In several pre-season articles we noted the similarities between head coach Jeff Monken and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman’s 2016 defense and the 2010 defense that led Army to its first bowl game in 16 years. The defensive coordinator’s defense has more than lived up to expectations so far this season, with a set of statistics that would make any defensive coordinator happy. Five games into the season, Army West Point ranks 9th in Scoring Defense, 5th in Total Defense, 12th in Rushing Defense, 8th in Passing Yards Allowed, and 18th in Passing Efficiency Defense.

Defense requires every man to do his job, and every member of the defense deserves credit for this record, but the heart of Bateman’s Blitzkrieg is a group of four (4) linebackers that the GoBlackKnights.com readers nicknamed The JAAK Attack; Jeremy Timpf, Andrew King, Alex Aukerman, and Kenneth Brinson. Each of these players has been the subject of favorable media coverage in the recent past, but in this article GBK looks at how the four of them have developed since arriving at USMA and combined as a unit to make life more difficult for opponent offensive coordinators.

Each of the 4 linebackers in this article ranks among the top 5 in total tackles this season, and as a group they account for 10 of the team’s 13 sacks, 21 of the team’s 33 TFLs, and 3 of the team’s 6 interceptions.

A big thanks to defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who graciously provided his views on each of the linebackers and their importance in on where each fits into Army’s 3-4 defensive scheme.

JEREMY TIMPF - Playmaker at WILL

Timpf was recruited in 2012 as a 200 pound linebacker out of Tucson, Arizona, and like many of Army West Point’s most successful football alumni he came with no stars next to his name in the Rivals ratings. He began his Army football career at the United States Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) where he played Rover in the Double Eagle Flex defense introduced at West Point by former head coach Rich Ellerson. The Rover position was something of a hybrid between linebacker and safety with a greater emphasis on linebacking.

Timpf didn’t earn any varsity playing time as a plebe, but he was the first of our quartet of linebackers to attract recognition from the media in his yearling year. He earned the starting job as the WILL inside linebacker and led the team in tackles with 117, including 14.5 TFLs, but perhaps his most notable achievement that year was 3 interceptions that included a 45 yard pick six as well as 6 passes defended.

Timpf’s leadership ability was recognized by his teammates who elected him one of the team captains in his junior year, a rare honor at a school that places a lot of emphasis on seniority. Last season,Timpf tied for the team lead in tackles with 92 including 5.0 TFLs and contributed 1 interception and 3 passes defended.

Bateman’s comments on Timpf: “The Will linebacker in our defense, the ball gets delivered to him a lot. The Mike sends it to him ... the Rush sends it to him. Your Will linebacker in college ball has to be able to make a lot of plays and that’s what Jeremy does. He made 15 tackles on Saturday against Duke.”

“He’s the guy running inside out and hopefully unblocked to the ball a lot. I think that he is playing fundamentally the best that he’s played here. Kevin has done a really good job with him and I think he is confident and he’s played so much now. He’s always been an instinctive player, but I think he’s really playing at a high level too. He may not make some of the splash plays that AK makes, but he is a really consistent player for us.”

ANDREW KING - MIDDLE LINEBACKER & Field General

The son of a 9/11 first responder from Queens Village, New York, King has followed his father’s example, dedicating himself to a life of service and leadership by example. Andrew was recruited as a 200 pound running back out of Flushing High School and like Timpf, he came with no stars next to his name in the Rivals ratings. He was a teammate of Timpf’s at the US Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) where he played MLB and was voted the team’s Defensive MVP. King earned some playing time in his plebe year as a member of special teams, where he contributed 3 tackles in 3 games.

He moved into the starting lineup as the middle linebacker in 2014 and was third in total tackles with 63, including 8.0 TFLs, and led the team in Sacks with 5.0.

King attracted a lot of attention from the media last season when his team-leading 16.5 TFLs and 4.5 Sacks ranked among the leading performances in the FBS. He shared team leadership in total tackles with Jeremy Timpf, and the two linebackers were elected to be team captains for the 2016 season. Head coach Jeff Monken had this to say about King in a recent article:

“I do not know if there is a guy on our football team that is more respected than Andrew King. It is likely the cadets that know him would hold him among the highest and best of his classmates within the corps. That is because he is so professional and smart. People respect and trust him because they see him performing and he can back up what he says. Her cares deeply about his teammates, this program and certainly this institution.”

Television commentators often like to point out the differences in weight between the Army Black Knights and most of its opponents. But, King doesn’t live up to their stereotype, weighing in at a healthy 246 pounds, which is well above the 225 pound average for FBS linebackers. His tackling has earned him the respect of even the most critical of Army fans, and he and Timpf were cited as reasons for optimism in pre-season evaluations of the Army defense this year.

Bateman’s comments on King: “He’s the hammer, and he’s the most physical of the four probably. He’s the closest thing to me being out there - meaning that he’s really smart and gets us lined up. We put a lot of the calls on him. He is playing at a really high level right now.”

