[BangTheBook]

First Taste of Competition
All told, 16 Black Knights have made their first career appearances in 2005. Those players seeing their initial varsity action at Boston College included OG Miles Murray, OT Ray Zelenak, DB Jordan Murray, LB Lee Crain, DB Darren Newson, LB Pat Parziale, P Owen Tolson, LS Nicolas Lopez, LB Julius Myers, LB Brian Chmura, RB Ricky Lay, DB John Laird and FB Tim Frye. Meanwhile, WR Josh Dobbie, FB Jacob Miraldi and DT Chris Vesce made their collegiate debuts against Baylor.

First Turn with the Lead Cast
Seven Army players made their first career starts in the season opener at Boston College, including OT Jonathan Connon, DT Tony Fusco, OG Miles Murray, LB Charlie Rockwood, FB Mike Viti, OG Matt Weisner and OT Ray Zelenak.

Baby-Faced Front Five
Army's offensive line features four players who enjoyed their first career starting assignments in the season opener at Boston College. Senior captain Pete Bier, the lone returning member of the lead cast, smoothly adapted from right guard to center in the offseason. He was joined along the front wall at BC by junior Jonathan Connon (right tackle) and sophomore Ray Zelenak (left tackle), along with juniors Miles Murray (right guard) and Matt Weisner (left guard). Other than Bier, only Connon had seen varsity game action on the offensive line (a very limited appearance against Connecticut last season) prior to 2005.

Young Guns Looking to Make Mark
Optimism abounds around the Army football program as head coach Bobby Ross has infused the program with an impressive crop of young players while developing a host of talented, yet unproven, veterans. Army's two-deep of 44 position players includes 1 freshman (FB Tim Frye), 15 sophomores, 15 juniors and 13 seniors. The 22 starting positional slots feature seven sophomores, seven juniors and eight seniors.

Impressive Opening March
Army jumped out of the gates clicking on all cylinders during the season opener at Boston College as the Black Knights marched 80 yards in 13 plays on their opening possession of the 2005 campaign. The drive, which consumed 7:09 of clock time, concluded with a 6-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Zac Dahman to Jeremy Trimble. In 2004, Army scored on its first drive three times (TCU, East Carolina, Air Force) in the season's 11 contests. However, those three instances came within a span of five games. Army's prolific drive against the Eagles was the longest, in terms of time of possession, since the Black Knights consumed 7:42 on a 17-play, 61-yard march that yielded a 22-yard Anthony Zurisko field goal against Air Force on Nov. 8, 2003 (a span of 15 games). The Black Knights' 13-play drive was their longest since a 15-play possession that stalled on the UAB 20-yard line last Nov. 20. The last time Army drove further than 80 yards on one possession also came in last season's UAB tilt, when Bobby Ross' troops covered 88 yards on 10 plays (in 1:21) to post a 2-yard touchdown pass from Zac Dahman to Aaron Alexander in the waning seconds of the contest.

Utilizing the Same Targets
Senior QB Zac Dahman completed 17 passes at Boston College, yet he connected with just four different receivers on the day. Jacob Murphy, Jeremy Trimble and Carlton Jones each notched five receptions, marking the first time that a trio of Army players each caught at least five aerials in a contest since Nov. 1, 2003 (a span of 16 games) when UAB defeated Army 24-9. That day, Seth Gulsby snared nine passes while Lamar Mason and Aaron Alexander hauled in seven and six aerials, respectively. Dahman's fourth receiver versus the Eagles was tight end Jared Ulekowski, who caught two passes for 22 yards. The last time Army had four or fewer players catch passes in a game came against East Carolina a year ago when Alexander, Murphy, Ulekowski and Jones combined for all 17 completions.

Keeping it in the Family
Army's 2005 grid roster features five pairs of brothers, including two sets of identical twins. Twins Sean and Chris Grevious are entering their junior seasons as members of the Army secondary, and both are listed as a primary backup at cornerback. Twins Frank and Jon Scappaticci are vying for roster spots as plebes, with Frank working out at linebacker and Joe battling for a spot at wide receiver. Junior tight end Tim Dunn, who lettered last year while appearing in nine games, returns as a backup to starter Jared Ulekowski while younger brother Kevin, a sophomore, is attempting to work his way up the depth chart at quarterback. Meanwhile, David and Alex Clamon each figure to shoulder prominent roles on Army's defensive unit, with junior Alex slotted in along the defensive front at both tackle and end. David, a senior linebacker, is a significant special teams contributor. Sophomore quarterback Patrick McDonald is joined on the squad this season by younger brother Charlie, a plebe linebacker.

