Air Force insider Rick Baum has been kind enough to collaborate with me once again on a set of 5 questions about Utah State’s third opponent of the 2025 season, the Air Force Academy Falcons. The Aggies face the Falcons at home Saturday night to kick off the Aggies first game of the 2025 Mountain West Conference portion of the schedule. Huge shout-out to Rick for joining me this week!!
Question 1: Head Coach Troy Calhoun has been the lead man at Air Force for an astonishing 19 seasons. How important is it to the continuity of the program to know that Coach Calhoun will be there year in and year out?
Troy has accumulated a total of 136 wins and 89 losses over his 19 years at the helm. He holds a strong record in bowl games, with 8 wins and 5 losses in 13 appearances, including 5 consecutive Power Five wins. When you add four years as an Air Force player, another as a graduate assistant, and another as JV offensive coordinator, Troy Calhoun is the embodiment of Air Force Football. Nearly all of his current staff are former Falcon players.
Question 2: Utah native Cade Harris (Roy HS) was a jack-of-all-trades two weeks ago against Bucknell, catching 3 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown and toting the rock 8 times for 66 yards and two more touchdowns. Is Harris the player who makes the Falcons offense hum, and will he always be a do-it-all type of player this season?
Cade is such a dynamic Cadet athlete. The former Roy high-school player and teammate of Jaxon Dart is simply the best player on this Air Force roster. Harris averages over 20 yards per reception and over 6 yards per carry with 13 touchdowns in his career. If you focus on #21, then our two-headed monster at fullback, Carson /Allen, Kade Frew, Cloud, or Conti will test your speed. This Bolt Diesel Offensive line will be key in allowing our weapons to work.
Question 3: Junior inside linebacker Blake Fletcher led the charge against Bucknell, racking up 11 tackles. Fletcher was a part-time starter last season (5 starts in 10 games). Is this the kind of performance we can expect from Fletcher the rest of the season?
Blake Fletcher is going to be a fixture on the Air Force Defense for the rest of his career. Blake had every opportunity to leave after his sophomore season, like Quinton Hayes, David Santiago, and others did. Fletcher is an Air Force linebacker in every sense of the word, physically, cerebrally, and emotionally.
Question 4: How has the NIL explosion and the introduction of the transfer portal affected how the Falcons go about operating their program? In your opinion, Rick, what are the pros and cons as it pertains to the military academies?
In my opinion, the NIL and Transfer Portal benefit the Air Force. This is the Military, not the Militia. We allow those who want something else to leave as late as the end of their sophomore year. The remaining Cadets form an unbreakable bond that carries over into the defense of our entire Nation. We are still about pay for play, don’t get me wrong. However, that payment is the freedom we all enjoy!!
Question 5: Leading up to the Falcons’ matchup with the Aggies Saturday night, all we know about the Falcons is they rolled up 159 passing yards and 267 yards rushing on their way to a 49-13 win over FCS program Bucknell University. What were your takeaways from this game? What did the Falcons do well? What do you feel they could do better?
The week one game against the Bucknell Bison was great because we got to hit another opponent for the first time in 2025. Unfortunately, the game was not as competitive as some of our intrasquad scrimmages. We rushed the quarterback effectively, ran, and passed efficiently. Key takeaways…. 1) The young DBs looked ready. 2) Cade Harris is still elite. 3) The offensive and defensive lines have excellent depth. 4) The young quarterbacks in junior Josh Johnson and sophomore Liam Szarka are progressing nicely. I’d like to see our new kicker develop consistency. I’m excited for the final match-up against USU, while watching TC and Bronco play a chess match on the field. I’m thinking a close game with a Special Teams player possibly deciding this one!