RAMSEY: Dietz offers preview of Air Force's 2012 season

Tim Jefferson wants to offer his endorsement for 2012. No, we’re not talking about the presidential race. We’re talking about the man who will succeed him as quarterback for Air Force.

“Connor Dietz,” Jefferson said. “It’s 100 percent. I don’t see anybody else who is going to take the job away, and it’s kind of no brainer. Unless he gets hurt, he’s going to be the starter next year.”

Jefferson spoke a few minutes after the Falcons pulverized Tennessee State, 63-24, in a game forgotten before it ended.

But there was one benefit to this thrashing. The win offered a preview of the Falcons offense next season.

Dietz has waited three seasons for his chance, and he’ll get it in 2012 after being granted an extra semester in the cadet turnback program. Next season Dietz will be a “senior-and-a-half,” to borrow a phrase from athletic director Hans Mueh.

Troy Calhoun shrugged when asked about Dietz and 2012.

“That’s a long ways off,” Calhoun said. “That’s a long, long ways off.”

He’s right. Much could change in the next several months, but Dietz will not change.

“I work hard, I believe, and I’m there for everybody because when my time comes the last thing I want to do is let anybody down,” Dietz said.

He speaks the truth. Dietz is a relentless worker, a charismatic leader and a brutish, surprisingly speedy runner.

The Air Force offense under Dietz will take on a more primal style. The Falcons don’t much pass much now. They’ll pass less with Dietz in charge.

But it should be an entertaining show. Dietz is the rare quarterback who savors violence. When he turns the corner and sees open field, he’s eager to inflict pain on tacklers. He seeks contact instead of avoiding it, rampaging through his football life with the mindset of a linebacker.

Dietz combines the strength of a fullback with the speed of a halfback. He runs the 40 in the 4.5 range. He’s a taller, thicker version of Chance Harridge, who ripped through defenses for 1,229 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2002.

Even though his path to the field has been blocked by Jefferson, Dietz has prepared as if he would start, and his teammates noticed his diligence.

Junior tackle Jason Kons offered Dietz another endorsement for 2012.

“I love Connor Dietz,” Kons said. “The way he plays the game, the way he leads us. He’s a natural leader, and you want to play for a guy like that. I honest to god can’t wait for him to start.”

Don’t get me wrong. Dietz is not the second coming of Michael Vick. Rough edges remain.

He never will match Jefferson as a passer, but he could improve. Dietz must become more dangerous through the air if the Falcons want to avoid the troubles of 2003, Harridge’s senior season, when defenses stacked against the run and dared Air Force to pass. The dare usually worked.

And Dietz remains too in love with his own number. Jefferson is not one of the better runners of Air Force’s 30-year option era, but he is a master at pitching the ball to his running backs. His generosity fuels the Falcons' running attack.

Dietz tends to hang on to the ball, largely because he enjoys attacking defenses himself. No one will ever accuse him of lacking self-belief.

“He has some confidence, to understate it,” Calhoun said.

On Saturday, Dietz escaped the bench with 10:17 left in the third quarter and directed the Falcons to two quick touchdown drives before Calhoun showed mercy and yanked him.

This was only a preview, and it should be put into perspective. Dietz excelled against one of the most generous defenses on our planet, or any other planet.

But the big games and the big stages should, finally, be in his future.