today, a lot of things that need to get corrected and I'm confident that we will get them corrected,’’ Monken said. “But I think we're headed in the right direction, at least in terms of being prepared.’’

The coaches went a little shorter with their quarterback lineup, sat or limited time of a few key contributors – like slot back Tyrell Robinson – and kept tackling to a minimum for the veterans.

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The first and second teams faced off in some situational play – hurry-up and end-of-half situations – at the outset.  Then the first-team defense went about 25 snaps against the scout team offense, and then the inexperienced players took full measure of one another.

“I thought that was that was good work for them,’’ Monken said of the lead defenders. “We were in pads three times this week so they've gotten a good amount of opportunities to kind of bang into those guys and play blocks and tackle and do all the things that you want to in pads.’’

“With the (first) game only two weeks away, we know our assignments,’’ said senior cornerback Julian McDuffie. “Now it’s just getting technique and playing fast. We were a little sloppy, missing tackles (but we’ll) get everything cleaned up.’’

Quarterback Christian Anderson had a good scrimmage, completing a couple throws and rushing for a score. Jabari Laws saw action at the start and finish of the 2-hour, 45-minute scrimmage. Tyhier Tyler ran for a score. A couple freshmen saw snaps later.

“Everybody was locked in from the beginning,’’ Anderson said. “I think we all did collectively a pretty good job when I was in.’’

Cade Ballard and Maurice Bellan did not see action. “I just wanted to get those other guys the work,’’ Monken said.

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Monken said the coaching staff “has a pretty good idea of who the starters are going to be,’’ and said there are some positions “where there’s some good healthy competition.’’ He has previously stated there will be rotations at quarterback and B-back (fullback), utilizing unique skillsets in each player and reducing their physical toll. “I’m glad we’ve got some depth at those two positions because they run the ball a lot,’’ he said. He expects the offensive line and the front two lines of defense to be more static but anticipates using more personnel groups in the secondary depending on the situation.

“We'll just see how the next week goes,’’ Monken said. “I think we'll have a pretty good idea by the time we get to next weekend.’’

Spencer Jones has an inside track to play inside linebacker alongside Arik Smith. Burton is coming along, and sophomores Leo Lowin and Hamilton Baker are in consideration after moving from safety.

Senior punter Zach Harding looked very strong and freshman Matthew Rhodes also looked good. “He has a promising future,’’ Monken said of the latter. Kickers Quinn Maretzki, Cole Talley and freshman Trey Gronotte each had good kickoffs into the end zone.

Monken cited three freshmen who have impressed during camp and put themselves in line for some action early this season. Running back Laquan Veney reminds Monken of Braheam Murphy for his athleticism and similar nature of play. Linebacker Brian Burton comes out of the prep school and has shown himself well. Safety Max DiDomenico played high school quarterback last year, and has moved up the depth chart in the secondary and proved himself well on special teams.

Over the last week, Monken said the coaches have nearly completed installing all of playbook, save for some situational plays.

Army has one more scrimmage during the preseason, but the date hasn’t been set as of yet.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR