Tomorrow (12/28), Army will be taking on Louisiana Tech at Independence Stadium (Shreveport, La.) and it will be the third meeting between the two programs.
Army (11-2, 9-0), who are ranked No. 19 in the country via the AP Poll, will looks to rebound after being taken down by academy rival Navy, 31-13 back on December 14th.
The Black Knights are coming off of a very solid season, where they won the American Athletic Conference Championship and went 9-0 in conference play in their first season in the conference.
Louisiana Tech football returns to postseason play for the first time since the 2020 season as the Bulldogs will make their 14th bowl appearance in program history.
Let’s check out today’s press conference attended by both head coaches (Army - Jeff Monken & La. Tech - Sonny Crumbie), along designated team players.
PRE-GAME QUOTES FROM ARMY WEST POINT BLACK KNIGHTS
Army Head Coach Jeff Monken Opening Statement
“We are thrilled to be here. Thanks to the City of Shreveport, Radiance Technologies and the Independence Bowl staff. We have been treated like kings here this week. It has been fantastic, and we just appreciate the opportunity to represent West Point, the Corps of Cadets, the long grey line of graduates, and the over one million men and women who serve in the United States Army. It’s just a privilege to be here and play a great team like Louisiana Tech. We know they are playing right here at home, and I’m sure they’re going to have a great crowd and I know they’ll be motivated to play just like our team is.”
On Louisiana Tech
“That team, and the two players that were up here with coach Cumbie have had really great season. It was mentioned, three overtime games and five games by one score or less, they’ve got a tremendous football team and it’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us. So, very athletic football team, very big football team, very fast football team we’re going to face, so we’ve been preparing as well as we can over the last couple of weeks with limited practices. Like coach Cumbie said there’s a limited amount of time. Our guys were able to get a couple of practices in during our final exam week, and then we sent the guys home for a few days to be with their families just before Christmas. We reconvened here on Christmas eve and were able to get a practice in on Christmas day and then get another one in again this afternoon. Hopefully, that’s going to have us prepared to play our very best because we know we’re going to need to.
On the Independence Bowl
“This is a great bowl game. A historic bowl game. I grew up a coach’s kid, so I’m a football junkie and I love watching college football and always have and I watched this game every year. It’s a game that has had incredible team that have played in this game. To join that line of teams to join that line of teams and the history that West Point has had. West Point came here in 1996 with Bob Sutton’s team and played Auburn in a real shootout. It’s a great football game and hopefully, we’ll live up to that and make this one a great football game. I hope we have a good enough football team to be able to be competitive and play with Louisiana Tech. I know our guys are excited to have the opportunity to play one more time together. We have a great brotherhood, our guys too are very close, and will really enjoy playing in this game together. It’s been great to be here, and great for these guys to be able to spend some time together. This is the last time that this team like we are as a team and so at West Point that’s certainly very special to us. Thank you so much for the hospitality. We are thrilled to be here, and excited for Saturday night.”
On the transition from playing Marshall to Louisiana Tech
“Really there wasn’t much of a pivot for us. All of our preparation was for that game (Army-Navy game) on December 14th. Obviously, we had found out the week prior or six days prior that we were scheduled to play Marshall, but frankly, we didn’t spend any time on Marshall. It was entirely dedicated to winning the Army-Navy game. It wasn’t until the day of the Army-Navy game that we found out there was going to be a change in the opponent. It just really didn’t affect us at all other than Sunday following the game we went right back to work getting prepared for this game against Louisiana Tech.”
On preparation for the Independence Bowl and players graduating from West Point and being commissioned into the U.S. Army
“So the preparation here really has pretty brief. Coming out of the Army-Navy game we were able to practice on Tuesday. We did a walk-through on Wednesday and practice on Thursday of last week. Really, coming out of that game our guys needed to prepare for final exams which they had that week immediately following the (Army-Navy) game. The players were able to navigate that and take their exams, their T’s (term) exams as we call them, and get some practices in. At the end of the week we had two of our firsties, our senior players, graduated and commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army – Connor Finucane and Hamilton Baker. That’s just a tremendous sense of pride for us to see those guys graduate and be commissioned. It’s what they train to do. It’s what our guys ultimately are at West Point to do, and that’s to grow as leaders of character and to be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army. So, it’ll be great to see those guys in their uniforms, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the guys have to salute their teammates for the first time.
