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GBK: Salute to the Senior Class

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GoBlackKnights.com would like to take this opportunity to salute seniors who will graduate this Saturday. Head Coach Rich Ellerson welcomed 47 new cadets from 23 states on July 1, 2013, but at the end of their first season of football, the Class of 2017 was greeted by a new head coach and nearly a complete change of coaching staff when Jeff Monken was hired to replace Ellerson. Their numbers dwindled to 28 by the time the last roster was released in 2013, but most of those stayed around to become the first group of seniors to beat Navy in 15 years.

A Quick Breakdown of the Seniors

17 seniors were listed on the final roster for 2016, but Justin Gilbert and Dalton Mendenhall were 5th year seniors and have graduated already. Edgar Poe will be graduating at a later date. A few of the seniors played different positions at different times, but we’re listing them by the position that they played last.


ON THE OFFENSE

Colby Enegren, OL from Franklin Massachusetts, played for Tom Simi at USMAPS before entering West Point. He got his first career start as a yearling against Ball State and started 3 games that season. He finished his playing career with 20 games and 5 starts. Enegren will be commissioned in Field Artillery.

Joe Walker, RB from Fayetteville, Georgia, played at USMAPS in 2012. He didn’t see any action as a plebe but managed to see action in 10 games in 2014 despite competing with Terry Baggett and Raymond Maples for playing time. He carried the ball 18 times for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns and also caught 5 passes for 96 yards that season. He moved into the starting lineup in 2015 with 8 starts and rushed for 203 yards and 1 TD on 27 carries and caught 3 passes for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. He appeared in 11 games with 4 starts as a senior and rushed 6 times for 88 yards and caught 3 passes for 65 yards. Walker has also completed 3 passes in 4 attempts for 41 yards and a touchdown. He will be commissioned in the Infantry.

Elijah St. Hillaire, RB was recruited as a Rivals three-star out of Palisades Park, NJ but was injured playing at USMAPS in 2012, which put a crimp on his career. He appeared in 2 games in 2014 with no carries, and he played 6 games in 2015 with 1 carry for 5 yards. He played 9 games his senior season and had 11 carries for 75 yards and scored a touchdown vs UTEP. He was also used as a kickoff return specialist. St. Hillaire will be commissioned in the Signal Corps with and initial detail to Infantry.

Paul Andrew Rhoden, RB from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, played at USMAPs in 2012. He appeared in 1 game in 2014 and 5 games in 2016 and has 3 career rushing attempts for 7 yards. Rhoden will be commissioned in the Infantry.

Lofi Tamasese, OL from Daly City, California, played at USMAPS in 2012. He appeared in 1 game in 2013, 7 games in 2014, and 1 game in 2015.

THE DEFENDERS

Timf, King and Moss vs. Temple
Timf, King and Moss vs. Temple (GoBlackKnights.com)


Andrew King, Co-Captain & MLB from Queens, NY, was recruited as a running back but played MLB at USMAPS in 2013. He appeared in 3 games with 3 tackles on special teams as a plebe before moving into the starting lineup at the start of the 2015 season. In his yearling season he was credited with 63 tackles, including 8.0 TFLs and 5.0 Sacks. In 2015, he tied for the team lead in Total Tackles with 92 and led the team in TFLs with 16.5 and in Sacks with 4.5. He was elected team captain in 2016 and finished the season second in Total Tackles with 97 and added 11.0 TFLs and 5.0 Sacks to complete his career third on the all-time list for TFLs and the second highest number of career Sacks since 1992. He was picked as the recipient of first ever Defender of the Nation Award by the Charleston Touchdown Club and was selected to Phil Steele’s All-Independent first team in 2015 and 2016. King will be commissioned in the Infantry.

Jeremy Timpf, Co-Captain & LB from Tempe, AZ, played linebacker at USMAPS, but did not play as a plebe. He led or tied for the team lead in tackles in each of his last three years, finishing his career with 321 Total Tackles, which placed him 9th on the all-time list at Army. He had 32.5 career TFLs and 4.0 Sacks. He tied for the lead in interceptions with 3 in 2014 and finished with a total of 6 career interceptions and 12 passes defended. He was named to Phil Steele’s All-Independent first team in 2014, and second team in 2015 and 2016. Timpf will be commissioned in Field Artillery.

Xavier Moss, DB from Houston, Texas, was recruited as a Wide Receiver and played a year at USMAPS, where he was also a member of the 4X400 relay team that shattered the Penn Relay record. He started all 12 games at WR as a plebe and led the team in receptions with 35 catches for 468 yards. He dropped to second in receptions in 2014 with 6 catches for 52 yards, and approached Coach Monken with a request to move to defense in the spring of 2015. Moss went on to start all 25 games his final two years, finishing third in Total Tackles in 2015 and fourth in 2016. Moss also returned punts for the Black Knights. He was named to Phil Steele’s All-Independent second team defense in 2015 and first team in 2016. Over his 4 year career, Moss appeared in 49 games with 48 starts. He will be commissioned in Engineers.

Eddy Ruzga, DL from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, played at USMAPS in 2012 and was tried out at Tight End, when Monken introduced the new position in 2014. He was converted to the defensive line in 2015, and saw action in 5 games, complling 5 total tackles, including 2.5 TFLs and a Sack. He played in 12 games as a senior with 7 starts and added 12 tackles including a half TFL to his career total. Ruzga will be commissioned in Field Artillery.

Jordan Smith, DL from Oceanside, California did not play as a plebe but appeared in 8 games as a yearling and was credited with 6 tackles. He started all 12 games in 2015 and registered 47 tackles including 2.5 TFLs and also blocked 2 kicks. He was selected to Phil Steele’s All-Independent team that year. Smith suffered a pre-season injury that limited his playing time as a senior. He appeared in just 9 games and registered 3 total tackles. Smith will be commissioned in Field Artillery.

Steven Johnson, DB from Newburgh, NY, had only one year of high school football experience when he was recruited in 2013. He played at USMAPS and became a member of special teams in his plebe year, appearing in 9 games with 5 tackles. He appeared in 10 games with 6 starts as a yearling and contributed 37 tackles and 2 passes defended, He played in every game in 2015 with 3 starts and was credited with 10 tackles and 1 pass defended. Johnson was expected to start at cornerback in 2016, but a pre-season injury sidelined him for the entire season. He will be commissioned in Signal Corps with and initial detail to Infantry.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Mitchell Howard, Kicker from Walnut Creek, California, played understudy to Dan Growchowki his first three seasons with the Black Knights, with his contributions limited to one kickoff in 2014. He moved into the starting spot in 2016, but he was injured making a saving tackle on the opening kickoff of the second game of the season, and sat out the next 5 games as a result. He completed his career with 2 field goals in 4 attempts and 32 kickoffs, averaging 60.3 yards. Howard will be commissioned in Field Artillery.

Gervon Simon, DB, from Johnstown, PA, appeared in 2 games in 2015 and 5 games in 2016 with a career total of 2 tackles. Simon will be commissioned in Ordnance.

Matthew Kaufmann, DB played quarterback on the scout team three years but was converted to a defensive back in his senior year. He appeared in 2 games as a senior with a total of 2 tackles. He will be commissioned in the Signal Corps with and initial detail to Infantry.


THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE CAREERS!

**To chat with other Army fans about this article and more, please visit The 12th Knight message board**

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