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Bryson for Heisman? Army coach thinks QB Daily deserves to be considered

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Bryson for Heisman? Army coach thinks QB Daily deserves to be considered
News

News

Bryson for Heisman? Army coach thinks QB Daily deserves to be considered

2024-12-07 14:08 Last Updated At:14:20

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson Daily was the American Athletic Conference's offensive player of the year, then the MVP of its championship game.

Army coach Jeff Monken thinks his quarterback deserves something bigger — the biggest award in all of college football.

Monken said following the No. 24 Black Knights' 35-14 victory over Tulane on Friday night that Daily should be in New York when the Heisman Trophy is awarded next Saturday.

“I don’t know that there’s anybody in the country that would balk at the idea of the starting quarterback of the Army Black Knights, who’s rushed for 100 yards in a game 10 games in a row on an 11-1 team that just won the conference championship, why doesn’t that guy belong down?” Monken said.

“There’s a lot of great football players in the country but there’s not one who means more to his team than that guy sitting right down there,” he added, pointing down a table toward Daily. “And so it’s the MVP of college football. Who’s most valuable to their team? I’d argue there’s not a guy in America more valuable to their team than Bryson Daily.”

Daily rushed for four touchdowns Friday to tie the AAC Championship game record. That gave him 29 this season, shattering the league record and tying No. 10 Boise State's Ashton Jeanty — a Heisman favorite — for tops in the nation.

The 221-pound Texan gained 126 yards on 25 carries and has rushed for multiple touchdowns in 10 consecutive games. The Black Knights went 4 for 5 on fourth down and Daily kept it himself for touchdown runs of 5, 3, 4 and 7 yards.

“The Bryson Daily guy is like a linebacker carrying the football,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said.

Daily credited the members of his offensive line, saying they played their best game of the season while hearing that the Green Wave — who came in as the No. 2 seed but a 4 1/2-point favorite — had the defensive scheme to stop Army's national-leading rushing attack.

“The line of scrimmage was getting moved 2-to-3 yards and by the fourth quarter 4-to-5 yards,” Daily said. “They played awesome just like they have all year.”

Army's offensive may be simple to predict but hard to stop, in large part because of Daily. The senior has rushed for 1,480 yards this season, even though he missed one game due to injury and still has another to play in the regular season.

That would be next Saturday against Navy in Landover, Maryland. If Monken had his way, Daily would then make a stop on the way back to West Point with hopes of joining Felix “Doc” Blanchard, Glenn Davis and Pete Dawkins as Heisman winners from Army.

“I don’t have a vote in it and they’re not going to listen to me, but he belongs down there,” Monken said. “And I know that the college football world would be thrilled to see that, and how many times in history is there going to be an academy player that legitimately could go down there and everybody feels like that guy belongs? You know what, this is that time in history. That guy belongs down there, that’s what I think.”

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Army quarterback Bryson Daily, second left, celebrates with teammates after the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. Army won 35-14. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Army quarterback Bryson Daily, second left, celebrates with teammates after the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. Army won 35-14. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Army quarterback Bryson Daily (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half of the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Army quarterback Bryson Daily (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half of the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Army quarterback Bryson Daily, second left, celebrates with teammates after the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. Army won 35-14. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Army quarterback Bryson Daily, second left, celebrates with teammates after the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game against Tulane Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. Army won 35-14. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Three Israeli men held hostage in the Gaza Strip are set to be released on Saturday in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

It's the latest indication that the fragile ceasefire deal, which teetered in recent days, will hold. Nearly all the 73 remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers, and about half are believed to be dead.

The two sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far during the first phase of the truce. The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages captured in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and an indefinite extension of the truce.

Here's the latest:

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters have gathered in the southern Gaza Strip for the release of three Israeli hostages.

As with previous exchanges, a stage was set up and the area was festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions. Nearby was the shell of a heavily damaged multistory building.

The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras before handing them over to the Red Cross, which will transport them to Israeli forces.

All three hostages set to be released are men who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack.

Iair Horn, 46, is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina. He was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.

Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, is an American-Israeli had was working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.

Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

Among the most prominent of the more than 300 Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.

Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.

The ceasefire appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.

Hamas said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble, while Israel said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed.

Trump’s proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region threw the truce’s future into further doubt. Trump has proposed that once the fighting ends, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

The idea has been welcomed by Israel’s government, whose far-right members are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of destroying Hamas and implementing Trump’s plan. But it has been strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, and human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.

Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left.

A demonstrator holding photos of freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi before and after his captivity blocks a highway during a protest demanding all hostages release from Hamas captivity, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A demonstrator holding photos of freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi before and after his captivity blocks a highway during a protest demanding all hostages release from Hamas captivity, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Graffiti on Israel's separation barrier depicts the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Graffiti on Israel's separation barrier depicts the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

People holding posters with photos of Israelis hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, react at the so-called "hostages square" as they watch their release live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People holding posters with photos of Israelis hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, react at the so-called "hostages square" as they watch their release live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

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