Future of Falcons showing worth now

During the fourth quarter of Air Force's game against Houston last month, freshman cornerback Anthony Wright surveyed the field and saw the future.

There was his classmate Jon Davis playing safety in place of the injured Aaron Kirchoff. And there were linebackers Andre Morris Jr. and Ken Lamendola and cornerback Reggie Rembert - all sophomores, all starters.

Fast forward to last Saturday's game against Navy. On the team's final scoring drive, freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson hit sophomore Kyle Halderman for a 28-yard gain and then capped the drive by flipping an option pitch to freshman Asher Clark, who exploded into the end zone.

It might be a tad premature to attach the slogan "The Future is Now" to this Air Force team.

But the future certainly is fast approaching.

On the two-deep chart for offense and defense heading into Saturday night's game at San Diego State, there are 17 freshmen and sophomores listed, five of whom are starters. That doesn't include sophomore tailback Savier Stephens, the team's fourth-leading rusher, Davis or freshman Z receiver Jonathan Warzeka, who has played in four games and scored a touchdown.

"There's always been one or two freshmen that have been brought up (to the varsity), and maybe got some playing time," said running backs coach Jemal Singleton, who played for Air Force in the late 1990s. "But I don't remember a time when there's been that many on the two-deep."

Prior to the sixth game of the 2007 season, there were 11 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep chart, only two of whom were starters. And before the sixth game of the 2006 campaign, there were seven freshmen and sophomores listed as starters or backups.

Coach Troy Calhoun predicted the youth movement. The day after the loss to Cal in the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl, he said his 2008 squad could be Air Force's youngest since the mid-1950s, when there wasn't yet a senior class at the academy.

That's probably accurate. There are 15 freshmen listed on the varsity roster - far more than sports information director Troy Garnhart can remember in his 20 years at the academy.

There are several reasons for the dependence on youth. The Falcons suffered heavy graduation losses; the current junior and senior classes - while they include talented players - lack depth because of some down recruiting years; and, perhaps most importantly, the incoming freshmen have lived up to advanced billing.

Jefferson, Davis and Wright all played together at the prep school and prepared in the offseason as if they'd play as freshmen. And backup guard A.J. Wallerstein, Clark and Warzeka all made quick transitions from high school to college.

"You look out there, we've got some young ones that I think down the road can be pretty good players," Calhoun said.

While coaches were happy with landing a talented freshman class, they hope youthful teams such as the 2008 squad will be an anomaly. Instead of 17 sophomores and freshmen on the two-deep, Calhoun wants to have about four.

"You want to have a team with juniors and seniors," quarterbacks coach Blane Morgan said. "That's who you win with is those experienced guys."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com