Archive December, 2010

Fort Worth, Texas, December 28 – If Steve Anderson was walking down the streets of downtown Fort Worth, nobody would suspect he is the leading tackler on a major college football team. Anderson looks like many other young men who maybe make regular visits to the health club. However, Anderson is an exceptional football player who is the ringleader for the Army defense that will challenge SMU in Thursday’s Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Continue reading →

Fort Worth, Texas, December 28, 2010 – SMU will be the home team in Thursday’s Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, playing in its home stadium and dressing in its own locker room. But SMU head coach June Jones said the game against Army won’t necessarily be a ‘home’ game for the Mustangs. Because of all of the trappings surrounding the game, which honors those who have served and are currently serving in the United States armed forces, Jones said the game will be unlike any other the Mustangs have played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. “I was telling the kids, it’s going to be a little bit like a road game because they’ve got all the flyovers and they’ve got helicopters and tanks so it’s almost like it’s an Army home game,” Jones said. “At least we’re going to be in our own locker room, so that’ll be good.” Continue reading →

Fort Worth, Texas, December 27, 2010 – Midway through his collegiate career, SMU receiver Aldrick Robinson was beginning to wonder if he had made the right choice in schools. Personally, Robinson turned in an outstanding sophomore season in 2008. He had 1,047 receiving yards, tied a school record with 11 touchdown catches and landed on the All-Conference USA team as an honorable mention. But Robinson had come to Dallas to be a part of SMU’s resurgence in football and the Mustangs had just suffered through their second consecutive 1-11 season. “When I first came here, they were 6-6 (the season before) and when I came on my visit they said, ‘We’re on the rise.’” Robinson recalled. “I believed it and when I came here we went 1-11 and then went 1-11 again and I started thinking like maybe I should have gone somewhere else.”

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Fort Worth, Texas, December 27, 2010 – Jared Hassin claims he has a calm personality but don’t try to tell that to Army opponents who try to tackle the Black Knights’ sophomore fullback. Hassin leads Army in rushing this season with 931 yards and averages 5.4 yards per carry as the first option in the Black Knights’ triple option offense. “I like to think that I’m not one of the stereotypical football players, listening to heavy mental in the locker room before the game,” Hassin said Monday after Army’s practice in preparation for Thursday’s Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Continue reading →

Fort Worth, Texas, December 26, 2010 – By planes and buses players and coaches from the United States Military Academy and SMU arrived here Sunday with both schools practicing before being greeted by Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl officials and volunteers at an evening “Welcome Party” at Billy Bob’s Texas in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. SMU was the first to arrive at its Fort Worth hotel Sunday morning via buses with the Mustangs practicing in the early afternoon at Burleson Centennial High School for two hours. With the Black Knights players flying into the MetroPlex from all parts of the country, Army practiced later in the afternoon at Kennedale High School for two hours
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By Jim Benton for www.armedforcesbowl.com

West Point, N. Y., December 23 – Army will be making its first bowl appearance in 14 seasons when the Black Knights face SMU December 30 in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Coach Rich Ellerson is confident his team will be able to handle the distractions of going to a bowl game. “Well, we’ll find that we don’t have any institutional memory that way,” Ellerson said. “This will be new for a lot of us. It’ll be okay. We’re not going with a lot of work left to do. We’re not going to be meeting into the wee hours because our practice schedules are done, the plan is in place. “We have to end this bowl adventure the right way by playing well and being succesful on the 30th. We need to remember how much fun this is. This needs to be something we really look forward to as a program.”

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FORT WORTH, TEXAS, December 22, 2010 – The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl has named General Craig R. McKinley as the honorary team captain for the 2010 postseason college football bowl game. As part of his team captain duties, General McKinley will perform the game’s coin toss prior to the 11 a.m. (CST) kickoff on Thursday, Dec. 30. McKinley will also be responsible for performing the induction ceremony at halftime for recruits present from all five branches of the military.

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By Jim Benton for www.armedforcesbowl.com

West Point, N.Y., December 22, 2010 – Army’s undersized defense faces a challenge almost every game it plays. That will be the case again when Army (6-6) faces SMU (7-6) December 30 in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. The Black Knights’ double eagle flex defense must find a way to contain a typically potent offense installed by SMU coach June Jones. SMU employs a run-and-shoot approach in its offense which favors a wide open passing attack. “Yeah, June loves to sling it,” Army coach Rich Ellerson said. “He is very prolific at it, both as a player and as a coach throughout his career. But they do run the ball efficiently and effectively. They are not a one-dimensional outfit.”

www.armedforcesbowl.com/wp-content/uploads/file/pdfBentonDecember22.pdf

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By Jim Benton for www.armedforcesbowl.com

West Point, N.Y., December 21, 2010 – Army junior defensive back Aaron Antuan grew up close to the SMU campus.

On December 30, Antuan and the Black Knights will make their first bowl appearance in 14 seasons when Army plays SMU in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at the Mustangs’ Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.

“It’s kind of weird,” Antuan said. “SMU is like ten minutes away from my house. It’s going to be weird having my family in the stands and the coaches from my school will probably be in the stands. After we turned the program around, it would be cool to win a bowl game in front of them.”

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By Brian Hilderbrand for www.armedforcesbowl.com Dallas, Texas, December 20, 2010 – A great deal of SMU’s offensive success this season… Continue reading