My guess is the following:

• Coaching Staff 20%
• Team's past success 15%
• School that presents the best opportunity to play in the NFL 10%
• Parents 10%
• What the particular school’s college degree means10%
• Game-day atmosphere10%
• School’s location 5%
• Conference the school plays in 5%
• Connections among fellow recruits 5%
• Opportunity to play first year 5%
• Student-body 5%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyze their decision criteria?

RB Tyus Flakes has de-committed from Indiana. He is a Rivals 3 star RB and former Army target. Let's go get him!
Login to view embedded media We are also still waiting on big OL Devon Robinson who de-committed from Illinois.

Remember that Army 2015 commit and plebe QB William James that posters here were falling all over each other to praise and defend? He is now a 2016 Air Force commit. Strange dude.
Login to view embedded media There are several head coaching changes at schools like Syracuse, Rutgers, Maryland, and more that have commits we offered. You can bet your britches that the Army coaching staff has been checking to see if any of them are now having second thoughts.

Finally there is the impact if Navy head Coach Ken Niumatalolo bolts Navy for BYU. Should that happen and some of his assistants follow him we'll be checking back in with the 2016 commits we've lost head-to-head versus Navy. Justin Self and Joe Goff are two names that come to my mind.

Go Army!

PERRY JOINS THE 2016 RECRUITING CLASS

Jeff Monken has said that speed is one of the primary recruiting needs for the program and that's exactly what athlete Bryson Perry's commitment adds to the 2016 recruiting class

Army Women's Basketball Prepares for Nonleague Finale (Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics)

WEST POINT, N.Y. - After last playing over a week ago, the Army West Point women's basketball team is back at home on Saturday to face Emerson at 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION * None
RADIO * 1420 WLNA-AM/1260 WBNR-AM
VIDEO * Patriot League Network
GAME NOTES * Army Notes
TICKETS * Women's Basketball tickets

STORYLINES
Army extended its winning streak to five games with a 71-35 victory over NJIT on Dec. 11. The Black Knights reached the 50 percent shooting mark for the third game in a row, making exactly 50 percent (25-of-50) of their attempts after shooting 51.9 percent and 50 percent in wins over St. Francis Brooklyn (Dec. 8) and Albany (Dec. 5), respectively.

The three-game streak ties for the longest under 10th-year head coach Dave Magarity, as the Black Knights hit the 50 percent mark in three consecutive outings last season (Manhattan, Nov. 22, 56.4% // Air Force, Nov. 25, 50.8% // UC Santa Barbara, Nov. 28, 52.3%).

After scoring a game-high 22 points at NJIT, senior Kelsey Minato became the first player in team history, and the third player in Patriot League women's basketball history, to score 2,000 career points. She hit a three-pointer 1:29into the game to reach the milestone and elevated her career total to 2,019 points by the end of the contest.

THE ARMY-EMERSON SERIES
Saturday afternoon's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Army and Emerson.

ARMY WEST POINT (8-1) NOTES
* Army limited NJIT to fewer than 10 points in three of four quarters during its victory and tied its season best for the fewest points allowed by an opponent in a half after giving up just 16 second-half points to the Highlanders.
* Joining Minato in double figures was senior Aimee Oertner, who finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds.
* The Black Knights also received strong contributions from sophomore Janae McNeal (8 pts, 4 rebs, 5 assts) and freshman Madison Hovren (6 pts, 3 rebs, 3 stls).
* With a victory over Emerson, Army will become only the second women's team in Patriot League history to reach the 600-win mark, joining Holy Cross, which currently has 711 victories. Army's all-time varsity record stands at 599-512.

EMERSON (3-5, 1-2 NEWMAC) NOTES
* Following back-to-back wins to move to 3-4, Emerson most recently fell to a 61-56 defeat to Lasell on Dec. 10.
* Sophomore Sierra Ducey finished with a double-double for the Lions, with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while also contributing five blocked shots.
* Freshman Charlie Boyle added 11 points off the bench and junior Emily Cameron and sophomore Eastin Ashby each scored eight points.
* The Lions, who compete in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, have been one of the top teams in limiting turnovers in the Division III ranks so far this season, ranking 12th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.26) and 18th in fewest turnovers per game (13.6).

MINATO DRAWS PRAISE AT THE NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND CONFERENCE LEVELS
Minato earned a pair of weekly awards on Dec. 14, with selection as Patriot League Player of the Week and College Sports Madness Mid-Major Player of the Week, and was named the Women's Basketball Division I Player of the Week by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association on Dec. 15. Minato averaged 26.0 ppg in victories at St. Francis Brooklyn and NJIT last week, while passing the 2,000-point milestone for her career. The league honor is her second in a row and her third this season, after also drawing conference recognition on Nov. 16 and Dec. 7.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Army is receiving two votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll (released on Dec. 15) this week after receiving one vote in last week's poll. This week marks the sixth week of national rankings, and is the third that Army has received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Black Knights drew two votes in the Week 3 Poll (Nov. 24, and received a single vote in the Week 5 Poll (Dec. 8). Army has played a pair of nationally recognized teams this season, including a Duke squad ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll (L, 72-61) and an Albany team that received four votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll (W, 65-62). Army also stands 18th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll (released on Dec. 15) for its performance over the first nine games of the year.

