Air Force's El-Amin contributes without seeing much playing time
Air Force senior guard Saj El-Amin labeled his foray into football this past fall “humbling.” But the experience helped him become a better teammate.
El-Amin, who will suit up for his second-to-last regular season basketball game Tuesday when Air Force plays at Wyoming, had toyed with playing football since his days at the academy prep school. A standout football player in high school, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound El-Amin finally tried out for wide receiver as a senior. He immediately displayed his outstanding athletic ability – but also the rust that had accumulated during his time away from the game.
El-Amin found a spot on the Falcons’ punt team midway through the season and made the traveling squad, but his impact in games was limited. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun called him “tough” and “fiery” and said he would have contributed as a receiver if he had another year.
With playing time scarce during his lone season, however, El-Amin concerned himself with “the greater good of the team.”
“I got the whole mentality out of my head as far as ‘I’m not happy because I’m not playing,’” he said. “Once I got that out of my mind, I learned to make best of every situation. That’s the insight football gave me.”
El-Amin rejoined the basketball team after the Armed Forces Bowl and, like in football, his playing time has been limited. But despite appearing just three games, he’s had “a very positive influence,” Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.
El-Amin has been a valuable practice player because he possesses “the type of athleticism we see in the league, and that’s hard for us to emulate in practice at times,” Reynolds said. And Reynolds said El-Amin has “the E.F. Hutton” quality “of being listened to by the younger kids.”
“My mindset is to come out every day, work as hard as possible in practice and make everyone better,” said El-Amin, who is the first cadet academy officials can remember who has played football and basketball in the same school year. “I just go out and play hard and give advice where I can.”
