In hindsight, Tarleton State may not be Army coach Jeff Monken’s ideal choice to open up the 2025 football season for the Black Knights, who are coming off a 12-2 season last year, but are starting a new, rarely-used, quarterback.
The Texans are no pushover. Tarleton State is ranked 10th in the preseason Football Championship Subdivision poll and already owns a 42-0 road victory against Portland State last Saturday. In that game, the Texans rushed for an impressive 301 yards and added 152 yards in the air.
But, the schedule is set and the two squads, both with a lot to prove this season, will meet at Michie Stadium Friday at 6 p.m. in their first-ever matchup. For Army, it is the start of the post-Bryson Daily era and all eyes are going to be on senior quarterback Dewayne Coleman, who has just one start in his career at West Point, a 20-3 victory over Air Force last November.
“Certainly, Bryson Daily was a big part of our run game last year, setting the record for (rushing) touchdowns (with 32) and well over a thousand yards rushing (1,653),” said Monken, at the weekly press conference on Tuesday. “I don’t know if we will be the same with Dewayne and the carries he will get. Those may get spread out just a little bit to some of the other guys. But I still expect that Dewayne is going to carry the football a lot. He is a talented player, he is quick and he’s got good speed and I think he will have a good year as a runner for us as well.
“I don’t know if we will look exactly the same, but we are not going to completely change the offense. They are all things you saw us do a year ago that we will continue to do this year, but just maybe more of some things than others, which might be a little different than last year.”
There is a lot of experience coming back from the team that won the American Conference championship in its first year in the league. Anchored by returning starters Brady Small and Paolo Gennarelli, the offensive line, which was recognized as the nation’s best last season with the Joe Moore Award, will again be big and talented. Hayden Reed and Jake Rendina will share the fullback responsibilities and Noah Short will again be the starting slotback.
On defense, the Black Knights look solid in the middle of the field. Much is expected from nose tackle Kody Harris-Miller and co-captains Andon Thomas and Kalib Fortner will make their presences known at the two inside linebacker positions.
Tarleton State, which competes in the FCS United Athletic Conference, comes into the contest looking to make a statement against the only FBS team they face this season.
The team already has Monken’s respect. Besides noting the Texans overall speed, Monken was quick to point out the performance of redshirt freshman running back Tre Page, who ran for 160 of his 170 yards in the first half and collected two touchdowns, and quarterback Victor Gabalis, who threw two touchdowns and racked up 152 passing yards in three quarters of play.
“We are looking forward to this weekend and we certainly have a formidable opponent,” said Monken, who is entering his 12th season at the Black Knights’ head coach. “The team that we are facing on Friday night is like an FBS team. We said as a staff that they could come into the American Conference and compete. It is going to be a real challenge for us and we realize that.
“I am excited to see our guys play. We looked good in practice and we can prepare in meetings. But we have to put it together and put it on the field and it’s going to be a great test for us.”
