Newlook Air Force offensive line hopes to find rhythm with five new starters

If Air Force’s new offensive line were a boy band, Alex Moore would be known as the boisterous, outgoing one.

OK, let’s stop the analogy there. It just doesn’t fit.

“Alex Moore is probably the loudest,” center Costen Cooley said. “We’re all pretty much mellow, though, so that’s not saying much.”

This group of five — Moore, Michael McAninch, Costen Cooley, Jackson Kohal and Samuel Floysand, for now — naturally bring different traits to the newlook line.

McAninch, a Michigan native, who, along with Kohal, is probably the strongest player up front, would typically put about 1,000 miles of snowmobiling in each winter.

Kohal racked up a third- and fourth-place finish at state as a high school wrestler to go with his 4.2 GPA.

Moore was his school’s vice president, putting that outgoing nature to use.

Floysand’s high school coach in Minnesota praised his mix of strength, agility and toughness but remembers him most regarding an elderly woman reaching out for help shoveling after an intense Friday night snowstorm. It was Floysand who responded first on that Saturday morning despite facing a drive of more than 17 miles.

As for Cooley, he admittedly presented something of a unique sight as a middle blocker for two years on his high school volleyball team.

“I definitely looked like an offensive lineman,” said Cooley, who was also a thrower in track. “But I had been playing volleyball for so long that I didn’t want to just give it up.”

This is the group, in all likelihood, that will take the field first for Air Force on Saturday. Jace Sutulovich could start in place of Kohal at right guard and Tyler Lawrence might be an option instead of Floysand at right tackle. Palmer Ridge grad Alec Falk, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound force of a sophomore, is also positioned as a second-string guard. But per the first depth chart, this is where things stand.

Whatever the lineup is, it will be a group under pressure in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. opener against Merrimack and throughout the season. Air Force’s whole system — offense, and by extension, the defense — is built on the ability to run the ball. The program has finished first or second in the nation in rushing in each of the past five seasons. So the standard is set extremely high for a group that returns no starters and in some cases just a handful of snaps.

“I think there’s definitely a desire to prove ourselves,” said Cooley, the starting center whose career experience amounts to just a few plays in last year’s opening blowout of Robert Morris. “To show that we can live up to the reputation that the Air Force offensive line has always held.”

This line has plenty of factors working to its advantage, despite the complete personnel overhaul.

The projected starters include three seniors and two juniors (none arriving as transfers, of course), so there is no shortage of familiarity with the system.

There is plenty of size to work with for a service academy. Of the top 10 linemen on the depth chart, four tip the scales at over 300 pounds and two others are at least 285 pounds. On top of that, eight stand at least 6-foot-3.

They have a position coach in Steed Lobotzke, an Air Force graduate and former Power Five offensive coordinator, who is in his 10th year with the Falcons — eighth running the offensive line. Lobotzke has earned a reputation among the best in the country as a line coach and has faced this situation in the past. The 2021 team also replaced the full offensive line and proceeded to lead the nation in rushing in a 10-win season.

Finally, there’s the hunger.

These players haven’t logged regular playing time for three to four years. They are nervous and anxious, but mostly excited.

“This has been my goal since I was a kid,” Cooley said. “I’m really excited, for me, just to experience it, but also for my family and friends who have supported me through this entire journey.”

Added Moore, “It’s going to be a new experience running out on game day being like, ‘I’m the guy.’ I think that’s a challenge that myself and all these new guys are ready for. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

These new linemen may be the new kids on the block and are certainly no boy band, but Air Force wants it that way. The season’s success hinges on their ability to be in sync.

Air Force offensive line

Depth chart for Saturday's opener for the Falcons line, which returns no starters.

Left tackle

76 Alex Moore (6-3, 270, sr.)

78 Trevor Tate (6-2, 270, jr.)

Left guard

71 Michael McAninch (6-3, 300, sr.)

75 Alec Falk (6-5, 285, so.)

Center

67 Costen Cooley (6-4, 270, jr.)

62 Jack Burnett (6-3, 310, jr.)

57 Gabriel Averitt (6-3, 270, jr.)

Right guard

54 Jackson Kohal (6-4, 305, sr.) -OR-

66 Jace Sutulovich (6-3, 285, jr.)

Right tackle

65 Samuel Floysand (6-3, 275, jr.) -OR-

68 Tyler Lawrence (6-4, 305, so.)