Air Force will be returning the least amount of production on the defensive side of the ball in the FBS this season.
Literally.
According to ESPN’s Returning Production rankings published by Bill Connelly, the Falcons rank dead last out of 134 teams with only 23% of production returning. Eight of the 12 defenders who were the most productive statistically in 2023 have moved on. They helped the Falcons finish as the top defense in the Mountain West, allowing just 277.3 yards per game and 17.9 points per game.
That comes as no surprise since last year’s defense was made up of some of the best, most experienced seniors in the league. This included three first-team all-conference selections in PJ Ramsey, Bo Richter, and Trey Taylor. Taylor was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, and Richter is currently with the Minnesota Vikings.
This doesn’t even include linebackers Alec Mock and Johnathan Youngblood, who ranked first and second on the team in total tackles last year. Mock is currently with the Denver Broncos and was a second-team All-Mountain West selection.
Air Force’s Top Returners
One bright spot for this defense is that Camby Goff will be returning. Goff would have been the Falcons’ starting SPUR last season but suffered a season-ending achilles injury in the 2023 opener. Goff was granted a turnback, which happens when cadets are turned back to the class below because of situations that result in missing too much Basic Cadet Training.
Goff finished 2022 with 42 total tackles. His nine pass breakups and three interceptions led the team.
Aside from Goff, the Falcons return four other starters from last season. Three of these are cornerbacks.
Jamari Bellamy started each game and finished with 35 tackles and five pass breakups. Jerome Gaillard Jr. started all except the final five games of the year and tallied 25 tackles and one PBU. Trey Williams started the five games Gaillard missed and recorded 35 tackles and five pass breakups during his campaign.
It’ll be interesting to see if Air Force tries to get all three of these guys on the field at the same time.
Air Force’s Defensive Line
Peyton Zdroik will be back at nose guard, starting for the third consecutive season. The senior registered 4.5 sacks and 32 total tackles in 2023. Zdorik’s presence will certainly be felt along this inexperienced defensive line. We could see James Tomasi starting on the line, and he finished with 13 tackles and one sack last season.
Zach Juckel could be someone who will see starts at linebacker and tallied 11 tackles and one PBU in his limited time in 2023. Juckel surely learned a lot behind some elite LBs.
Even if this may be the most turnover head coach Troy Calhoun has had since taking over at Air Force in 2007, we’re still sure to see a tough, gritty Falcons defense. In the last 10 seasons, Air Force has ranked outside of the top five in the conference in total defense just once and outside of the top two just three times.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more consistent defense than Air Force in the last decade — both in the MW and in the country.
