Troy Calhoun Sees Air Force’s Future, but the Falcons Want to Win Now

LAS VEGAS — Troy Calhoun believes Air Force could have a strong football team in 2027. The seniors entering their final season at the academy have no intention of waiting that long.

That tension defined Calhoun’s appearance on Rebel Daily Drive during Mountain West Football Media Days. Air Force is coming off consecutive losing seasons, finishing 5-7 in 2024 and 4-8 last year, but Calhoun does not view the program as starting another long rebuild. The Falcons return a quarterback who emerged as one of the conference’s most productive dual-threat players, an experienced fullback, established defensive leaders and a group of seniors whose football careers will end when the season does.

Calhoun can see why the roster may be even better a year from now. His older players are more concerned with what Air Force can become immediately.

“I think in 2027, next fall, we’ll have a really strong football team,” Calhoun told The Scarlet Standard. “And yet we have some seniors that are determined. They know it’s unlikely they’re going to be involved, certainly at Air Force, in 2027. These guys want to make it happen now.”

That was not Calhoun conceding the upcoming season or asking supporters to remain patient for another year. It was an acknowledgment of the different clock Air Force operates under. The Falcons cannot retain players indefinitely, build around sixth-year seniors or ask an established contributor to return for one more season. Cadets receive eight semesters at the academy, complete demanding academic and military requirements and then move into their service commitments.

For the seniors, there is no portal decision to make after the season and no extra year to pursue somewhere else. This is their opportunity to restore a program that won at least nine games four times from 2019 through 2023 before falling below .500 in each of the past two seasons.

“I can tell you as the head coach, I want to do everything I can to make that possible for these fellows too,” Calhoun said.

The argument for a turnaround begins with Liam Szarka.

Szarka became the center of Air Force’s offense last season, leading the Falcons in rushing, passing and total offense. He ran for 922 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing for 1,294 yards and nine scores. He also became the first player in Mountain West history to record three consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards.

Those numbers established his ability. Calhoun is more interested in the parts of Szarka’s development that determine whether the offense can become more consistent.

He pointed to the quarterback’s initiative, work ethic and poise, but the most important improvement has been his anticipation. Air Force’s offense requires the quarterback to process multiple decisions after the snap, determine how the defense is reacting and commit before the opportunity disappears.

“Being decisive is really, really huge in what we do because there are so many post-snap things that have to occur,” Calhoun said.

Szarka’s athleticism was never the primary question. He proved he could create explosive plays with his legs and punish defenses when they became too aggressive against the run. The next step is making the correct decision quickly enough to keep the offense ahead of the chains and finish more possessions with touchdowns.

Owen Allen gives him an experienced option in the backfield. Allen rushed for 750 yards and five touchdowns last season, averaging 5.7 yards per carry and producing five 100-yard games over the final seven weeks. He and linebacker Blake Fletcher were named to the preseason All-Mountain West team entering 2026.

Calhoun said Air Force’s ability to sustain drives has often been connected to Allen’s production. When the fullback is consistently gaining yards inside, the Falcons can control the down, create better reads for Szarka and force the defense to account for every part of the option.

“When Owen Allen has had productive days, we’ve been pretty reasonable being able to move, make first downs and end drives with more sevens than threes,” Calhoun said.

The offense showed it could score last season, but the Falcons did not consistently pair that production with enough defensive stops. Air Force allowed 30.3 points per game and finished 4-8 despite averaging nearly 30 points. The final month offered more encouraging evidence.

Calhoun said Air Force held five of its final six opponents to 21 points or fewer and allowed 26 in the other game. The improvement did not repair the season, but it gave the Falcons something tangible to carry into the offseason.

“I thought the second half of last year we made really good strides,” Calhoun said. “We really made good improvement.”

Steve Russ returns to the academy as defensive coordinator after spending last season in the same role at UAB. Calhoun believes Russ and the rest of the defensive staff can improve the organization of the unit while making sure the scheme is built around what the players do well.

That matters because Air Force cannot solve every roster issue through the transfer portal or replace an entire position group in one offseason. The Falcons have to identify the strengths of the players who meet the academy’s standards and develop a defense that places them in positions they can handle.

Fletcher gives the unit an established leader. He started all 12 games last season, earned second-team All-Mountain West recognition and finished with 108 tackles, becoming the first Air Force player to reach 100 in a season since 2018. Calhoun also identified Isaac Hubert as another senior capable of making a significant jump after both players took major steps as juniors.

