In his first season as Army’s coach in 2000, Todd Berry was busy installing a new system. Last year, Berry tried to instill a competitive attitude in his players for starting positions while building a base of talent with his first full recruiting class.

Now in his third year, Berry wants to see some of the work from the previous two years pay off on the field.

As he prepared for spring practice, Berry was excited about the team’s potential.

"We have more players in our program with the ability to fit in our system than we’ve had in the past," Berry said. "This is always a fun spring when you’re rebuilding a football program. The first recruiting class has had a chance to mature and grow within the schemes a bit. We will see some of their talent begin to flourish the next few weeks."

Berry has been in a rebuilding situation before.

After spending four seasons as offensive coordinator at East Carolina, from 1992-95, Berry was hired to revive the Illinois State program.

Team Info Location:   West Point, NY   Conference:   Conference USA   Last Season:   3-8 (.273)   Conference Record:   2-6 (8th)   Off. Starters Returning:   5  Def. Starters Returning:   6  Nickname:   Black Knights   Colors:   Black, Gold & Gray   Home Field:   Mitchie Stadium (39,929)   Head Coach:   Todd Berry (Tulsa '82)   Record at School:   4-18 (2 years)   Career Record:   28-42 (6 years)   Assistants:   John Bond (Arkansas '85) Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks      Dennis Therrell (Tennessee Tech '78) Defensive Coordinator      Harold Etheridge (Western New Mexico '81) Offensive Line      Chip Garber (Maryland '78) Inside Linebackers      John Mumford (Pittsburg State '79) Defensive Line      Travis Niekamp (Illinois State '97) Tight Ends      Jody Sears (Washington State '91) Cornerbacks      Junior Smith (East Carolina '97) Running Backs      Tucker Waugh (DePauw '93) Wide Receivers   Team Wins (last 5 yrs.):   4-3-3-1-3   Team Rank (last 5 yrs.):   88-77-82-99-104   2001 Finish:   Beat Navy in regular-season finale.

His first team went 3-8 and 0-5 in the Gateway Conference. His second team was 2-9, 0-6 in the league.

In the third year, however, Berry saw some of his work paying off. His 1998 team went 8-4, 4-2 in the Gateway, and advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs.

In 1999, Illinois State went 11-3, won the conference and reached the I-AA semifinals.

Quickly, Berry had become recognized as one of the top young coaching talents in the country, and he wasn’t afraid to take on a big challenge. He took on a unique task when he accepted the job at Army.

"There are a lot of college coaching jobs out there that are perceived as being great opportunities, but many of those positions never intrigued me," Berry said when he was hired. "I like thinking about the ideals at West Point. I want to be around people that think big, that dream big, that aspire to be all that they can be. That’s why this opportunity is appealing to me."

It seems Army found the perfect man for its football coach.

As an assistant, Berry spent most of his time working with offenses. He spent three seasons at Division I-AA Tennessee-Martin, from 1986-88, and during that time the Skyhawks ranked among the top five nationally in I-AA in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense.

Berry has also worked under several well-known coaches, including Steve Logan at East Carolina, John Cooper at Tulsa and Johnny Majors at Tennessee.

"I want to be aggressive in all facets of the game," Berry has said in the past. "I know that you win with defense first and I appreciate that. Most of my background is on offense, but to be an effective offensive coordinator you have to understand defense."

In the spring, Berry and his staff took a good look at the candidates to replace departed starter Chad Jenkins, who completed 156-of-286 passes for 1,773 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Jenkins, who was intercepted 16 times, also rushed for 262 total yards and 176 net yards, scoring four rushing touchdowns.

It was a three-quarterback race for the starting job in the spring, and it will resume again in the fall. Berry has an idea what his quarterbacks can do, but he’s not handing the starting job to anyone just yet.

Sophomore Reggie Nevels (6-0, 188) has the most game experience. Nevels played quarterback in three games last season and completed 4-of-10 passes for 74 yards and one touchdown. He threw one interception. Overall, Nevels played in 10 games on special teams.

The other quarterbacks are sophomores Matt Silva (6-1, 211) and Cory Sherk (6-5, 214).

In the spring game, Silva completed 15-of-26 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception. Silva played for the Black team.

Nevels was the starter for the Gold, completing 4-of-10 passes for 63 yards. He threw one interception. The Gold team won 14-13.

Sherk played one quarter for each team and completed 3-of-6 passes for 46 yards.

