Drew Fowler says he was just following his dad's advice when he became a smart football player.

Gary Fowler, though, probably never envisioned his son taking a summer school course in astronautical engineering at the Air Force Academy.

"I don't know if it was that kind of smart he was talking about," the elder Fowler said.

Gary Fowler began his 22nd season as football coach at Clayton (N.C.) High School this week. He coached his son, now a senior linebacker at Air Force.

The Falcons begin their first training camp under new coach Troy Calhoun today. Fowler, after a summer of hitting the books, is eager to get started and put a lifetime of football knowledge to use.

"I've been around football since I could walk," Drew Fowler said. "Even when I couldn't walk I was out there with my dad, just kind of crawling around. It's amazing how much you can pick up by not even playing.

"My dad told me how to basically be a smart football player. He taught me to be a student of the game. There comes a time when you not only have to have natural ability and God-given talent to be able to play, but there's a time when they start separating people and notice those who actually study the game, watch film and learn an opponent's tendencies. That's what I try to do. I try to be a student of the game."

Drew Fowler is well-schooled on the finer points of football and has a knack for knowing where plays are going.

"The past two years, he's been very instinctual at that position and been a real good playmaker for us," linebackers coach Brian Knorr said.

Fowler also is a solid student off the field. He stuffed a semester of astronautical engineering work into 2 1/2 weeks this summer so he'll be able to concentrate more on football when the fall semester begins next week.

"If you learn the game and study the game, a lot a times that makes up for that second (you might lack) in the 40. It's what I call grass speed," Gary Fowler said. "We have pictures of Drew with (diapers) on out on the football field. He was always there. He was always seeing football films running in the house. He became a student of the game. I really think that's helped him at the next level."

It doesn't take a genius to know the Falcons defense has to improve this season for Air Force to have a chance to avoid a fourth consecutive losing season.

"That's a big key for us," Drew Fowler said. "Our greatest defense in the past has been our offense with time of possession, keeping the other offense off the field and stuff like that.

"We want the game in our hands. We want it to be left up to us. We want it on our shoulders."

Air Force teams that went 12-1 in 1985 and 1998 allowed 13.8 and 14.2 points a game. The 1998 team allowed the opposition to score more than 30 points only once. The most points the 1985 team surrendered was 28 in its lone loss to Brigham Young.

The Falcons have given up more than 30 points in 14 of their past 30 games and yielded more than 40 points eight times.

The Falcons last season finished last in NCAA Division I-A in third-down efficiency defense.

"That's probably the biggest thing we have to improve, our third downs and just be consistent with the first and second downs," Fowler said.

Much of the focus will be on the offense, which will be significantly changed from the triple option of former coach Fisher DeBerry. Calhoun will use a multiple offense, employ a no-huddle attack and run fewer option plays.

Air Force, though, also will tweak its defense, going with an aggressive 3-4 alignment.

"That's as simple as you can put it, it's just a more aggressive defense," Fowler said. "It may not be as predictable. We want to try to keep pressure coming from all angles. Anytime you can get an offense thinking and get them out of their groove, it excites a defensive player because that means they are a step slower."

Fowler, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound all- Mountain West Conference selection last season and a preseason all-conference selection this year, led the conference and ranked 11th in Division I-A in tackles in 2006, averaging 10.2 a game. He recorded 123 total tackles.

"He lives, eats and breathes football," Knorr said. "It's been a lifelong call of his to be a great college football player. He does it from the way he eats, the way he trains and the way he lives. He has a passion for the game. He's dedicated himself to being good at the game. He's done a great job of working on his strength. He's as strong a linebacker as we've had here in a long time."

Fowler missed spring drills because of wrist surgery, but his role won't change as the ringleader of the Falcons defense.

"I might have moved from the strong side to the weak side, but what it all boils down to out of all the change is I have to continue to play the way I can and I have to do my responsibilities and trust the guy next to me that he does his," Fowler said.

"Spring drills were not like getting reps. I had to stand back 20 yards or so, but I did the whole shadowing thing. When you can look at anything from a different angle it's almost like taking a peek at a test. Then when you get your real test, it's like, 'Oh I've seen this.'

"I get pretty emotional out there. I'm pretty laid-back when I'm not on the field. It's like I do a 180. I'm going to give it my all. That's what my dad has always taught me."

Drop in rank

Air Force has gone 13-21 the past three seasons, and part of the reason for three consecutive losing seasons has been the defense's subpar play. Where the Falcons ranked among teams in NCAA Division I-A defensive statistics (there were 117 Division I-A teams in 2004 and 2005 and 119 in 2006):

• 2004

Rank Category

101 Rushing defense (200 yards a game)

67 Pass defense (222.09)

95 Total defense (422.09)

87 Scoring defense (31.1 points a game)

96 Pass efficiency defense (138.05)

• 2005

Rank Category

84 Rushing defense (172.6 yards)

94 Pass defense (255.0)

98 Total defense (428.55)

100 Scoring defense (31.7 points)

112 Pass efficiency defense (149.16)

99 Third-down conversion defense (44.7 percent)

• 2006 Rank Category

68 Rushing defense (172.6 yards)

75 Pass defense (213.43)

78 Total defense (354.67)

78 Scoring defense (25.2 points)

112 Pass efficiency defense (153.54)

119 Third-down conversion defense (56 percent)

Air Force facts

• Practices: Held on fields behind the Cadet Fieldhouse. All practices are open to the public.

• Tentative practice dates: Today, 3:30 p.m.; Thursday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday, TBA; Monday, 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. Classes begin Aug. 8.

• 2006 record: 4-8 (3-5 in the Mountain West Conference).

• Opening game: Sept. 1 vs. South Carolina State at Falcon Stadium.

• Media's predicted MWC finish: Seventh.

• Preseason to-do list: Polish a new offense that will rely less on the option. Develop pass-catching receivers. Emphasize a more aggressive defensive approach.

• Best reason for optimism: The Falcons seem to have regained some of the enthusiasm and spunk that allowed them in the past to spring an upset or two each season.

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com

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