Youngsters make a showing on Day 1 of Spring Practice & more
We pointed out in some of early pre-spring camp reporting, that spring practices are the time when players unveil their 2016 to winter maturation and they begin to turn-up their games. Needless to say, some come out of the gate early and fast as they showcase their talents to the coaching staff.
As the Black Knights open up their Spring practice session on Tuesday ... the most notable on the defensive side of the ball yesterday were safety Cam Jones; cornerback Eli Riley and defensive lineman, Ray Wright.
“I thought they really showed good retention for younger guys,” defensive coordinator Jay Bateman told GoBlackKnights.com after yesterday’s practice. “They practiced like we want to practice ... leaders.”
Jones was particularly sharp in yesterday session and at this stage he is the best cover guy back at safety ... an apex defender. Clearly, sophomore is more than capable of playing both safety positions if called upon to do so.
But it will be the combination of the “youngsters” who will blend in with several seasoned veterans that will surely be the catalyst of this year’s defense, that will be undergoing a facelift.
The Maturation Of Senior Safety Rhyan England
For example, the defense not only lost three talented players in Jeremy Timpf, Andrew King and Xavier Moss, but it lost their leadership and experience.
As seasoned and experience player on this team, along with being very energetic ... free safety Rhyan England readily acknowledged that he has already begun to exercise his seniority/leadership starting as early as last season, through the winter S&C and now entering the current spring sessions.
“First of all I would say that those guys are irreplaceable, especially their leadership ability and just getting guys to follow them,” said the 5-foot-10, 190 pound senior. “It’s going to be hard replace them, because you aren’t going to be able to replace them exactly, but we got a lot of guys who are going to step up like myself, Gibby Gibson ... he’s played a lot, James Nachtigal, so there are a lot of guys who can step up and make great leaps before the season and hopefully do even better than what they did. I still applaud those guys for their leadership, but I would definitely say that I’ve stepped a little bit and I always felt that people viewed me as a leader on the team, but for me it is just to lead by example.”
“Obviously, I am going to talk to the guys and try to be on a personal base level with them,” the product of Suwanee (GA) added. “But, it is also just doing my job and let everyone else do their’s as well.”
Any fan who follows Army West Point football would hard press to deny England’s development as a player on the field, and the vociferous player who might be the team’s biggest trash talker when it comes to trying to get in opponent’s head had this to say about his growth as a player.
“I would agree with those that say I have matured as a player, especially going to this academy ... it sets you up for success,” offered England, when asked to look back on his own maturation as football player at Army West Point. “You kind of look back and see what you did last year and there are some things you want to take back, some mistakes, but you look back and it’s a good learning experience. For me I know that there were a couple of times where I didn’t get selfish about it, but I did get complacent ... where there were plays that I wasn’t as focus as I should have been. I think that for me this year it’s just a different mindset and as a senior, I can’t let anybody down. Especially being a senior ... I don’t have AK or Jeremy out there and I’m really going to have to step up. For me as a player, that means locking in on every single play and just getting better.”
Even with all the fanfare that went along with a successful 2016 football campaign, England indicated that last year’s team had it’s own identity/destiny, and the this 2017 is looking to carve out their own place in Army football history.
“Last year was more to kind of prove something, but this year it is even greater emphasis to prove something for our class,” as the safety compared the two squads attitude going into their respective kick-off of the spring practice sessions. “Especially the juniors and sophomores and even freshmen because they were part of that winning culture, but this is a new season and we haven’t won any games. For us it’s a step up to make it even bigger and hopefully win more games than we did last year and win the CiC.”
One thing that can’t be deny and it was very obvious when No. 20 stepped onto the practice field and that’s his enthusiasm for the game ... albeit just “practice”.
“It feels great and I don’t think there is any feeling like coming back and playing football,” declared England. “Even practice, because I love getting out here with the guys and just getting better. You know, it just felt like a different day. I woke up a little happier {laughing}, I got to school and paying attention to everything. It was just another football day, so it was great to be back and we have a great group of guys and I truly believe that we are going to accomplish more than we did last year.”
So, what goals has England set for himself for the 2017 football campaign?
“I haven’t really sat down and thought about it, but the biggest goal for me is to leave a legacy for our class that people will remember,” he said. “For me, that’s to win the CiC before I get out of here, that’s really my goal and I want to get another bowl ring. Honestly, I truly want to win every game and get out there and get better and get better with the guys.”
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