Reception Day (aka R-Day) is coming for Class of 2022

On July 2nd, the Class of 2022 will report to their new cadet companies for the first time as ordered. Everyone who has gone through New Cadet Training (aka Beast) has their own stories about the day, but for those of us who live and breath Army West Point football, one of the events we look forward to most on that day is the official announcement of the incoming football freshmen. Unlike civilian universities, the service academies are not allowed to release the names of recruits until they actually arrive on campus.

Army head coach Jeff Monken will release the official list of recruits on or shortly after R-Day and Ken Niumatalolo will release a similar list for Navy on what they refer to as I-Day. Most likely Troy Calhoun at USAFA won’t identify players from his Class of 2022 until they start their yearling year as members of the varsity.

One of the statistics we look forward to learning about is the number of players coming out of USMAPS versus those coming in Direct. We don’t have any numbers to give you at this time, and based on past history, the actual numbers could change up to the last minute. We are usually surprised to see a few names missing from the list as well as a few additions that we didn’t know were coming.

We’d like you to remind you that the decision as to which recruits attend USMAPS and which ones come in direct from high school is made by Admissions, and their football ability has little or nothing to do with that decision. The purpose of attending USMAPS is to provide additional preparation to cadet candidates for the rigors of academics and military training they will face at West Point. USMAPS and USMA take a very dim view of equating the experience to redshirting that is done at civilian schools.

As noted above, USMAPS provides academic and military training that will help incoming cadets survive the rigors of plebe year, but they also receive an early introduction to the brand of football played at West Point, and one might expect that additional seasoning to improve their chances of making an early impact. In this article we take a look at how USMAPS grads compare to direct reports in terms of attrition and early impact in football, with a look at the last three R-Days and what has happened with members of each class since.

The current seniors (minus Bryce Holland) arrived on campus on June 30, 2015. There were a total of 79 incoming plebes with 30 coming in direct from high school and the remaining 49 from USMAPS. Of the 30 who came in direct, 10 remain on the roster (33%), while 12 seniors remain on the roster from the 49 who came from USMAPS (24%). Attrition here refers to football only and we know that many of those who dropped from the team remained at USMA.

How many of each group had an early impact? Thirteen plebes coming out of USMAPS (26.5%) earned their varsity letter as plebes, while 8 of the 30 direct reports (26.6%) earned varsity letters as plebes; so the potential impact was about equal for players from both sources.

Among those 8 direct reports were a couple of Rivals 3-star recruits, Kenneth Brinson and Gibby Gibson, who lived up to their advanced billing by earning starting assignments as plebes. Another direct report, Jordan Asberry, also got off to an early start at slotback. Andy Davidson earned his first letter on special teams but is better known these days one of the triple threats at B-back. Quinten Parker played well enough at tight end to earn his letter. as a replacement for Kelvin White. A couple of the direct reports, Drue Harris and Tyler Campbell, had a significant impact as plebes but didn’t make it to their junior year.

Among the 13 from USMAPS who lettered as plebes were Darnell Woolfolk and Calen Holt, the other two members of the senior B-back trio. Neither of them made a big impact as running backs, however. James Nachtigal, Max Regan, and Chandler Ramirez all earned letters on special teams. Zach Saum shared playing time with Parker at tight end. Seven of the 13 from USMAPS grads who lettered as plebes in 2015 are no longer on the team.

The number of football recruits who arrived on June 27, 2016 was substantially lower than the previous year. A total of 56 plebes joined the football team, with 28 of them coming in direct from high school and 28 coming from USMAPS. As might be expected with the smaller class size, a higher percentage of them still remain on the team. 17 of the 28 direct reports are still on the roster (61%), and 14 of the 28 (50%) from USMAPS are stil on the team.

The number of plebes who earned letters in 2016 also declined with 5 direct reports and 9 USMAPS grads earning letters. This may be partially attributable to the smaller class size, but it could also reflect the challenge of competing against increased depth from previous years’ recruiting. All 5 direct reports who lettered as plebes are still on the roster, but two of the 9 lettermen out of USMAPS have since left the team, and one, Amadeo West, is out with an injury at this time.