"Local" Products
The Black Knights also feature a trio of players who grew up within the shadow the Military Academy. They are junior offensive guard Matt Weisner (East Fishkill, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes H.S.), junior wide receiver Mike Castelli (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel H.S.) and freshman wide receiver Joe LeForte (Tuxedo, N.Y./James I. O'Neill H.S.).

Strong Bloodlines
The names of two members of Army's sophomore class should be familiar to National Football League followers. While WR Jeremy Trimble's father, Steven, played defensive back for the Denver Broncos, Denver Gold (USFL) and Chicago Bears from 1981-1987, LB Marcus Millen's father, Matt, played linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins from 1980-91and now serves as President and CEO of the Detroit Lions. Bruce Brown's father, Bruce, played football at the University of Miami and signed as a free agent with the New York Jets in 1971.

Position Changes
During the offseason, Bobby Ross juggled some of his personnel in hopes of improving the team for 2005. The primary changes surrounded Ross' move to a new 4-3 defensive alignment and the dissolution of the "whip" position. Among the players who have changed surroundings include: senior Pete Bier (OG to C), sophomore Caleb Campbell (W to SS), senior Dan Evans (DT to OG), senior Taylor Justice (LB to DB), junior Ricky Lay (WR to RB), junior Luke Pell (W to LB), sophomore Charlie Rockwood (W to LB), senior Scott Wesley (WR to RB), senior Chuck Wilke (W to LB) and junior Grant Carriker (DT to OG).

Making an Immediate Impact
Four freshmen made the trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for Army's 2005 season opener. In uniform were DB Darren Newson, LB Pat Parziale, FB Tim Frye and WR Kenny Rackers. Newson, who serves as Army's "nickel" defensive back and also sees significant special teams duty, has drawn the most game time of Army's plebes through two contests. Newson did not register a tackle in the opener but posted two hits, including one tackle for loss, versus Baylor. Parziale is a special teams regular while Frye is listed as the primary backup to starter Mike Viti at fullback. Frye recorded his first career carry, for 5 yards, versus Baylor. While Frye holds the highest depth chart position at second-team fullback, classmates Newson, Mike Lemming (OT), Brandon Cox (OT), David Spanich (DT), Jonathan Douglas (KOR) and Andrew Reinhart (P) are all listed on the third team.

Purple Heart
Army freshman defensive back Heritier Diakabana, 21, is an Army veteran who served in Iraq. The walk-on earned a Purple Heart after he and members of his platoon were injured by a rocket-propelled grenade during a security mission in Baghdad in May 2004. Upon recovering from his injuries, Diakabana, who had applied for admission to West Point prior to being deployed to Iraq in January 2004, returned home and ultimately enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy Prep School for the 2004-05 academic year. Diakabana, who was born in Kinshasha, Zaire, fled to the United States with his mother, Eulalie, and five siblings in 1994 after their country became embroiled in a civil war. His father, Diakabana Joseph N'gwanya, had come to the U.S. in 1987 to earn his master's degree in accounting. The family settled in Pawtucket, R.I. Diakabana, who is fluent in English and French (his native language), attended Principia Union School in St. Louis, Mo. After enlisting in the Army, Diakabana began Basic Training in June 2002 and reported to Fort Hood, Texas, in January 2003.

Husker on the Hudson
Freshman kicker Jared Nielson arrives at West Point following two years at the University of Nebraska. A walk-on to the Huskers' football program, Nielson red-shirted as a freshman in 2003 before serving as the backup kicker for much of the 2004 campaign. He did not appear in a contest, and did not travel with the Cornhuskers to away games last fall. He is unable to compete this year due to NCAA transfer rules, and has two years of eligibility remaining.

New Addition to the Staff
Bobby Ross' 2004 Army coaching staff returned intact for 2005, with the exception of one spot. Recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Tucker Waugh departed West Point this winter to join Walt Harris' staff at Stanford. Waugh was replaced by Dan Baranik (Shippensburg '84), who spent the past four seasons as head football coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School in Fort Monmouth, N.J. Baranik inherits Waugh's recruiting duties and will replace Waugh as coach of the wide receivers as well. Team Captains
Head coach Bobby Ross announced a quartet of seniors as team captains this offseason following a vote by the players. Center Pete Bier and running back Carlton Jones will provide the Black Knights' primary offensive leadership while defensive backs Ray Stith and Dhyan Tarver will serve in that capacity on the other side of the ball. Tarver has appeared in 36 games, earning 21 starts, while Stith boasts 17 starting assignments among his 32 game showings. Jones has played in 38 games with 28 starts and Bier has opened with the lead cast in 23 of his 26 career appearances.