"Our quarterbacks did a great job all spring of really taking care of the football," Berry said after the spring game. "I was really pleased with their progress both at checking off at the line of scrimmage, making the right calls, and taking care of the football. Those were things we needed to improve on and I think we did."

When it comes to running backs, the Cadets are loaded.

Sophomore Ardell Daniels (5-9, 193) was slotted as the No. 1 tailback at the start of spring practices, but by no means is he guaranteed the job for the season opener.

Junior C.J. Young (5-10, 201) and senior Josh Holden (6-1, 215) have the most game experience.

Holden, who split time between football and baseball in the spring, was the starter when the 2001 season started. He was the team’s second-leading rusher with 515 yards and four touchdowns, despite playing only nine games. His 6.2-yard average per carry was tops for a regular back.

Young, who has good speed and quickness, led the team in rushing with 556 yards and in touchdowns with nine. He averaged 3.5 yards per carry. He got the majority of the carries in the middle of the season and started eight games.

After battling injuries early in the season, Daniels emerged as a big-play guy in the backfield. He was third on the team in rushing with 212 yards in seven games, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and scored one touchdown. His rookie season ended with a 131-yard game against Navy.

Young also caught 19 passes for 104 yards. Holden had 15 catches for 120 yards and Daniels one catch for 12 yards.

Junior Marcellus Chapman (5-9, 193) missed the entire 2001 season with an injury after earning the starting job during the spring last year. Sophomore La’Berrick Williams (5-11, 188) was sidelined with injuries early in the season but finished strong.

The Cadets lost 2001 starting wideouts Omari Thompson and Brian Bruenton and suffered a tragic blow when junior Anthony Miller died in the winter.

The only returning starter at wideout is senior Aris Comeaux (6-0, 200), the team’s second-leading receiver last season with 35 catches and a team-high five touchdown catches. He averaged 14.4 yards per catch.

Thompson was the third-leading receiver with 22 catches and one touchdown, averaging 9.9 yards per catch, and Bruenton was fourth with 19 catches for 315 yards and one touchdown.

Comeaux is expected to be Army’s premier receiver and one of the best in C-USA.

"Aris had a great year for us," Berry said. "We expect to see him build on that performance this fall."

Junior Clint Woody (6-5, 225) and sophomore Aaron Alexander (6-5, 198) will likely battle for one of the starting jobs -- the "X" receiver, where Berry plays a tall, rangy receiver -- while senior Chris Pestel (5-10, 184) and sophomore Lamar Mason (5-7, 171) contend for the other starting job.

Pestel and Mason both have good speed, and Pestel has the most experience. He played in 11 games last season and had five catches for 74 yards and a 50-yard touchdown play against TCU.

Berry says sophomore William White (5-11, 197) is the team’s best athlete. Look for him to get plenty of time.

Tight end Clint Dodson, chosen to the All-C-USA second team, has departed after leading the team in catches last year. He had 42 catches for 463 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Alton McCallum (6-2, 260) is expected to take over Dodson’s spot. McCallum moved from running back to tight end during 2001 spring practices and sat out the 2001 season to work on his grades.

Senior Michael Schwartz (6-4, 275) is the probable backup for McCallum. Junior Brandon Johnson (6-3, 239) and sophomores Doug Horaist (6-4, 230) and Christian Montagliani (6-3, 223) will be backup tight ends.

Montagliani moved from quarterback to tight end last season. Horaist was one of the Cadets’ tight end recruits.

Like the receiving corps, the Cadets’ offensive line had a couple of key departures, most notably the loss of left tackle Paul Henderson, who started all 11 games and was chosen to the All-C-USA second team.

In an effort to fill that spot, Berry moved right tackle Craig Cunningham (6-3, 320) from right tackle to the left side. Cunningham started all but one game last season.

Starting alongside Cunningham will be senior left tackle Aaron Burger (6-2, 290), who started every game in 2001.

The right side has experience. Senior guard Alex Moore (6-2, 280) started 10 games last season on the right side, while senior Jon Green (6-5, 300) should take over the right tackle spot. Green will be pushed by junior Mark Conliffe (6-4, 280).

At center, the Cadets lost starter Dustin Plumadore, and several players have a chance to get that job. Senior Mike Hastings (6-0, 280) is the top candidate, with junior Josh Davis (6-2, 315), senior Steve Schmidt (6-2, 267) and junior Peter Stewart (6-2, 280) also contending for time at center.

Schmidt and junior Adam Wojcik (6-4, 283) can play guard or center.

Sophomore Derek Jacobs (5-10, 186) returns after starting last season as a red-shirt freshman. Jacobs made 8-of-11 field-goal attempts last season with a long of 41 yards. His misses were from 27, 38, and 36 yards.

After the fourth game of the season -- when he missed from 27 and 38 yards against Houston -- Jacobs didn’t miss an attempt. He went 5-for-5, including the 41-yarder, against Memphis.

He was also 25-of-28 on point-after kicks.

Unlike last season, Berry has few concerns about the team’s depth at defensive end.

Senior Clarence Holmes (6-4, 266) and sophomore Odene Brathwaite (6-4, 274) are the probable starters at the end positions and could be dominant players. Their backups are solid -- sophomores Will Sullivan (6-3, 241), Doug Meyer (6-5, 241) and Keenan Beasley (6-3, 222).

Holmes played both end and tackle last season and will be one of the conference’s top defensive linemen. He finished the 2001 season with 49 tackles and tied for the team-high in tackles for loss with 12. He led the team with seven sacks.

Brathwaite was on the C-USA All-Freshman team two years ago and sat out last season to work on his studies. He has added 40 pounds and poses an imposing figure on the line.

Both starters at tackle return -- seniors Seth Langston (6-4, 280) and Paddy Heiliger (6-4, 272). Heiliger had 42 tackles last season, six tackles for loss and three sacks.

Langston had 27 tackles and three tackles for loss.

Depth is a concern, however. Senior Brian Horvath (6-3, 283) will be a top backup at tackle. Others in the hunt for time on the line will be senior Alan Maszarose (6-2, 243), junior Zane Galvach (6-2, 236), and sophomores Myron Toles (6-2, 236), Mike Clark (6-1, 230) and William Pyant (6-4, 230).

Inside linebacker Brian Zickefoose, a member of the All-C-USA second team, will be the biggest loss on the defensive side. Zickefoose was a tough guy, a hard-hitter and led the team in tackles the last two seasons. He finished with 108 tackles last season, five tackles for loss and five pass breakups.

With Zickefoose gone, senior Jason Frazier (6-0, 243) assumes the role as the defensive leader.

Frazier, a three-year letterman, started eight games last season and emerged as a big-play defender. He was the team’s second-leading tackler with 99 tackles and had three tackles for loss. He made the big play of the game against Houston, intercepting a pass and returning it 84 yards to the Cougars’ 11-yard line. He also stopped a potential touchdown against Boston College when he stripped the football from quarterback Brian St. Pierre near the goal line. He had a career-high 17 tackles against Boston College.

Senior Mike Lennox (6-2, 233) and junior Brian Hill (6-2, 238) will provide depth at inside linebacker behind Frazier.

Sophomore Greg Washington (6-0, 218) could be the other starter at inside linebacker. He may be the best athlete of the inside linebackers.

"We feel that Greg Washington has a chance to be a dominant sam linebacker in our system," Berry said.

Seniors Joe Martinez (6-1, 230), Warren Stewart (6-2, 221) and Robert Horton (6-2, 221) will give the Cadets depth at inside linebacker.

Berry will again employ an aggressive 4-4 defense with two outside linebackers.

Starting outside linebacker Ben Woodruff and key reserve Ben Edgar are gone. Woodruff was fifth on the team in tackles with 61 and had five tackles for loss, while Edgar had 42 tackles.

Junior Ryan Kent (6-0, 203) returns to the bandit linebacker after a solid debut at outside linebacker last season. Kent, a converted quarterback, started all but two games last season and was fourth on the team in tackles with 80.

Sophomore Mickel Resnick (6-0, 205) played mostly special teams last season but had spot duty at rover linebacker. Resnick could be the starter at that spot this year. Resnick is one of the better athletes on the defense and a hard-hitter.

Seniors Brian Todd (6-0, 186), Shane Radtke (6-0, 190) and Martin Pierce (6-1, 184) will also battle for playing time at outside linebacker.

Free safety Brent Dial is the only starter gone from the 2001 secondary, and the Cadets have a quality replacement for him.

Senior Maurio Smith (5-9, 177) has moved from cornerback to free safety and will assume that starting job. Smith played in 11 games last season and had 31 tackles and one interception.

His move will allow talented Delente Brewer (5-11, 185), a sophomore, to move into an increased role, probably as the starting cornerback. Brewer played in all 11 games and showed great potential.

Sophomore Jonathan Lewis (5-11, 194) worked his way into the starting rotation at cornerback last season and will be in the mix again this year. Sophomore Lucius Weaver (6-3, 218) could also be a starter at cornerback.

Seniors Emiko Terry (5-8, 171) and Mike Sehzue (5-10, 182) will also figure into the plans in the secondary.

In the Cadets’ defensive schedule, the free safety and outside linebackers are practically interchangeable, so Berry has plenty of options available.

Dan MacElroy concluded an outstanding career at Army last season by earning All-C-USA first-team honors. He led the league in punting, averaging 44.4 yards on 51 punts, and had 16 punts inside the 20.

With his departure, senior Chris Castelli (6-2, 224) finally gets his shot at the starting job. Although he didn’t kick in a game, Castelli challenged for the starting job in practice and appears ready for the job.

Thompson, the receiver, returned all but one punt last season and averaged 7.1 yards per return. With his departure, the Cadets are looking for a new punt returner, and he will likely come from the receiving corps or defensive secondary.

Thompson was also the leading kickoff returner, averaging 26.4 yards on 28 returns. Stancil, the running back, has also gone, and he was second in kickoff returns with seven for a 15.9-yard average.

Berry’s second full recruiting class at Army focused on backs -- both offensive and defensive. Berry tried to stockpile players with speed, which the program lacked before his arrival.

Army signed 27 high school players and 11 others who attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School in 2001.

"I’m very excited about this class," Berry said. "I think we not only attacked some needs for this next season, but I think it gives us an opportunity to build on this class for years to come. By design, last year’s class was very heavily weighted in linemen; this year’s class deals more with perimeter people, the periphery of the offense and defense. Hopefully some of these young men can come in and contribute immediately."

The class includes 23 offensive players, 11 defensive players and two kickers.

Included in the class were six quarterbacks, six offensive linemen, four wide receivers and four running backs. Defensive additions include seven defensive backs and three linemen.

"We were attacking the perimeter of the offense and defense in recruiting this year," Berry said. "Consequently, we were recruiting more players with speed. Those positions require it. I think we’ve done well in that facet. I think it will upgrade our speed level dramatically."

The quarterbacks in the class are Ben Barton (5-9, 175) of The Woodlands (Texas) High School; Matt Bowerman (6-2, 185) of Garner (N.C.) High in Raleigh; Laron Bybee (6-2, 198) of Smithson High in Canyon Lake, Texas; Connor Crehan (5-11, 185) of Bishop Ahr High in Plainfield, N.J.; Zac Dahman (6-0, 170) of Fossil Ridge High in Fort Worth, Texas; and Jonathan Logan (6-2, 170) of James I. O’Neill High in West Point, N.Y.

Logan set school records in passing yards for a single season with 1,800 yards and for career passing yards with 4,820. He threw for 2,504 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior in 2001.

Despite losing six starters on offense and five on defense, the Cadets should be as good or better than a year ago. Third-year coach Berry has his system in place and has improved the talent, adding more speed and athleticism.

Offensively, the biggest losses were at the skill positions. Three quarterbacks entered spring practice vying for the job vacated by Jenkins, and Silva may have emerged as the frontrunner after a good spring game. However, Silva will have competition for the job, and Berry likes it that way.

The running backs appear to be the strength of the offense, but that doesn’t mean the Cadets will employ a grind-it-out attack. Not at all. Berry, whose 2001 team ranked second in Conference USA in rushing, wants to throw the ball better than last season when the Cadets ranked eighth in the league in passing.

There is some talent on the defensive line, but depth could be a problem. There isn’t much game experience beyond the starters. The secondary should be vastly improved, and needs to be. Last season, the Cadets ranked ninth in C-USA in pass efficiency defense. They were only slightly better against the run and ranked eighth in total defense.

Linebacker Zickefoose, the team’s leading tackler the last two seasons, is the biggest loss on defense, but Berry believes he has players who can fill that void.

Army opens the season with winnable games against Holy Cross and Rutgers before opening the C-USA season against league-favorite Louisville. That starts a three-game run against title contenders with Southern Miss and East Carolina looming after Louisville.

If the Cadets can maintain some confidence through that stretch, they should be a tough bunch. Army could be flirting with .500 as the 2002 season gets to its late stages.