Sports

Have three straight seasons in DFW bowls given Army an advantage in recruiting Texas?

By Jeff Wilson
FILE- In this Sept. 22, 2018, file photo, Army head coach Jeff Monken shouts in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. For all the complaints about too many bowls, this is the second straight season there will be more bowl eligible teams (at least 81) than available bids (78). That has put No. 23 Army and fellow football independent BYU (6-6), another school with a large national following, in the strange position of tracking results from all over the country in recent weeks and heading into college football’s selection Sunday with postseason plans more uncertain than most. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE- In this Sept. 22, 2018, file photo, Army head coach Jeff Monken shouts in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. For all the complaints about too many bowls, this is the second straight season there will be more bowl eligible teams (at least 81) than available bids (78). That has put No. 23 Army and fellow football independent BYU (6-6), another school with a large national following, in the strange position of tracking results from all over the country in recent weeks and heading into college football’s selection Sunday with postseason plans more uncertain than most. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Sue Ogrocki AP
KENNEDALE

Only one state is represented on the season-opening Army football roster more than Texas, and Georgia has only a one-player lead on the Lone Star State, 25-24.

When it comes to the current two-deep depth chart, Texans hold down nine spots. That’s one more than North Carolina.

The Black Knights are just like every other NCAA program. They understand that Texas is as fertile a recruiting ground as there is in the country.

Army (10-2) will play a bowl game for the third straight season in the Metroplex on Saturday against Houston (8-4) in the sold-out Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

It’s Army’s second straight appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl, and a look at the roster might lead one to wonder if all that bowl exposure has given them an edge.

“We’ve played in Texas every year that I’ve been at Army, and this is the first year that we haven’t played multiple games in Texas,” said coach Jeff Monken, who is in his fifth season. “It’s kind of nice to come back.

“I think Texas is a great recruiting area for us anyway. But I certainly think there’s an appeal. We’re a national school, and part of the advantage of that is we control our schedule and we get to travel to a lot of different places.”

One of the Texans on the depth chart is starting left guard Jaxson Deaton, who has started all 12 games for the Black Knights, who are ranked No. 22 by The Associated Press. Deaton, from Frisco High, is one of five offensive linemen on the two-deep from Texas.

He sees the 10 freshmen and six sophomores from Texas, including sophomore defensive lineman Jon King from Nolan Catholic and sophomore offensive linemen Luke McCleery from Grapevine Faith, and can’t see how the appearance in the 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl and the 2017 Armed Forces Bowl — both Army victories — didn’t help.

Army has four commitments in its 2019 recruiting class from Texas.

“I think it has, for sure,” Deaton said Thursday after practice at Kennedale High School. “I don’t know why. I guess Army and Texas just mesh. All the Texas guys kind of bond together.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 6:47 PM.

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