The Army football depth chart has been remarkably steady throughout nearly three months of action but a nick in the defensive lineup may have an impact the rest of the season.
Senior defensive end Kyle Lewis was sidelined last week with what’s described as a lower body injury. He sat out the Notre Dame game on Saturday, but the team captain still provided his leadership in the locker room and on the sidelines at Yankee Stadium. Head coach Jeff Monken said Lewis was unlikely, and defensive coordinator Nate Woody indicated Lewis may be out the rest of the season.
The only announced change to the Army starting lineup for Saturday’s Senior Day clash with Texas San Antonio (noon ET, CBSSN) is Lewis’ absence again, with Trey Sofia and Jack Latore slated to start at the end spots and Dre Miller backing up on both sides.
“We missed Kyle being out there on the field. We missed him being dressed out,” Monken said. “He’s doing a great job leading our teams on the sideline, encouraging our guys, pushing our guys.
“I think he makes a difference for us when he’s in there,” Monken said. “I don’t know that having Kyle Lewis in the (Notre Dame) game was going to win us the football game.”
Sofia said Lewis’ absence “means a lot.”
“That’s my brother,” Sofia said of Lewis. “I love him. I’ve been with him since prep school. We’re not just teammates. … It hurts me knowing that we lost him.”
Lewis played nose tackle a year ago, filling a need for the team, but was slipped to a more natural position on end this season.
“Kyle’s just done a tremendous job his whole career here,” Woody said. “He’s always been a leader. He leads by example and he has a toughness that others feed off of.
“He’s done a great job all year long,” Woody added. “His loss is something we felt in that (Notre Dame) ball game and will the rest of the season.
“But you talk about next man up, that’s the way it’s got to be when you’re competing and still playing at this time of the year.”
Sophomore punter James Wagenseller had a first-quarter punt attempt blocked on Saturday, setting up the Fighting Irish for a 7-yard scoring drive and 14-0 lead.
Monken said the special teams failure “was embarrassing,” but did not blame Wagenseller, and said there would be no change to 2023 punter Cooper Allan, a junior.
“It wasn’t the punter’s fault,” Monken said, citing an unidentified player on the protection got out of position, allowing the first Army punt blocked since the 2020 Cincinnati game. Wagenseller did bobble the low snap but Monken said he probably would have got the punt off had the protection not failed.
Following the 49-14 loss to Notre Dame, Army (9-1) dropped seven spots in the AP Top 25 poll to No. 25. The Black Knights fell to No. 22 in the coaches’ poll, sits at No. 24 in the Football Writers Association of America poll. Army fell out of the the College Football Playoff rankings after being last seeded at No. 19.
The Black Knights ― opened the season with wins over Lehigh, FAU, Rice, Temple, Tulsa, Alabama Birmingham, East Carolina and Air Force and North Texas ― play at home for the sixth and perhaps final time this season. The noon ET game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
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Here’s a look at the two-deep depth chart for Army.
QB – No. 13 Bryson Daily, Sr. (26 career games); No. 10 Dewayne Coleman, Jr. (10); No. 3 Cale Hellums, Soph. (5)
RB – No. 6 Kanye Udoh, Soph. (20); No. 33 Jake Rendina, Soph. (13)
RB – No. 22 Miles Stewart, Sr. (26); No. 8 Hayden Reed, Jr. (29); No. 86 Will Montesi, Sr.
Slot – No. 15 Noah Short, Jr. (30); No. 21 Tyrell Robinson, Sr.; No. 27 Samari Howard, Soph. (10)
WR – No. 4 Liam Fortner, Jr. (22); No. 87 Casey Reynolds, Sr. (23); No. 84 Cam Schurr, Sr.
TE – No 85 David Crossan, Sr. (30); No 83 Teddy Williams, Soph.; No. 44 Parker Poloskey, Soph.
LT – No 60 Connor Finucane, Sr., (57); No. 77 Jordyn ‘Boobie’ Law, Sr. (41)
LG – No. 53 Bill Katsigiannis, Sr. (13); No. 50 Braden Bartosh, Jr.
C – No. 51 Brady Small, Soph. (22); No. 75 Kyle Kloska, Soph.
RG – No. 71 Paolo Gennarelli, Soph. (10); No. 59 Will Jeffcoat, Jr.
RT – No. 65 Lucas Scott, Sr. (22); No. 58 Henry Appleton, Soph.
DL – No. 91 Trey Sofia, Sr. (33); No. 97 Dre Miller, Sr.
NT – No. 52 Kody Harris-Miller, Soph.; No. 62 Jacob Tuioti, Jr. (19) or No. 93 Cody Winokur, Sr. (25)
DL – No. 92 Jack Latore, Jr. (22); No. 97 Dre Miller, Sr.
OLB – No. 18 Elo Modozie, Soph. (21); No. 40 Eric Ford, Jr.
OLB – No. 2 Chance Keith, Sr. (31); No. 25 Josiah Banks, Sr.
ILB – No. 51 Andon Thomas, Jr. (18); No. 29 Adam Cash, Sr.
ILB – No. 53 Kalib Fortner, Jr. (22); No. 36 Brett Gerena, Sr. (35)
CB – No. 28 Donavon Platt, Soph (25); No. 5 Justin Weaver, Jr.
SS – No. 20 Casey Larkin, Jr. (22); No. 30 Collin Matteson, Jr.
FS – No. 6 Max DiDomenico, Sr. (41); No. 3 Stephen Nnadozie, Soph.
CB – No. 7 Jaydan Mayes, Soph. (19); No16 Damon Washington, Sr.
P – No. 13 James Wagenseller, Soph. (9); No. 38 Cooper Allan, Jr., (13)
K – No. 96 Trey Gronotte, Sr. (13)
Kickoff – No. 96 Trey Gronotte, Sr. (13)
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Holder – No. 99 Matthew Rhodes, Sr.
Long snapper – No. 55 Owen Walter, Soph.
Kick return – No. 23 Lloyd Benson III, Soph.; No. 22 Miles Stewart, Sr.
Punt return – No. 21 Tyrell Robinson; No. 23 Lloyd Benson III, Soph.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
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