November has not been a good month for Army football as the Black Knights lost two close games versus Air Force (13-7) and Troy (10-9), where 2nd-half collapses were a major factor in both losses.
Yesterday on Senior Day, Army got back on the winning track, as they prevailed in both halves and on both sides of the ball, whereby they came away with a solid win against visiting Huskies of UConn, 34-17.
GoBlackKnights.com caught up with a few of the game-day visitors, as they chimed in on today’s contest and campus visit.
“The environment was super energetic and also all the people I spoke to were awesome,” shared Christopher Williams. “The play from the team was impressive and it’ll be a blessing to be a part of a team like this.”
Was the athlete out of California able to focus on one position while watching the game?
“In all honesty, it was hard to watch from a single positional standpoint considering I have no idea where exactly I’d be playing …, especially after the year I just had offensively,” he explained.
“After the game, I spoke with Coach Saturnio, Dixon, Smith, and Head Coach Monken. I also spoke with Jabari, Tyrell Robinson, and Delshawn Traylor."
According to offensive line commit Christopher Luna, he was slightly delayed in making his arrival on Saturday, but once on campus, he enjoyed every moment of his visit.
“I had to take an early flight the morning and didn’t land in Newark Airport until 8:15am, which was an hour and 15-minute drive to West Point … so I arrived a little late, but initially I connected with Eddie Hernon, had us see the facilities and then took us in the field,” he explained.
“The atmosphere was really amazing, driving into West Point and looking at all the fans tailgating and playing games and then walking in the stadium and seeing the seats fill up was very awesome, to say the least.”
Unlike Williams, Luna said that he was in on how the performance of Army’s O-Line.
“Watching the O-Line dominate today was great to see, holes were opening up smoothly for our backs to make the plays,” stated 6-foot-3, 275-pound Luna. “I definitely envisioned myself playing alongside those group of brothers.”
“I got the opportunity to talk to my area recruit coach Daryl Dixon a lot and got to chop it up with O-Line Coach, Mike Viti and he gave me a big hug when he saw me.”
“I talked to some of the guys who committed … Chris Williams and Aidan Cassucio, we were all joking and laughing, getting along,” added Luna. “Real good group of guys coming in next year.”
“Incredible,” was the initial word that tight-end commit Aidan Casuccio used to describe his Army West Point game day experience. “The stadium was borderline sold out. Everybody got into it and it was a ton of fun to be a part of. Amazing to be there as a fan and I can’t wait to be there as a player.”
“Absolutely, love to get my hands dirty in the trenches. Also, it’s great that one of the best tight ends in the country is there. Really awesome and motivating to watch Josh Lingenfelter dominate off the line.”
“I talked to Chris Williams a lot,” added Casuccio. “Really awesome guy can’t wait to play with him next year.”
Running back commit Jordan Owens also expressed his delight in being on the grounds of West Point on Saturday, as well as capturing Army’s win over UConn.
“It was an awesome game for sure,” said the product of Great Barrington (MA). “The atmosphere was amazing and it was my first time seeing the parachuting before the game started because last game the weather prevented that from happening. UConn has a solid team this year but Army played great today and it was a big bounce-back win for sure.”
Like all the other commits who were on hand, defense end Sean Donovan walked away impressed with every facet of game day at the United Military Academy at West Point.
“The game atmosphere was amazing today,” said the 6-foot-1, 232-pounder. “To the helicopter fly over to the fans. You could not find a better place to watch a football game or play in one.”
“On the other hand, I loved how Army played. They played with heart, aggression, and intelligence that contributed to the win. UConn had been playing well coming off a three-game win streak and Army coming off two key loses, and winning this game, showed a lot of heart which I love to see.”
“I can 100% see myself on that field one day,” added Donovan. “In fact, I can’t wait to. To play for something bigger than myself and play in front of everyone there would be a dream come true.”
“And yes, I was constantly watching my position figuring out my future assignment and also ways to better myself for the future,” said the defensive, sounding like both an analyst and football player combined.
“It was an amazing atmosphere and I loved the love all the cadets showed me … the campus was beautiful,” acknowledged cornerback commit, Ish Taylor, who also had this to say about competing at the next level wearing the Black & Gold of Army.
“Yes I was and i definitely feel like I can contribute right away if I focus and continue grind. Great leaders and players in front of me, but I got what it takes.”
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