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Air of excitement to up-tempo style

Falcons relish Calhoun's changes after recent struggles

Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 12, 2007 at midnight

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AIR FORCE ACADEMY - Players still wear helmets with the distinctive lightning bolt on the side. But in many other ways, Air Force football hasn't been the same this spring.

• Fisher DeBerry is out as Falcons coach, Troy Calhoun is in.

• An aggressive 3-4 defensive alignment has replaced the old 4-3.

• The triple-option offense that helped DeBerry win 169 games in 23 seasons has been scrapped, replaced by what Calhoun calls a multiset, I formation.

• And, yes, as the final spring scrimmage approaches Saturday, AFA quarterbacks are taking snaps from the shotgun.

"I love it, are you kidding me?" senior quarterback Shaun Carney said.

"We'll be running some option out of the 'gun, too. It's kind of another wrinkle."

There's an air of excitement during spring drills as players adapt to the up-tempo practices and the new offensive and defensive schemes.

"We seem to be playing fast on both sides of the ball," senior defensive end Josh Clayton said. "It feels busy out there."

That's by design.

"We installed everything in the first three days," Calhoun said. "They have a little bit of an onslaught right now and then we'll refine. The execution should get better and better as we go.

"It's spring ball. We want to find out a little bit about the guys who we think are going to be our two-deep guys. We just have to make sure we play a lot of football and not get too fancy with anything we are doing. We just want to find out fundamentally the guys who can go out and perform on a consistent basis."

Calhoun, a 1989 Air Force Academy graduate and four-year quarterback under DeBerry, knows about life as a cadet.

He started his coaching career at Air Force as a graduate assistant, recruiting coordinator and junior varsity offensive coordinator before moving on to coaching jobs at Ohio University, Wake Forest, the Broncos and the Houston Texans.

Calhoun already has put his stamp on the program.

The pace of practices has been quicker and Calhoun hasn't pampered players with his honesty.

"I think coach Calhoun has set the tempo as far as being even-keeled and evaluating as they go," defensive line coach Ron Burton said.

"The kids are picking up on those things. He's drawing your attention by being as even-keeled as possible, and the kids see that."

And, those lengthy post-practice lectures from DeBerry are a thing of the past.

"They just want to be coached," Calhoun said.

"They want clear direction that's going to help them as players. They want to be led. That means being honest. Sometimes the honesty part might bite a little bit.

"They want it tough. They want to be challenged, yet they want to be sure they are given every opportunity to succeed. They are competitors."

Amid all the changes, Calhoun has a simple No. 1 goal this spring: find the playmakers who can help the Falcons rebound next fall after three consecutive losing seasons.

"I want to find guys that can make things happen," he said. "I just want to play ball and find the guys who are ballplayers."

And with the new approach, senior cornerback Carson Bird said, players will get plenty of opportunities to show what they can do.

"With the pressure that we are bringing and the way they are letting us play a lot more aggressive, it will give us the opportunities to make plays, you know, big sacks, forced fumbles, forced bad throws," Bird said.

The Falcons have gone 13-21 the past three seasons and have only 10 starters (but 50 lettermen) returning from last season's 4-8 team.

"We've got a ton of work to do," Calhoun said.

"We've got a ways to go - and that's the way we approach each day."

Sneak preview

Want to check out the changes in Air Force football?

• What: Team scrimmage will be held as part of a regular practice to close spring drills.

• Where: Falcon Stadium (access through Gate 2A only).

• When: 1 p.m. Saturday.

• Admission: Free.

• Restrictions: No still or video cameras will be allowed inside the stadium for the practice.

Five spring goals

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun lists five objectives he hopes to accomplish before spring practice concludes Saturday.

1 Teach the system on both sides of the ball.

2 Find the guys who can make plays in the open field.

3 Emphasize the importance of turnover margin. On offense, hold onto the ball; on defense,

pry it loose.

4 Drastically improve the kicking game.

5 Dependability. That means durability and consistency in performance.

What the players are saying

Change is in the air this spring at Air Force, where Troy Calhoun has taken over as football coach and has put his stamp on the program. A sampling of player comments.

On switching from the triple-option offense to multiset formations

• "It's going to put the defense in some knots. We still have a little of our old option offense, but we've got a lot of other stuff where we are putting people in open space and seeing what they can do with it." - Chad Hall, senior tailback

• "We're really looking forward to what it might produce. We're going to keep defenses guessing a little more. We're going to make teams work that much harder to stop us." - Mark Root, senior wide receiver

On using a 3-4 defense that will take a more aggressive approach

• "Our base defense has someone coming all the time. This defense allows us to fly around and be more aggressive." - Drew Fowler, senior linebacker

• "We're always bringing more people now. We're trying to put a lot more pressure on the quarterback. It makes playing a lot more fun, just going out there and getting after people. " - Julian Madrid, senior linebacker

• "I really like what we are doing. I'm excited about it. It seems like we're going to be real aggressive." - Josh Clayton, senior defensive end

On up-tempo practices

• "Everybody is getting a lot more reps. Once you hit the grass and the first period starts, it's nonstop." - Fowler

• "There's a little less standing around and a lot more action and a lot more opportunities to make plays for us as receivers. If you do make a mistake, you know you are going the next play and have another opportunity to make a play." - Root

On Calhoun's demeanor

• "It feels like a good learning environment right now. One of the things we've all noticed is how direct and to the point coach Calhoun is." - Madrid

• "With coach Calhoun, there's a lot less talk and a lot more action. He's so energetic on the field. He's all over the place." - Carson Bird, senior cornerback

• "The coaches are a little more intense. I think you've got to be when everybody is trying to learn. They are trying to make sure that everybody is on the same page and getting us all coached up right now." - Shaun Carney, senior quarterback

On whether the new offensive and defensive philosophies will make the Falcons more fun to watch:

• "It's going to be an exciting time for us and for the fans. It's going to be something different than fans have seen in the past. We're trying to make things a little more exciting and fast paced. The fire and intensity the guys on the team have is going to be something you haven't seen around here in a few years." - Clayton

• "I don't mean to down our team the last couple years, but I've got to speak the truth when I say our games weren't fun to watch. From what I've seen of the offense so far, it's 50-50 pass and run, which fans want to see and what the defense wants to see. As far as defense goes, we're going to be flying around." - Bird

In his own words

Troy Calhoun, a 1989 Air Force Academy graduate, is the first graduate to become head coach of the Falcons. He talked about what it means to return to the academy.

"Every day you soak it in a little bit deeper. You make sure your sleeves are rolled up so you can go to work. It's an incredible place. It's amazing the kind of influence it has on a young person. That never stops - how much you love this place. This place just has a phenomenal impact on a person's life. The place just drips with integrity and character. To be around the phenomenal leadership that is here, it's why you come back and coach at the Air Force Academy."

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