On the team visiting the NWLA Veterans Home and the Overton Brooks VA Hospital
“Seven World War II veterans yesterday at the VA home and seven World War II veterans at the VA hospital which is incredible. That’s 14 World War II veterans right here in Shreveport and I’m told another 600 across the state (Louisiana). So, those are people we need to celebrate as Americans and certainly in our community. It was awesome and our guys did a great job. It’s just an opportunity again for our guys to serve. It’s what each of our players and each of our students has committed to, a life of service. So, anytime we have an opportunity to do our guys are genuinely and sincerely excited about it. We were really excited to be there. It was as much of a reward for us as it was for anybody we had a chance to visit.”
On having to prepare and play a bowl game following the loss to Navy
That’s just part of the game. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we’ve gone into a bowl game having lost that game. Our seniors experienced that in 2021 when we lost the Army-Navy game but fortunately, we were ablet to play in a postseason game and finished the season with a win over Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl. Certainly, we are going to strive to win and play our best football on Saturday night and would love for our guys to finish the season with a victory. But, it’s going to be a tall task to have to beat Louisiana Tech.”
More on Louisiana Tech and what to expect from the Bulldogs
“I’ll echo that (Bryson Daly’s comments). They (Tech) are very unique. They are salty. Physical, play hard, tough, well coached and a unique scheme. As much as everyone talks about us having a unique offensive scheme, they’re very unique defensively and poses a unique challenge for us. A lot of times you go into football games as an offense having no idea what we’re going to see from the opposing defense because we are different and unique and align differently and have different schemes. We often see a defense the opposing team hasn’t played all year. So, we don’t know. I tried to ask coach Cumbie what they were going to line up in but he wouldn’t say.
“It’s also going to be a bit unique for us on defense as well. They’ve got a brand new offensive coordinator, and so the offensive system that they’ve run the entire season you don’t know if it’s going to be those plays or new plays under coach (Tony) Franklin. There’s a lot of unknowns going into this game, so it makes it a real challenge for us to prepare for every phase.”
Army Safety Max DiDomenico
On time at West Point and future in Army
“I loved my time at West Point. I’ve meet some great people, some of my best friends are at West Point. I’m just looking forward to this game and one last time with this Senior class and one last time with everyone on the 2024 team. I’m looking forward to the Army. At West Point we call it the 47 month experience. The number one goal when you get to Beast is to graduate and be commissioned in the Army. I’m looking forward to it. I branched Field Artillery so we will see how that goes.
On team visit to Holy Angels and VA Facilities
Being able to spend some time on Christmas Day with the people that were there was cool. So it was awesome to go out there as a team. I think 85 of us went. It put smiles on their faces and smiles on our faces. We visited the VA Home as an offense and the defense went to the VA Hospital. Just to see the heroes of our country. People that served and paved the way for us was super special. Put a smile on their face. It has been awesome team bonding.
Army Quarterback Bryson Daily
On time at West Point and future in Army
“All my best friends are here. I’ve grown extremely close to this Senior Class. Just a great group of guys and got to meet a lot of great people. Football highlights this whole year have been awesome. As a senior class we gave ourselves the opportunity to play two extra games. Which is extremely special to us as seniors getting to play our last season of football. Winning the conference championship was awesome. Winning the CIC last year. Those are all big highlights. Army provides that as a place to play big time football. That has been extremely special and I'm extremely excited for the next chapter being an officer in the United States Army.”
On Heisman Process
“People reaching out have been the biggest thing. I’ve talked to people like Matt Leinart. So that was extremely cool and and honor to be mentioned with great players up for the Heisman. It’s just a testament to the team and coaching staff and all the people around me. “
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