Mount Rushmore maybe your best reason to make a visit South Dakota. That was certainly the thinking of Doane Robinson of the South Dakota Historical Society when he came up with the idea in 1923. The project was completed in 1939, and four American Presidents have the distinction of having their images carved in granite on the face of the mountain. Since then, it has become a popular pastime to identify four individuals from some grouping that would be our choices for immortality on Mount Rushmore if there was such a place for that group.

GoBlackKnights.com’s publisher Charles Grevious defined our selection category as “Army football players who have played for Head Coach Jeff Monken.” We expect that each of our subscribers will have their own nominees for the honor, but three of the four named here were unanimous selections from our distinguished GBK nominating committee of Grevious, A.M. Allen, and Gordon Larson.

Who Chose the Presidents for Mount Rushmore?

Before we get to our own nominations, I thought it would be interesting to relate how Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt ended up on the face of Mount Rushmore. Apparently they were chosen by the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who not only picked the location but with help from Calvin Coolidge selected the four Presidents as well. Washington and Lincoln were the most famous and were the first two chosen. Borglum picked Jefferson because he doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, and Teddy Roosevelt was chosen because he started the National Park program.

All four of our choices are still very much alive, and all of them were elected team captains, but neither of those criteria was imposed on the selection process.

Ahmad Bradshaw (QB) was one unanimous choice of our selection committee, and no doubt will make most fans’ list as well. Bradshaw’s main claim to fame was leading Army West Point to Monken’s first victory over Navy in 2016, snapping the longest Army losing streak in Army-Navy history. Bradshaw also distinguished himself by gaining the most yards rushing in a single season for all three academies with 1,746 yards in 2017. He also holds the single-game rushing record for an Army quarterback for his 265-yard performance against Air Force in 2017. Bradshaw was named to the Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List in 2017, an honor that was clearly not in recognition of his passing ability.

Bryce Holland (OC) was another unanimous choice by our committee, a recognition that demonstrates that our group does not overlook the importance of the offensive line in the team’s success. Linemen often suffer from the lack of statistical evidence of their contributions, and they rightfully tend to be graded as an entire unit rather than as distinguished individual contributors. Nonetheless, Holland was frequently identified as the real MVP by his teammates and was elected team captain in 2018. He was the unofficial leader of the MOB a moniker that the tight-knit group of linemen took on in 2016. Holland, who is a former Rivals 3-star recruit was known for keeping each member of the MOB motivated and working like a well-oiled machine. Holland made 45 career starts, a very impressive statistic for an offensive lineman. He was named to the Rimington Watch List twice, was named to Phil Steele’s All-Independent First Team in 2017 and 2018, All ECAC First Team in 2018, made the ESPN All-Bowl Team in 2017 and the USA Today and Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Teams in 2018.

Elijah Riley (CB) is our third unanimous selection and the most recent of our 4 honorees to join the Long Gray Line. Riley started all four years at cornerback and made 32 career starts at that position, although many observers thought he was better suited to play safety. Riley was named a team captain in 2019. He was selected to Phil Steele’s All-Independent team in 2018 and 2019; was named to the Nagurski and Bednarik watch lists in 2019, and was a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He was selected to participate in the East-West Shrine Game following his senior season, and his talents were widely recognized by the NFL when he became one of the first to be drafted under the new DOD policy allowing academy graduates to enter into pro contracts straight out of the academy.

The selection committee’s initial votes split on the fourth choice, but eventually, we settled on a distinguished member of the renowned JAAK Attack group of linebackers who spearheaded the defense that earned Army its first bowl appearance under Monken in 2016.

Andrew King (MLB) was recruited as a running back out of Queens, New York but he made his mark as a hard hitting middle linebacker on the 2015 team and was elected a defensive captain in 2016. He was the co-leader in tackles and led the team in TFLs in 2015 and finished second in tackles in 2016. He is the senior member of our 4 choices and one of the pioneer leaders of the Monken era.

Clearly, with only 3 unanimous selections, there were others who were highly considered by the selection committee.

Brett Toth (OT) was another distinguished offensive lineman who we seriously considered. Toth worked his way up in the lineup during his 4 years at West Point and garnered the attention of the pro scouts for his size and blocking ability as a senior tackle. He became the second offensive lineman in the decade to get a pro contract out of Army West Point, a school that is generally not recognized for producing professional quality linemen. Toth was selected to the Outland Trophy Watch List in 2017 and was named to the 2017 Associated Press All-Bowl Team. and he became the first Army player to be selected to play in the Senior Bowl.

Darnell Woolfolk (FB) was another candidate that received votes from the selection committee. Woolfolk was the leading contender from a distinguished group of running backs that have earned Army a reputation as Fullback U from many knowledgeable fans. In an era that has generally abandoned the use of fullbacks as offensive weapons, Army has produced some of the best in the country, and we considered Woolfolk to be the best of the best. Woolfolk finished second on the team in rushing in 2017 and 2018 and was third in rushing in 2016. He accomplished those numbers while sharing rushing attempts with a group of fullbacks that included a thousand-yard rusher in 2016. Woolfolk was named to the All-Independent First Team in 2017 and 2018 and to the All-ECAC First Team in 2018.

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