DIALED IN FROM DOWNTOWN
Army has continued to shoot the three-pointer well early this year after finishing each of the last three seasons atop the Patriot League in three-point shooting percentage (2013-13: 33.3 // 2013-14: 37.2 // 2014-15: 35.4). Through nine contests this season, the Black Knights have made 41.9 percent of their three-point attempts and currently stand first in the league, and fourth among the nation's Division I programs, in the category.

UP NEXT
Army takes a short break for the holiday season before hosting Lehigh in its Patriot League opener on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.

http://www.philsteele.com/All_Conference/2015/2015 Postseason/IND.html

1st Team Offense: Edgar Poe and Matt Hugenberg
1st Team Defense: John Voit and Andrew King

2nd Team Offense: Aaron Kemper and Ryan Alexander
2nd Team Defense: TJ Atimalala, Jeremy Timpf, Brandon Jackson, Jordan Smith, and Xavier Moss

2nd Team Special Teams: Marcus Hyatt, Edgar Poe

Phil Steele is quite analytical and you do not get on these lists without stats to back it up.

If you had a magic wand and could pick any 4 prospects that remain uncommitted so far and of course have an offer from us, who would you want as part of our 2016 class?

Here are my Top 4:

1. OL, Devon Robinson - 2-star and would be an ideal fit for us and what Monken continues to look for up front.
2. MLB, Joel Dublanko - 3-star prospect, who seems to have been downgraded from 4 to 3 stars, but he is ranked 47th in the state of Florida and would added immediate depth at inside linebacker. Could be the heir apparent to either King or Timpf. Must get for us.
3. We have gotten several commitments from the smaller/speedier backs, and I would like see us get that key all-purpose back and that’s 3-star RB Trey Miller. By the way, I do think that Sandon McCoy fits that bill, so I am excited about his pledge.
4. Our biggest recruiting need is at DT and Jordan McGriff from NJ may be that guy for us.

GBK: ARMY WEST POINT ONE DAY HOLIDAY SHOPPING (CLICK HERE)






From T-Shirts, Jerseys, Sweatshirts & Fleece, Hats, Blankets, Bed & Bath and more

ARMY RELEASES FUTURE SCHEDULES (Click Here)



Included on the schedules are such programs as Ohio State & Notre Dame

The only change I noticed is we dropped the Oct 1, 2016 game vs. Kent State to get down to 12 games. 2017 was already set.

Login to view embedded media

Stay tuned for our upcoming video interview with General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and our video interview/written update on RB prospect Sean Samuels, whose final two appear to be Army & Navy ... along with much much more coming on GBK.

Great MMQB analysis as usual. You do a great job every week. I really look forward to reading your MMQB articles when we are winning more.

VIDEO: LB JACK KING - SHRINE BOWL INTERVIEW

Shrine Bowl participate and LB Jack King, who is committed to Army, talks with Rivals Regional Analyst, Woody Wommack.

If Ken Niumatalolo leaves Navy for BYU we will have a golden opportunity to pick off/hire one or more Navy offensive coaches to improve our staff and put a fire under those who remain.

What do you think? Has Brent Davis shown us enough performance to keep his job? Why or why not?

2015 Army Yards per game: 337.6 or 111th among 127 FBS teams (excludes Navy game)
2014 Army Yards per game: 358.8 or 105th among 128 FBS teams
2013 Army Yards per game: 387.3 or 80th among 125 FBS teams
2012 Army Yards per game: 436.3 or 30th among 124 FBS teams

2015 113th in FBS in fumbles lost with 13
2015 Dead last in FBS with 37 fumbles

Go Army!

I don’t either player saw the field yesterday. Were they hurt or just passed over by the rookie group of slotbacks? I really like what Trainor can do on the edge and as a receiver.

GBK - any update?

Go Army!

I am the ultimate pessimist, especially with Army Football. I have also been in the fire the coach camp from Berry to Ellerson. Monken is the real deal and will turn this thing around. Our problem is not coaching. It is depth. Army’s first string has legitimate FBS talent. The problem is there is a significant drop off when a first teamer gets hurt or tired. This why we fade late in games. Heart only takes you so far.

There are many reasons for lack of depth. Obviously, recruiting is primary. Also, is player retention and development. Monken had to spend the first two years building a foundation. This allowed very little time to develop depth with the existing roster. He was focused on the first team and the future. This is evident when you consider how many young players were on the field. It seems every year we hear how young our team is. This is because we change coaches every 3-5 years. There is no continuity.

I think Monken is now in a position to improve the first team as well as build depth. His recruiting is much better than Ellerson. We are landing recruits with other FBS offers including the other Academies. This shows he is not hoping for the “diamond in the rough.” You can’t compete at the FBS level relying on diamonds in the rough. There aren’t enough of them to create depth.

The bad news is, I don’t think we will win more than 4-5 games next year. Sorry, but our program has been terrible for 20 years and it will take 4-5 years to build it. I expect things to turn around in 2017.

Redleg

Do we attend and can we recruit at the Polynesian All American Bowl?

Kelsey Minato is breaking all kinds of records her senior year as she pushes this team to another 20+ win season. The team is 8-1 and riding a 5 game win streak, their best start since 2000-01. Kelsey is first in Army W Basketball history tin scoring (2,019), Scoring avg (19.4), Free throw percentage (.889) and 3-pointer (251). Good spread of talent across all four classes.
Kelsey was robbed last year by not being named the PL Player of the year after winning her plebe and yearling years. I hope she continues this run and turns Navy into a chew-toy