Change of command pays off for Army football program

A coaching legend retires from a service academy and is succeeded by one of his former players — a younger coach, who immediately injects energy into the struggling but once-proud program.

Sound familiar?

It should. And it doesn’t only describe what has happened at Air Force, where Troy Calhoun has stepped into Fisher DeBerry’s shoes. It also serves as a synopsis of what has happened at Army in the past nine or so months.

The Black Knights, who will play Air Force at Falcon Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, are under the direction of Stan Brock. A Colorado graduate, Brock played the last three of his 16 years in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers and Bobby Ross, the man he replaced at Army.

While Army hasn’t had the immediate on-field success Air Force has enjoyed under Calhoun — the Black Knights are 3-5, and Air Force is 6-3 — players said Brock has changed the climate at West Point.

“It was great to have coach Ross. He was a great, legendary coach,” said senior defensive end Brandon Thompson. “But coach Brock comes in there, and we could just feel the energy coming out of him.”

Thompson said Brock changed the attitude of the team and “made football more fun.” In spring practices and during preseason camp, Brock would set up competitions, much like Calhoun did in his offseason workouts at Air Force.

“When we’d go against each other, he would make it worth something — like (the loser) might run afterward,” Thompson said. “It was more of a game instead of just practice.”

On the field, Brock, who served as Army’s offensive line coach under Ross the previous three years, has tweaked the Black Knights’ schemes instead of overhauling them.

Defensively, Army is “a little more aggressive in some areas,” according to senior strong safety Caleb Campbell. And Brock brought in former Portland State coach Tim Walsh to be his offensive coordinator.

“We tried to look at some of the things that he had done in the past and had success with and tried to merge some of those things with what we’ve done at Army here in past,” Brock said.

So far, Army is struggling offensively. The Black Knights rank 112th in the nation in points per game (18.1) and 116th in yards per game (282.3).

But even though Army is exactly where it was through eight games last year — 3-5 with two victories in overtime — players have stayed motivated.

“Sometimes people will fall into a little trap here,” Campbell said. “When academics are kicking your butt, sometimes you come up to the stadium not really prepared for practice. Coach Brock definitely gets players moving.”

Said Thompson: “He has a great plan to win.”