Of the direct reports who lettered, only one, Elijah Riley broke into the starting lineup as a plebe, and that was as much due to losses at CB as it was to his skills, although Riley has since proven to be a big impact cornerback. Among the direct reports was another Rivals 3 star, Kjetl Cline, who began his Army career as a slotback and is predicted to crack the starting lineup this coming season at WR. Three other direct report lettermen, Cam Jones, Cole Christiansen, and Ryan Parker all earned their spurs on special teams. Christiansen moved into the starting lineup making a major impact as a yearling and is now a team captain, while Jones and Parker are expected to compete for starting assignments and playing time this year as well.

Of the 9 plebe lettermen from USMAPS, Kell Walker had the most impact, earning a regular starting spot at slotback. Jaxon Deaton also got off to a good plebe year with two starts at guard, as did his classmate Michael Johnson. Jaylon McClinton was another plebe who got early playing time due to injuries in the defensive backfield, earning starts lat cornerback in the last 5 games of the 2016 season. Connor Slomka had a few carries at B-back but contributed more on special teams as did Glen Coates.

A far larger number of freshmen joined the team on July 3d last year as 82 football recruits entered on R-Day, with 43 coming direct from high school and 39 from USMAPS. As might be expected with numbers that high, the attrition rate has been quite high due to the competition for spots on the team. Of the 43 direct reports, only 20 (47%) remain on the roster. The USMAPS grads have a higher retention rate with 27 of the 39 (69%) still on the roster.

Competion for playing time was greater in 2017, and just 8 plebes earned varsity letters, with 7 of those 8 being from USMAPS. All 8 are still on the roster as of now.

The only direct report to earn a varsity letter as a plebe in 2017 was Kyle O’Connor, a long snapper.

Our readers are more likely to recognize the lettermen with USMAPS backgrounds. Among the group is Cam Harrison who is the only member of the class with starting experience. He started 2 games when Jeff Ejekam was on suspension, and he is expected to earn a starting role at WR this coming season. Fred Cooper has a big following among GBK readers, despite no starting assignments to date. He will be competing for playing time with Kell Walker and Jordan Asberry this year as will another plebe letter-winner at slotback, Artice Hobbs. A couple of members of the class, Jahvari Bordeau and Justin Thomas received a lot of recognition for their contributions on special teams, and will be adding depth in the defensive backfield this season. Peyton Reeder is a projected starter on the offensive line this seson, while Aaron Jones may have to settle for a regular spot on special teams again.

While it’s risky to predict the future based on past performance, the experience of the past few years offers some food for thought.

The probability of any plebe class making major contributions is not great, and seems to be diminishing as head coach Jeff Monken continues to improve the depth across the board with upperclassmen filling more of the starting positions. The number of plebes who earned varsity letters dropped from 21 in 2015 to 14 in 2016 and then to 8 in 2017. We wouldn’t expect that number to drop again, but we think it’s unlikely to go much higher.

Most plebes are likely to make their initial contributions on special teams, but the chances for breaking into the depth chart are usually higher at skills positions such as running back, wide receiver or defensive backs. The current depth in the defensive backfield makes that less likely this year. Offensive and defensive linemen normally take longer to develop, but the experience level is not as deep on either side of the line of scrimmage this season.

Jeff Monken identifies three keys to success: Recruit, Retain, and Develop. For this years incoming class, the recruiting phase is over. The development phase started a year ago for the 2017 USMAPS grads and will continue under the coaching staff this fall and next spring, while the direct reports will be just getting their introduction to the system this summer and fall.

Attrition is to be expected, and the larger the class, the more attrition we’re likely to see in a class over time. We have no way of tracking attrition form USMA, and the numbers cited here only reflect attrition from the football team. Larger numbers mean more competition and the fittest are the most likely to survive. Some will make stake their claims early, while others will rise over time.

We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2022 in just a couple of weeks, and we wish them all well as cadets and future contributors to Army West Point football.

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