Falcons anticipate reserve offensive lineman will catch up

During the preseason, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said he didn’t want his second-team offensive linemen to be “a Heinz 57 crew.”

“It’s OK for them to push the accelerator and get to the point where they’re good football players here real, real soon rather than waiting for two years from now and this year all they do is make sure they’ve got extra bacon and sour cream on their baked potato when we travel,” Calhoun said in August.

The reserve linemen are “better,” Calhoun said this week. But they still “need to come on.”

Indeed, while Air Force is young at the skill positions, its entire starting offensive line will graduate after this season.

Of the reserves, sophomore guard A.J. Wallerstein has emerged. He had been working in a rotation with starters Nick Charles and Peter Lusk for several games before injuring an ankle against Wyoming.

Others in the second group include junior Tyler Schonsheck and sophomore Jeffrey Benson (guards); 6-foot-5, 275-pound Blake Dowd, who has been working at guard now in addition to tackle; junior Chase Darden and freshman Jason Kons (tackles); sophomores Michael Hester and Corey Skolnick-Page (centers); and junior Alex Arndt has been moved to tackle from defensive line.

“They got a little bit of a bad rap in the preseason,” offensive line coach Clay Hendrix said. “First of all, they were playing against a defense we knew was pretty good, and half the time they had the third or fourth running back with them. But I’ve been pleased with how they’ve developed.”