Alex Aukerman - Versatile at SAM & Other Positions

Aukerman is a good example of a player who was recruited for one position but found his niche in another. Alex was recruited as a 6-2, 205 pound safety out of Center Grove HS in Greenwood, Indiana. Unlike the two senior linebackers discussed above, receive some notice before his arrival as a two-star with a 5.3 numerical rating by Rivals, but that rating was as a safety rather than as a linebacker. Aukerman entered USMA directly out of high school in 2014, missing out on the opportunity to upgrade his skills at USMAPS, but he earned early playing time as a member of special teams as a plebe, appearing in all 12 games with 1 tackle.

By the start of his yearling year in 2015, Aukerman had bulked up to 228 pounds, and Bateman moved him into the starting lineup at Rush End, where he shared playing time with Kenneth Brinson most of the season. Aukerman finished 9th on the team in tackles with a modest 35 including 2.5 TFLs. Bateman moved him from Rush End to SAM linebacker for the Navy game, and that’s where he found himself starting at the beginning of this year.

Alex hit the weight room again in the off season and showed up for pre-season weighing in at 243 pounds, without sacrificing that speed that made him an All-Indiana safety in high school. He’s established himself as the best pass rusher on the team this season with 8.5 TFLs and 4.0 sacks. He’s a good open field tackler and seldom misses when he’s chasing down a quarterback or targeting a shifty running back.

Bateman’s comments on Aukerman: “He plays Sam linebacker, D-end and he plays D-tackle some ... he is a really important part, because he gives us so much flexibility.”

“When we bring James [Gibson] in and take one of the D-linemen out, Alex allows us to still play our base defense, play the nickel defense and play dime defense. There aren’t many kids in the country that can do that. He is 243 pounds, he’s so strong, he’s so good at the point of attack. He and John Voit are two of our best run defenders. Coach Daryl Dixon has done a really good job and his pass rush is so much better.”

Kenneth Brinson - The Scholar-Athlete at RUSH LB

Coach Monken likes to say, when they were passing out talent Brinson just kept on getting in line. Unlike his 3 colleagues in the linebacking corps, Brinson came to USMA well known to most Army fans as one of 2 three-star recruits Monken recruited in 2015. Like Aukerman, Brinson came in direct from his high school in Kennesaw, Ga, spurning an offer from Stanford and other schools to become a Black Knight. He is a great example of a scholar-athlete, recognized by National Football Foundation as one of their 6 top scholar athletes in the recruiting class of 2015.

Brinson found plebe year academics less intimidating than many of his teammates allowing him to focus more of his attention on learning how to play football at D1 level. He earned playing time early on at Rush End and worked his way into the starting lineup by the middle of his plebe year, allowing Bateman to move Aukerman to SAM. Despite sharing playing time with Aukerman for most of the 2015 season, Brinson made his mark in several statistical categories, finishing 13th in Total Tackles with 19, 6th in TFLs with 3.5, and 8th in Sacks with 0.5. He also recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a 21 yard TD.

Brinson currently ranks 5th on the team in total tackles with 22, third in TFLs with 4.0 and tied for second in Sacks with 3.0, and he leads the team in interceptions with 2. As the youngest of the linebackers, he’s still developing his skills, and most fans see him as a big part of the promising future of Army football.

Bateman’s comments on Brinson: “I think Kenny is the best pass rusher of all four and we are starting to do some stuff with him .... moving him around to get match-ups and aligned on backs. He’s the best blitzer off the edge.”

“I was really happy to see him make some of the plays that he made Saturday (vs. Duke) coming off the edge against quality ACC tackles and who were both All-Conference. I think Kenny is just going to keep getting better and better ... his ceiling is pretty high.”

Adding depth to The JAAK Attack

Of course we can’t forget the guys who fill in for Jeremy, Andrew, Alex and Kenny, and the fans know that there is a deep pool of talent at linebacker this year, with even more in the pipeline.

Bateman mentioned the following two players in his comments to GBK.

James “Gibby” Gibson: “He is probably playing as much linebacker as Aukerman, but it’s just that Alex is playing D-end and all over the place. But James is playing really well.”

Gibson is the other Rivals 3-star recruit from 2015. Bateman uses him at nickel back in passing situations and ostensibly he replaces the SAM in those situations, but as we noted in our discussion, Aukerman can move up to the DL allowing Gibson and Aukerman to be in the game at the same time.

James Nachtigal: “I wish we could play him more, but he’s playing behind Kenny and playing behind Alex and so he is just not getting as many reps. But, when we get him out there, where he’s in a couple of different packages, he’s playing at a high level too.”

Let’s not forget the other units

We’ve focused on the linebacking corps in this article, and we’ve noted that those four have monopolized the defensive stats this season. However, the defensive backs and defensive line have certainly done their part to make it all work as well. One of the reasons that the blitz defense works is that the DBs can cover their assigned receivers long enough tor the backers to get to the quarterback, and the D-line has kept the opponent’s OLs occupied in double team blocks, creating seams for the linebackers to exploit. It’s a team game, and each player has to execute their roles for the defense to work like it has.

"I think our whole team defense is collectively playing very well and I hope they'll continue to do so,” stated Monken during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “Jay Bateman and the defensive staff are doing a terrific job of getting those guys prepared and having a good scheme for our opponents. Our guys are playing hard and have shown great effort. Our defense has helped us get three wins to this point and if we hope to get some more, it's going to take great effort on their part."

Not a subscriber to GBK? There’s no better time than now, as the Black Knights are off to a solid start this 2016 Army football season.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!