“They have a chance to make not just a short step, but a decent leap this year in their fourth season,” Calhoun said.

Their status as fourth-year players carries more meaning at Air Force than it might elsewhere. Cadets take heavy course loads, complete military and squadron obligations and train for careers in the Air Force or Space Force while preparing for an FBS season.

Calhoun said the football staff usually has approximately one hour and 25 minutes to practice. That compressed schedule forces the coaches to organize every period carefully, shorten meetings and eliminate work that will not directly matter during the upcoming game.

“It makes you be extremely organized in how you operate,” Calhoun said. “Hopefully, it makes you be more detailed and truly concentrate and focus on what’s really going to be relevant, especially in a given week.”

The players face the more difficult balance. Calhoun described cadets taking 19 or 20 semester hours of demanding classes while fulfilling their military responsibilities and competing in college athletics. He believes that workload develops qualities Air Force cannot purchase through recruiting.

“There’s some resiliency that’s developed, and just the heart and the fortitude and what you’re trying to build,” Calhoun said. “It’s what we want in a future leader.”

The sport around them has changed dramatically during Calhoun’s tenure. Players can transfer more easily, compensation has become central to recruiting and successful programs can rebuild a roster in one offseason. Calhoun pointed to UNLV as one program that has used those changes effectively, adding new players each year and elevating itself into three consecutive Mountain West championship games.

Air Force cannot operate in the same way. The academy’s admissions standards, military requirements and service commitment create a much narrower recruiting pool. Calhoun cannot solve a depth problem by signing dozens of transfers or keep an established player with a larger compensation package.

He believes that limitation also protects part of the Falcons’ culture.

“You’re blessed to be able to generate an esprit, a culture of guys that are bought in, guys that appreciate one another,” Calhoun said. “You don’t have anybody saying, ‘I should get five more dollars of NIL.’ These are rare young men and young women that come to the Air Force Academy.”

Calhoun does not present that difference as proof that Air Force should receive sympathy or be judged by a lower standard. He views gratitude and commitment as competitive advantages. The players understand their place on the roster is not guaranteed, and he does not believe they approach football with entitlement.

That attitude is part of why Calhoun expects his seniors to push for a turnaround now rather than accept that the roster may be stronger in 2027.

“They feel like they are blessed to be able to play,” Calhoun said. “There’s not an inch of entitlement. The gratitude they have, the appreciation to be part of college football and to be able to play the schedule that we do, they’re fired up to do it.”

That schedule leaves Air Force with less flexibility than most Mountain West programs. Eight conference games and the annual matchups with Army and Navy account for 10 of the Falcons’ 12 dates. Only two openings remain for other nonconference opponents.

Air Force has still scheduled ambitiously. The program completed a home-and-home series with Colorado, played at Baylor in 2024 and will host the Bears in 2027. Arizona is also on a future schedule. The Falcons host UConn this season in addition to their two service-academy games and Mountain West slate.

“We’re one of the few schools in the country that really only has two openings,” Calhoun said. “We’ve always been pretty ambitious.”

The fixed nature of the schedule makes the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy even more central. Those games cannot be replaced by opponents selected to improve a College Football Playoff résumé or create a larger guarantee. They remain part of the academy’s identity and one of the clearest measurements of a season.

Air Force has lost three consecutive meetings with Army, including a 20-17 game last season, adding another point of urgency for the senior class.

Calhoun described the players as “strong, stern and driven” when asked about reclaiming the trophy. Those words also fit the larger challenge facing the program.

Air Force has enough returning production to believe the offense can improve. Szarka has another year of experience making the post-snap decisions that control the option, Allen gives the Falcons a proven inside runner and the defense showed measurable progress late last season. Fletcher, Hubert and the rest of the senior class know there is no additional year waiting for them if the turnaround comes slowly.

Calhoun may believe the 2027 roster has the potential to become one of his stronger teams. That belief does not reduce what he expects from the group in front of him.

The Falcons have spent two seasons below the standard Calhoun established during the program’s previous run. They now must prove the growth at quarterback, late defensive improvement and academy culture can produce more than encouraging signs.

Air Force’s future may look strong.

Its seniors are determined to make the turnaround begin now.

Watch the full Rebel Daily Drive interview with Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun: