Brady Small just completed his second Army preseason scrimmage and the freshman center already gets it.
Small may have taken the field with the first team but he knows that he’s playing for more than himself. He’s playing every snap for the Army football brotherhood, specifically the seniors.
Advice from his St. Augustine (N.J.) High coach is always a reminder.
“My coach told me back in high school seeing that this is their (the seniors) last shot and being the young buck, I got to put everything in there to make their last season memorable.”
Small, who played at Army Prep last fall, planned on breaking down Saturday’s film with Army’s upperclassmen and fix “the little things.” He started the scrimmage with four offensive linemen – Boobie Law, Jackson Filipowicz, Connor Finucane and Shayne Buckingham – who are entering their fourth college season. The veteran players are paying it forward with Small.
“Running with the 1s (first team) was awesome, definitely a lot of senior help up front,” Small said. “They’ve been giving me a lot of help especially in the classroom, making sure I’m good with all of the blocks. They really have showed a lot of leadership to me especially being the young guy and helping me be as good as I can be on the field.”
Army’s coaching staff has been impressed by Small’s physical play. Small is making the most of his snaps on Army’s two-deep with Bill Katsigiannis, one of the team’s top centers banged up.
“When he (Small) gets his hands on people and strikes them, they move,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “We’ve been impressed with what he’s shown us in the practices when he’s had a chance to go live. We started to move him up and get him in there with the 1s and 2s. I don’t know if he’s necessarily a starter yet but I think he’s battling and pushing those guys in front of him, which is positive. I like to see that competition.”
