A new set of faces will decide how well Air Force football does this fall.
The Falcons bring back just one starter on offense and three on defense in a complete roster turnover from last year’s 9-4 team. Of 134 Division I FBS teams, Air Force ranks last in returning production.
Head coach Troy Calhoun, entering his 18th year at the helm in Colorado Springs and coming off three straight bowl seasons in which the Falcons racked up 29 total wins, is embracing the challenge.
“You look at the gap between the team that’s 133rd (in returning production), and where we are at 134th, it’s a gigantic space,” Calhoun said. “To be candid, it’s going to take some games until we discover the guys who really do emerge. So often we think of development and think of it during the spring or summer. But with this team, it’s going to be during the fall.”
The Falcons open the season on Saturday against Merrimack at the freshly renovated Falcon Stadium. From there, their schedule quickly stiffens up with San José State in the Mountain West Conference opener followed by a road Power 4 test at Baylor and then Wyoming in Laramie.
Other highlights to the schedule include home games against Navy (Oct. 5) and Colorado State (Oct. 19), a trip to Army on Nov. 2, and then hosting Oregon State on Nov. 16 as part of the Mountain West’s scheduling alliance with the remnants of the Pac-12.
While junior John Busha will be the Week 1 starter at quarterback, Calhoun says the Falcons could end up playing three QBs by the end of the season with sophomores Quentin Hayes and Josh Johnson also in the mix to helm Air Force’s flexbone triple-option.
“We want to be the best in the country when it comes to yards per attempt and yards per completion, and yet we still want to be really good running the football, too,” Calhoun said.
Wideout Jared Roznos, cornerback Jamari Bellamy, safety Camby Goff and nose guard Payton Zdroik are the returning starters from last year’s team that raced out to 8-0 before losing its last four regular season games and then beating James Madison in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Can the Falcons keep their recent mojo going, despite a severe lack of experience?
Calhoun doesn’t know if a bowl game is realistic, but he’s eager to find out what this year’s new group has to offer. Air Force remains up against it when it comes to roster building, as Falcons players cannot have NIL deals and the school doesn’t take transfers. Plus, all recruits must be elite academically and be willing to take on a service commitment.
“We’re level-headed enough here to realize that if you can have a winning season and go to a bowl game, that’s a remarkable achievement at the Air Force Academy, even more so in this day and age than ever before,” Calhoun said.
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