West Point, NY — In 2024, the Army Black Knights finished the season 12-2, en route to an American Conference championship and an Independence Bowl trophy.
With Bryson Daily graduating from the academy back in May, Dewayne Coleman was named the Army starting quarterback to open the 2025 season. The rising senior from Selma, Texas, would beat out sophomore Ethan Washington and junior Cale Hellums with a solid fall camp to earn the job.
“He’s waited his whole life for this,” Army coach Jeff Monken said on naming Coleman his 2025 starting quarterback. “He’s prepared his whole life and his whole career to be the starting quarterback on a college football team, and now, he’s here.”
Filling the “Massive” Shoes Left by Bryson Daily
Heading into his senior season, Coleman had made eight appearances with just one start in his college career, a 20-3 victory against Air Force last season. As a junior, Coleman was 11/16 with 121 yards through the air and a touchdown, with another 136 yards on the ground and a score.
Coleman showed promise of what the offense could look like under his wing, but now that Daily is a second lieutenant in the Army, he would be filling the shoes of a school legend.
Last season was a special year for Bryson Daily. The senior from Abernathy, Texas, broke two records last year, setting the single-season Army record for touchdowns responsible for in a season (41) and rushing touchdowns in a season (32).
Daily was named AAC Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All AAC, and finished sixth in Heisman voting, the highest by an Army player since Pete Dawkins in 1958, when he won the award.
Those are some massive shoes to fill at Michie Stadium. Fast forward almost ten months, and those shoes potentially appear to be too big for Dewayne Coleman after just one game.
Two Different Halves from Coleman
In the second start of his college career, Coleman would see two mistakes cost his team to open the 2025 season with a 30-27 loss against Tarleton State University.
Last season, the offense ran smoothly with both Daily and Coleman under center. It was anything but smooth Friday night. On two of the first three offensive drives, Army would end up punting.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Coleman showed flashes in the first half, when he bounced off a tackle to spring for a 26-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter to give Army a 7-3 lead.
He was even perfect in the passing game, going 4/4 with 88 yards through the air thanks to two chunk plays to Brady Anderson and Noah Short in the second quarter.
The second half is where the wheels would fall off the wagon for Coleman and the offense. Leading 24-17 late in the third quarter, Coleman would air-mail an errant pass on back-to-back drives, leading to two interceptions.
One of those Interceptions came with Army driving into Tarleton territory and set to re-take their two-score lead before Coleman’s pass was picked off at the one-yard line to kill that drive.
Followed by a Hayden Reed fumble, those three turnovers sucked all the air out of the stadium for Army in the final 17 minutes of the game, and it fueled Tarleton State’s 30-27 comeback victory in double overtime. It’s Army’s first loss to an FCS school since losing to Fordham 37-35 in 2015.
“Unfortunately, we did not do the things it takes to win the football game,” said Jeff Monken. “It started with turning the ball over three times. We did not sustain blocks, and they got off blocks and made plays.”
Coleman’s stat line in his second career start would read as follows.
- Passing: 7/12, 129 yards, and two interceptions
- Rushing: 24 rushes, 100 yards, and a touchdown
The senior would also not finish the game after being helped off with a lower-body injury on the final drive of regulation.
Per Jeff Monken’s post-game press conference, Coleman should be ready to play when Army travels to Manhattan, Kansas, next Saturday to take on the Kansas State Wildcats, who are ranked #17 in the country.
Moving Onto Top-Ranked Kansas State
There were things to like from Dewayne Coleman’s game against Tarleton State. He showed elite speed in open space, the ability to run the triple option, and was comfortable standing in the pocket to complete a pass.
It was always going to be a difficult task to replace the experience and production of Bryson Daily. Coleman’s second-half mistakes, coupled with subpar blocking, were key factors in Army’s opening-night loss up in West Point, New York.
If Jeff Monken wants to have any success the rest of the season, Coleman is going to have to improve his downfield decision-making, his ball carrier vision inside the tackles, and many more small details that will come with more live game reps throughout the season.
In the second half, it seemed like Coleman was starting to rush his throws. He’ll need to slow down his process and trust his mechanics like he did in the first 30 minutes of the game if Army has any chance at pulling off the upset on the road in Big 12 country.
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