Army quarterback Cale Hellums is receiving a lot of attention for his recent rushing prowess, but how much is a good thing?
The Army senior leads the nation's quarterbacks with 13 rushing touchdowns and 719 yards on 129 carries. In the past two weeks, he ran the ball 38 times for 223 yards and two TDs against Tulane, followed by 25 carries for 195 yards and a school-record five touchdowns against Florida Atlantic.
Hellums will continue to the primary focus of Army's run game, including in Friday's American Conference game at Tulsa, but how much beating can any ball carrier - quarterback or running back - handle in today's physical college football game?
More: College football TV, radio, web schedules for 2026
"We're really comfortable with whatever he can handle," Army head coach Jeff Monken said Tuesday. "So as the season wears on, obviously we've got to be conscious of that and how his health is holding up."
Army's coaches made it clear to Hellums that he would get a lot more carries against Tulane - and he did, with his second-most attempts in a game - in order to beat the Green Wave. Last week, the coaches made an effort to spread the load among the other backs, but it was still Hellums calling his own number 25 times to 32 for six of the other backs.
"How many running backs this past weekend ran the ball 25 times in their college football game?" Monken asked out loud. "There's probably not a whole lot of them. So, 25 carries is still a whole lot of carries, and it certainly takes its toll physically.
"We're trying to take some of that off of him, with the running backs and slots (slotbacks) and those guys, but what we do is run the football and having the quarterback be able to carry the ball and gain an extra blocker with the ball in (Hellums') hands rather than just hand it off to somebody ... there's some benefit to that, so he's going to carry the ball."
Monken has mentioned in recent weeks about getting backup quarterback Bryson Luter some snaps, but Hellums bristled at the idea. Luter got one snap against Tulane and one late series against FAU, where he actually busted free for a 69-yard score. The fact that Godspower Nwawuihe (11 carries, 56 yards vs. FAU) returned to the lineup, though, should take some of the burden off Hellums, not to mention the development of younger players Demani Stewart and Stroman Bridges.
So for now, as Monken says: "(Offensive coordinator) Cody (Worley) calls the plays, and we roll on."
The key for Army football against Tulsa
Army has turned the ball over once in two games this year, and the Black Knights lost both contests, even with just a minus-one margin.
Monken made the point to his team that if they hold the ball, the odds of winning the ballgame are vastly in their favor. Army had no turnovers in all four wins this season and were 5-1 in 2025 (losing only to Tulane).
Having recently faced Navy and Rice the past two weeks, the Tulsa defense should be well accustomed to facing an option-based offense, even if the Midshipmen and Owls run theirs just a bit different from the Black Knights.
Army opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite, but the odds flipped and made Tulsa the 1 1/2-point favorite. Even with the huge victory over Florida Atlantic last Saturday, Army has played four one-possession contests in the last five weeks and 13 over the past two seasons. The Black Knights are 2-2 this season and 6-7 since the start of 2025.
"I fully anticipate that we're probably going to live in that world," Monken recently said.
How to watch, listen to Army football at Tulsa
- Date: Friday, Oct. 23
- Channel: ESPN2
- Webstream: WatchESPN.com
- Sirius XM: Army broadcast on SXM Ch. 247; Tulsa broadcast on SXM Ch. 262
- Radio: WBNR 1260-AM, 96.5-FM; WLNA 1420-AM, 94.3-FM; WGHQ 920-AM, 92.5-FM
Army at Tulsa will air live on ESPN2 from Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Black Knights and Golden Hurricane will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 23. The announcers are Courtney Lyle and Rene Ingoglia.
The Army football radio network features WBNR (1260-AM, 96.5-FM), WLNA (1420-AM, 94.3-FM) and WGHQ (920-AM, 92.5-FM). The game can also be heard on The Varsity app, Knight Vision website and Sirius XM Ch. 247. Rich DeMarco, Dean Darling, sideline reporter Tony Morino and host Joe Beckerle have the radio call.
Buy Army football tickets this season with StubHub
Army football schedule
- Saturday, Sept. 5 — vs. Bryant, W 59-3
- Saturday, Sept. 12 — vs. South Florida, L 24-28
- Saturday, Sept. 19 — idle
- Friday, Sept. 25 — at Temple, W 21-17
- Saturday, Oct. 3 — at Louisiana Tech, L 29-31
- Saturday, Oct. 10 — vs. Tulane, W 20-17
- Saturday, Oct. 17 — vs. Florida Atlantic, W 56-24
- Friday, Oct. 23 — at Tulsa, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
- Saturday, Oct. 31 — at Memphis, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Saturday, Nov. 7 — vs Air Force, 7:30 p.m. (CBS)
- Saturday, Nov. 14 — idle
- Saturday, Nov. 21 — vs. East Carolina, noon (CBSSN)
- Saturday, Nov. 28 — at Rice, TBD (ESPN network)
- Saturday, Dec. 12 — vs. Navy, 3 p.m. (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.) (CBS)
Tulsa football schedule
- Saturday, Sept. 5 — vs. Oklahoma State, W 24-10
- Saturday, Sept. 12 — at Sam Houston, W 23-17
- Saturday, Sept. 19 — vs. East Texas A&M, W 42-0
- Saturday, Sept. 26 — at Arkansas, L 6-46
- Thursday, Oct. 1 — vs. North Texas, L 44-45 OT
- Saturday, Oct. 10 — at Navy, L 26-34
- Saturday, Oct. 17 — at Rice, W 38-17
- Friday, Oct. 23 — vs. Army, 8:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
- Saturday, Oct. 31— idle
- Saturday, Nov. 7 — at Tulane, TBD (ESPN network)
- Saturday, Nov. 14 —vs. Florida Atlantic, TBD (ESPN network)
- Saturday, Nov. 21 — vs. Charlotte, TBD (ESPN network)
- Saturday, Nov. 28 — at Texas San Antonio, TBD (ESPN network)
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army quarterback Cale Hellums will remain chief focus of run game
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