For hard hitting linebacker and Army commit Steve Erzinger, he is just 72 hours away from the historical day at West Point that all plebes (incoming freshmen) must encounter, and that is called "R-Day" (Reception Day) or as some may view it … "Good-bye Mom and Dad & welcome to West Point Day". Without a doubt, it is a day in which emotions for everyone in attendance are all over the place. It is a time in a new cadet's life, along with his/her family and friends that can only be understood by actually being there to feel and see it first hand.

Erzinger will be making the trip from Texas with his dad and has had some level of preparation, as well as expectation. "I've been to a couple of the West Point gatherings during the spring/summer and they have told us what to expect," states Erzinger. The 6-foot-2, 218 pounds linebacker goes on to say. "There will be a lot of yelling, people being a little hasty, stuff you are not accustomed to and they are punctual with things you need to do. To me, is just sounds like two-a-days of football," says Erzinger with a laugh.

Not only must Erzinger transition as a Cadet, but also as a Black Knight football player, and his solid relationship with his recruiting coach, Adam Waugh, along with his open communication with linebacker coach, Robert Lyles has Erzinger ready to go. "I have been in touch with Coach Lyles, who is my position coach and Coach Adam Waugh, who recruited me," says Houston (TX) Lamar High School prospect. "They were catching up to see how I'm doing. They said they are expecting a good year and hope to work me into a lot of special teams. Something I'm hoping to make which I don't see a reason why I couldn't. There are always some guys there that could surprise you but I'm hoping that I can out and make a name for myself as a freshman."

With this incoming class having already developed a sense of brotherhood through their communication via internet vehicles like Facebook, MySpace and other gatherings, it is not a surprise that Erzinger has bonded with some of the incoming recruits, especially from the state of Texas. "I've been in touch with Josh Jones out of Baytown (TX) a little bit and I talked to current Black Knights' linebacker Alan Sheehan as well and told me about what to expect … I'm pretty excited," shares Erzinger

Erzinger is projected to play at the Will linebacker position and has been working extremely hard at PLEX (speed & conditioning facilities), where his focus has been on foot quickness and speed. The results have been positive and he is running a consistent 4.65 since he started working out there. In addition to his increase in quickness and speed, Erzinger has been able to rep 225 pounds 21 times.

Has your workouts impacted your style of play? "I use to be decently slow, so I was just a hard nose player who knew what I was suppose to be doing and make up for my lack of speed ... being at the right place and knowing my keys and stuff," says Erzinger. "Now I'm working on being a lot faster, which I have done and I want to be a more athletic/physical player. I really like Zac Thomas a lot because he was never the biggest guy, but he was always in there making plays and if he wasn't around the ball he was always doing something to help his team win … that is how I want to be for the Black Knights."

Erzinger finished his senior year with 117 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception and those are numbers that linebacker coach Lyles would not mind seeing duplicated in the Black & Gold of Army.