Elijah Walton read the inside slotback handoff and ran toward the edge.
Walton wrapped up the rusher for no gain at Army’s second spring scrimmage. The freshman linebacker was taking advantage of every first-team snap Saturday.
Army is getting an extended look at Walton with Andon Thomas, the team’s top 2024 leading tackler being held out of spring to recover from injury. Playing alongside two-year starter Kalib Fortner is giving Walton an added perspective on the inside linebacker position.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to see the difference between the ones (the first team) and twos,” Walton said. “The speed is definitely different. The ones are going out there and flying around fast.
“The quarterbacks are running faster. The running backs are running faster. The linemen are coming up quicker to you. It was a great feeling to stay with them and be able to make some plays.”
Walton battled through injury his freshman season. Army coach Jeff Monken said the coaching staff, “weren’t sure how fast (Walton) was going to be able to catch up” in the spring.
“Mentally, I think it was a struggle for him to start the spring,” Monken said. “He’s done a much better job the last couple of weeks. He made some plays today. He’s got some ability. He’s a smart player. He’s not lost. It took him a little while to start spring. He’s caught up and we are very optimistic about his future.”
Walton hails from a military family. Both of his parents served in the Air Force – his mother for 20 years and his father 13 years. Army was Walton’s first offer and the only service academy that gave the chance to play college football.
“The military has always been a home for me,” Walton said. “I wanted to go to one of the service academies and Army was the first to offer me after a week of seeing my film. They fell in love with me and I fell in love with them. I came on a tour and I feel in love with the brotherhood and it was over from there.”
My observations: Great to see junior quarterback Zach Mundell back on the field after missing the 2024 season to a knee injury. Mundell, who was taking snaps behind Dewayne Coleman, Ethan Washington and Cale Hellums, returned to action earlier this week. He looked mobile getting out of the pocket during the scrimmage. One of Mundell’s spring goals was staying healthy, he said.
”He’s a really explosive kid,” Monken said. “He doesn’t look like that yet because of the knee injury. Hopefully, he’s going to get back to what he was. That’s not easy to do.
“He’s had really good confidence, really excited about being back out there. He made some elusive runs. He throws the ball well.”
Monken can see Mundell having an impact on the offense this fall.
“He’s not in that top group of guys (quarterbacks) just yetw I think he can be. If he’s not one of the guys that we would travel at quarterback, I think certainly he could play another position for us on offense, slot and do something to help our football team.”
Monken said freshman Dawson Jones is currently the team’s No. 1 kicker for field goals and extra points. Fellow freshman Jake Hulstein is at the top of the depth chart on kickoffs.
Scrimmage highlights: Hayden Reed had a sweet second, third and fourth effort touchdown run from about 20 yards out…Cale Hellums connected with Tobi Olawole on a TD pass…Defensive back JD Sparks recovered a fumble to end the scrimmage.
Scrimmage observations (full disclose missed the early part of the scrimmage and not completely sure if some veterans took early reps but there was some returning starters or projected starters that were held out):
First-team offense looked like QB Dewayne Coleman, FB Hayden Reed, SB Noah Short, SB David Clerk, WR Liam Fortner, WR Tobi Olawole, TE Parker Poloskey, LT Henry Appleton, LG Will Jeffcoat, C Brady Small, RG Paolo Gennarelli, RT Teddy Williams
First team defense looked like NT Jacob Tuioti, EDGE Elo Modozie, Apache Eric Ford, ILB Kalib Fortner, ILB Elijah Walton, CB Jaydan Mayes, CB Jabril Williams, S Casey Larkin, S Gavin Shields/Collin Matteson
Another tight end has made the switch to offensive line as James Rothstein lined up at tackle. Teddy Williams and Nolleen Tabaska also made the move this spring.
