Building defensive line depth is an ongoing objective of Army football’s coaching staff.
Coordinator Nate Woody likes to keep his players fresh up front, rotating in as many seven or eight over the course of a game. Graduation of starter Chris Frey and key reserves Darius Richardson and Nate Smith has opened up opportunities in the spring and preseason.
One player that has taken advantage of his opportunity is nose tackle Kody Harris-Miller. The 6-foot-1, 301-pound sophomore mixed in with Army’s first and second teams during the preseason’s first scrimmage Saturday.
Returning starter and senior captain Kyle Lewis played the bulk of the nose tackle snaps in 2023 and will be with the Black Knights’ first unit when the 2024 season kicks off on Aug. 30. But, coach Jeff Monken said Harris-Miller is a player that Army will count on behind Lewis.
“He’s had a really good camp so far,” Monken said of Harris-Miller. “He’s very strong. He’s going to play a lot. Obviously, we have Kyle Lewis coming back but Kody is a different player. He’s heavier and more of a guy that can get some knock-back at the point of attack. Kyle’s lighter and he’s a slant-and-angle guy.”
Observations: Connor Finucane was one of the players that dressed but did not participate in the scrimmage. Monken said that Finucane, who joined the team a few days before the scrimmage, is working his way back into football shape after fulfilling graduation requirements including serving in the cadet cadre at Beast Barracks (freshman boot camp) and completing his air assault school. Finucane was granted another season, his fifth, by West Point’s leadership team headed by superintendent Steve Gilland.
“He’s really really thin for him,” Monken said of Finucane, a three-year starter. “He’s lighter right now than when he came here as a freshman. He weighed more then than he does now. He’s got a lot of work to do to get his body in condition to play college football. He’s not prepared to do that yet.”
Finucane is listed at 315 pounds (his 2023 season weight) on Army’s roster. He had Finucane at 285 pounds.
As per our previous post, Bryson Daily and Dewayne Coleman, Army’s most experienced quarterbacks, did not participate in the scrimmage as a precaution. Running back Tyrell Robinson and nose tackle Cody Winokur were among other players that dressed but did not play. Robinson was playing catch with freshman quarterback Luke Knight.
Depth chart from my observations: (Note: Missed the first 30 minutes of scrimmage, Army was mixing and matching veterans players and freshmen vs. freshmen)
Defense: DE Andre Miller NT Kyle Lewis/Kody Harris-Miller; DE Jack Latore; LB Elo Modozie; LB Kalib Fortner; LB Andon Thomas; LB/DB Chance Keith; CB Donavon Platt; CB Jaydan Mayes; S Max DiDomenico, S Casey Larkin
Offense: QB Cale Hellums; FB Kanye Udoh; SB Noah Short; SB Miles Stewart; TE David Crossan; WR Liam Fortner; WR Casey Reynolds, WR Tobi Olawole; offensive line LT Henry Appleton, LG Bill Katsigiannis, C Brady Small, RG Paolo Gennarelli, RT Lucas Scott.
Highlights: Freshman QB Ethan Washington two TD runs; freshman RB Brennan Fisher 50-yard TD run, sophomore FB Corey Singleton 29-yard TD run; freshman LB Ryan Dunfee INT; freshman S Larry Pickett Jr INT; Junior K Anderson Britton 37-yard FG
