Bartosh broke multiple tacklers including running through an unblocked cornerback during Army’s Black and Gold game. Army coach Jeff Monken also pointed out the freshman’s ability to regain his balance on the run.
“That’s not something that you can learn and practice,” Monken said. “I think it’s ability that a guy has or he doesn’t have.”
Bartosh’s overall skill set is one of the reasons why Monken and his staff moved the former slotback to the coveted fullback this spring. Bartosh may not be the biggest B-back on Army’s roster. Bartosh can be one of the Black Knights’ most explosive backs.
“I feel like I have pretty good athleticism and now it’s all putting it together as a B-back,” said Bartosh, who scored on a short touchdown run in the first half of Black and Gold game. “I’m definitely a lot smaller than everybody else. What I lack with size, I got more speed. We have some outside plays. We are out in the pass game a little more now. We’ll see.”
Bartosh joined a crowded B-back room with Hayden Reed, Jake Rendina, Carson Smith and Jarel Dickson ahead on the depth chart. Monken says Bartosh is “changeup” for the group with “top-end speed.”
“You got more rugged guys like Jake Rendina and Carson Smith, Hayden Reed and Jarel Dickson are very similar in their skill set and running style,” Monken said. “Briggs is just different from all of them. If you lined them up and ran them in a race, he’d be the fastest guy and probably if you tested them in a 5-10 shuttle for quickness, he’d probably be as quick as any of them. He’s just not as big.”
Bartosh credits the experienced fullbacks and new position coach Chandler Burks for making the transition work.
“It was definitely a lot of learning,” Bartosh said. “I was learning the plays and running them for the first time. It was a lot of fun. Coach Burks is a great coach and I’m really glad he’s here.
“Hayden Reed, Jake Rendina and ‘Rel (Jarel Dickson) are just great mentors. They have really helped me level up my game.”
Scrimmage notes: Bartosh’s 2-yard run was one of only three touchdowns in the spring game.
Junior quarterback Dewayne Coleman, who lined up with the first team, broke off a 58-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Black in a 16-14 win. The top four quarterbacks were two-hand touched and not tackled to the ground. Several members of the Gold team claimed Coleman was touched on the play.
Freshman quarterback Luke Knight scored on a short run for the Gold.
Dawson Jones made field goals of 29 and 46 yards and Jake Hulstein booted a 46-yard field goal for the Black team.
