Ken McMillan: Army opens spring practice and not a moment too soon

Posted by Admin March 23, 2023 Football

WEST POINT – They gathered as one – some 10 dozen or so Army football players – for the first time in spring practice on Wednesday.

There was a palpable level of excitement and energy as rising seniors, juniors and sophomores made their way from the Kimsey Center to a pair of outdoor, full practice fields bordering the Foley Center. The players already had their marching orders and, with the ever-present scoreboard horn signaling five-minute intervals, they hustled to their groups and began work.

Given winter’s lasting grip in the Hudson Highlands, it couldn’t have been a more splendid afternoon: sunny with growing cloud cover, the usual breeze blowing through the campus and temperatures tickling 60 degrees on the second full day of spring – it was literally a breath of fresh air after months of working on conditioning inside Kimsey and prepping in meeting rooms.

“It seems like forever since we got to play football,’’ said quarterback heir apparent Bryson Daily. “It was so nice being out here.’’

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There were players everywhere, offense heavy on one field and defense on the other. As linemen worked techniques on one end, offensive backfield players were busy running a myriad of run routes in the middle. A drone buzzed overhead, surely recording activities for coaching staff review or program promotion. On the other field, the ball was being aired out some more to give defensive secondary players a bit of work. And after Army’s women’s lacrosse team vacated its afternoon practice inside Foley, more football players spilled over indoors.

Uniform only in padded safety helmets, shorts, cleats and light protective gear, the players split up into assigned groups, nearly half in black shirts, others in white and some gold. Some players were assigned colorful pinnie tops – in football etiquette, that means they are not to be touched or harmed in the course of activities, even though the heavy hitting doesn’t start until next week. Quarterbacks and select others sported red and another handful wore blue. There were even helmet pinnies for some.

There was little wasted time and a very workmanlike approach – almost to military precision, one might say – to every series of reps. It’s never too soon to learn hand signals as coaches and players put forth their best homage to baseball third-base coaches.

“It was definitely exciting to be running around, excited to put on the pads,’’ said linebacker Leo Lowin, a strong candidate when team captains are voted upon at the end of spring camp.

Coaches constantly referred to clipboards or folded-up paper, adorned with plays and a tight schedule of drills. Tackling dummies were scattered about and bags of footballs were ever present. Athletic trainers huddled together and team managers were everywhere. A modest crowd of cadets, dressed in their green fatigues of the day, had gathered at the outset but dissipated as they headed off for their own daily tasks.

After some 30 periods of work, the final horn sounded and players from both fields rushed together as one, field lights fighting the dimming of the natural sky. Everyone raised their arms and crossed their wrists, pointing four fingers on both hands, signaling their commitment to the hard work that produces results in the final quarter of action. White jerseys lined opposite black tops along a narrow corridor, and select players were chosen to compete in agility drills to the wild cheering from each unit – it was the only time the young men were openly encouraged to whoop it up.

“I thought it was good, as first days go,” Lowin said. “We did a lot of work and ran a lot. It was good to see a lot of these guys getting reps who haven’t got reps yet. Overall, it went well.”

Head coach Jeff Monken took 10 minutes to address the troops one final time before they were dismissed and headed for chow and treatments and evening studies, most beaming with joy for the brief return to real football, at least for the next four weeks or so.

“I’ve been coaching a long time,” Monken said. “People ask me if I ever get tired of football – frankly, I just get tired of waiting for football, I get tired of waiting for the next opportunity to be out here. This is fun.”

The wait will not be as long. The schedule calls for three sessions per week, so it’s back to practice on Friday, just as the weather curls back to more typical March cold. The foibles and rust of day one will soon be less tolerated as the players gear up for two controlled live scrimmages and the camp-ending Black and Gold game.

Football is back, and not a moment too soon.

kmcmillan@th-record.com, Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR