Air Force appears to have its full contingent of quarterbacks as it prepares for a trip to No. 21 Army.
The Falcons – who have started John Busha, Quentin Hayes and Josh Johnson over the past three games – have all three on the depth chart this week after a bye week.
“I can tell you that probably around the last four practices the two guys that have gotten the most snaps there have been John and Quentin,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said Tuesday.
Busha, a junior, started the first five games for the Falcons (1-6) but was replaced by Hayes for the Oct. 12 loss at New Mexico. Hayes, a sophomore, was then injured in practice and Johnson, also a sophomore, started Oct. 19 in a loss to Colorado State. Johnson left with an injury against the Rams and was replaced by Busha, who had his best stretch of the season in leading the Falcons to a pair of late touchdowns in the 21-13 loss.
There was no indication who would start, as the team would have the option of riding Busha’s hot hand from that second-half rally or return to Hayes, who had the best game for a Falcons’ quarterback when he ran for 103 yards (the team’s lone 100-yard rushing performance this season) and threw for 79 yards at New Mexico.
Having a second off week in the season – a scheduling quirk presented by the number of weekends between Labor Dan and Thanksgiving – figures to allow additional players to return from injuries for the Falcons, though Calhoun would not indicate who that might be.
The team used the extra time off for a combination of full-tilt practices and jog-through sessions in an effort to continue development for a team stuck in a bizarre situation with extreme inexperience (only five starters returned this year) and bitten by hard injury luck (41 players have made their first starts this season, no other team has more than 26).
“Having an extra week to prepare for such a big game is absolute advantage compared to last year,” said right tackle Alex Moore, one of 10 offensive linemen to start over the past three games.
This is in stark contrast to the way Army (7-0) approached its bye week.
The Black Knights, who haven’t lost since an upset victory over then-No. 17 Air Force last year, spoke about utilizing their extra time off to work on some of the fundamental work that can be lost in the grind of normal game prep. They also addressed the desire to keep their momentum going after breaking the routine.
“I’ve heard it said you only lose momentum when you stop believing,” Army coach Jeff Monken said.
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